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New law allows Vt. children to stay in foster care past 18



 
 
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Old July 7th 07, 01:00 PM posted to alt.support.child-protective-services,alt.support.foster-parents,alt.dads-rights.unmoderated,alt.parenting.spanking
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Default New law allows Vt. children to stay in foster care past 18

New law allows Vt. children to stay in foster care past 18
LISA RATHKE, Associated Press Writer
Article Launched: 07/07/2007 02:55:23 AM EDT

http://www.benningtonbanner.com/headlines/ci_6319346

Saturday, July 7
MONTPELIER — Months after leaving her foster family, 17-year-old Kellie
Coakley got pregnant. Later, she ended up spending eight months in jail.

Looking back, she says, her life may have taken a different turn if
she'd had the possibility of staying in foster care after her 18th birthday.

"I probably would not have had a baby ... I wouldn't haven't gotten
knocked up," she said. "I would have focused more on school."

Now, Vermont officials are hoping a change in state law will help make
the road to adulthood less bumpy for teens in foster care. Starting this
month, they can remain in foster care until they're 22.

Change the message

"The big thing it does is allows us to change all the messages that we
give kids who find themselves in the foster care system," said Steve
Dale, commissioner of the Department for Children and Families.

"There's been a lot of focus on the 18th birthday for a number of years.
Foster parents assume that kids are going to move out. Kids think they
are going to be free of these rules ... when, in fact, that's not what
we do with our (own) kids. Most kids still spend a lot of time at home.
If they go to
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school, they come back on vacation. If they have problems, they spend
some time at home.

"Our hope is that their experience is like every other kid who is going
through the process of transitioning out," Dale said.

Children's advocates say the change is long overdue. They point to
prison populations as an indication that Vermont needs to do more for
kids in its care. A three-year study concluded in 2001 found that 36
percent of Vermont prison inmates had once been in foster care.

"To me, that was an indicting statistic," said Mark Redmond, executive
director of Spectrum Youth & Family Services in Burlington.

Connecticut funds foster care through age 23. New York extends it to 21.
But Vermont's cut off age had been 18, which Redmond and others believe
set the stage for failure for many.

Vermont is now one of nine states that now funds foster care past 18,
although legislation is pending in other states, said Joyce Johnson, a
spokeswoman for the Child Welfare League in Arlington, Va.

Don't be surprised

Some teens have a high school diploma but most lack job skills. "And
you're letting go at 18? Don't be surprised if they end of up in jail...
you're giving them a one-way ticket," Redmond said.

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. has introduced legislation that would
provide federal funding to states to continue foster care through age 21.

"We think it's great, because so many kids are not prepared," said
Johnson. "Even kids in families aren't necessarily ready to leave the
nest when they turn 18, so we think it's very important," she said,
referring to that bill.

Starting July 1, Vermont teens have the option of remaining in foster
care until they turn 22, provided they are going to school, working or
getting some type of training. The law also allows them to re-enter
foster care after leaving.

About 60 teens are expected to take advantage of the new law this year,
at a cost of roughly $700,000 in reimbursements to foster families, Dale
said.

The expectation is that the program will grow. In three years, Dale
estimates, 120 foster care children will stay on — at a cost of $1.2
million.

Looking back, Coakley says she wasn't ready to be on her own at 18.

"You kind of get cut off. You look at kids growing up with parents. I
guess stability is important for everybody," she says.

Now 23, working and in college while she shares custody of her son with
the boy's father, she advocates for other kids as president of the
state's youth development committee, which meets monthly to discuss
issues facing those in foster care.

"I think the more support that kids can get during that age, the
better," she said.

Copyright © 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.







CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL
SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....

CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.

every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com

Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS

*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*

Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5

Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.

BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...
 




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