thinking about becoming foster parents

wexwimpy wrote in
:

When ethical worlds collide

DCF's woes show what can happen when private, public sectors meet

By Diane Hirth

DEMOCRAT CAPITOL BUREAU

Dwight D. Eisenhower left the presidency in 1958 with a warning to the
nation "to guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence,
whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The
potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will
persist."

More than 43 years later, the old general's wariness of powerful
for-profit interests overtaking the public good seems more relevant
than ever.

The outsourcing of Florida government under Gov. Jeb Bush is
accelerating. As major chunks of state agency functions as diverse as
child protective services and technology purchases are absorbed by
private companies, the rules over what constitutes appropriate
behavior and who's influencing whom on procuring contracts have the
fuzzy outlines of a work in progress.

Department of Children and Families Secretary Jerry Regier was rapped
on the knuckles by Bush's inspector general Thursday for accepting
gifts from a DCF contractor. Regier apologized publicly for his
ethical lapses and accepted the resignations of two top DCF
administrators involved in what the report described as patterns of
ethical misconduct with vendors.

"We're moving back toward the spoils system," cautioned Lance
deHaven-Smith, Florida State University professor of public
administration. "The boundary between the public and private sector is
blurred."

Adding to the confusion is the collision of different ethical worlds.

In the business world, schmoozing over thick steaks or 18 holes of
golf is considered standard operating procedure. Hustling for clients
- also known as "building relationships" - is the norm. Yet in
government, employees are responsible for taxpayers' dollars and must
be immune to favors or favoritism.

"That's what causes problems between the public and private companies
probably, because the history and the context are different," Bruce
Lamont, chair of the management department in FSU's College of
Business, said of the ethical divide.

In the corporate world, ethics are anchored by whatever a particular
company decides is right within legal bounds, he said. Given such a
free-for-all - and recent corporate scandals - government's ethics
have to be clearly spelled out and enforced to keep outsourcing clean.

"The values of the two sectors are almost opposite. The public sector
is concerned about equity and fairness, equal access and rigorous
obedience to law and rule, whereas the private sector is concerned
My wife and I are in are 30's and are unable to have children. We were
thinking of becoming foster parents, not just for selfish reasons, like
wanting a child, etc., but also because we feel we can provide a nice
home to a child in need: 3 hot meals daily and
structure/discipline/compassion/respect in a clean house. It seems we
have an ideal set-up for fostering. We have a spare bedroom. I have a
degree in education and have worked with kids in the past. I work from
home now(my wife works full time in an office), so there will always be
someone home when our foster child comes home. We haven't talked to the
authorities yet. I was just interested in hearing some basic things to
look out for -- pitfalls, concerns, etc.. Thanks in advance for any
help. We live in Ohio.


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"Justin" justin1138@REMOVEnet wrote in message
57.130...
wexwimpy wrote in
:
My wife and I are in are 30's and are unable to have children. We were
thinking of becoming foster parents, not just for selfish reasons, like
wanting a child, etc., but also because we feel we can provide a nice
home to a child in need: 3 hot meals daily and
structure/discipline/compassion/respect in a clean house. It seems we
have an ideal set-up for fostering. We have a spare bedroom. I have a
degree in education and have worked with kids in the past. I work from
home now(my wife works full time in an office), so there will always be
someone home when our foster child comes home. We haven't talked to the
authorities yet. I was just interested in hearing some basic things to
look out for -- pitfalls, concerns, etc.. Thanks in advance for any
help. We live in Ohio.


This is a woefully poor place to get information about foster parenting
Justin. I can point you in a better direction, the discussions here are
rarely about foster parenting and more often about complaining and bashing
Child Protective Services and HHS, and occasionally foster parents.

Try these links.

http://www.fosterparents.com/
http://home.ica.net/~sharyn/
http://foster-parenting.adoption.com/
http://www.homeandholidays.com/love-...arenting.shtml

Good luck, and congratulations on your decision. Its the hardest job you
will ever love.

Ron

"Ron" writes:

This is a woefully poor place to get information about foster parenting
Justin. I can point you in a better direction, the discussions here are
rarely about foster parenting and more often about complaining and bashing
Child Protective Services and HHS, and occasionally foster parents.

I wonder why?

Try these links.

Oh, there's the reason.

--kyler