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Study: Foster care system in S. Florida is flawed
Study: Foster care system in S. Florida is flawed
The work of South Florida's foster care agencies suffers from serious flaws, a national study said. Posted on Wed, Aug. 08, 2007 BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stori...ry/195988.html South Florida children in foster care do not receive regular immunizations or preventive dental care, often do not get needed counseling or therapy, and get bounced from foster home to foster home because caregivers become frustrated over a lack of support from child-welfare agencies, a national study says. The findings are part of a comprehensive review of privatized foster care services in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties by a well-regarded child-welfare think tank at the University of Chicago. The report, still in draft form, is set to be released within the next few weeks. The review, by the Chapin Hall Center for Children, comes at a particularly difficult time for the Florida Department of Children & Families, which already is under siege by advocates and lawmakers over a series of recent mishaps, including the rape of a Miami girl in a foster home in which an alleged child molester lived. Last week, two state lawmakers asked legislative leaders to convene investigative hearings into the scandals. The lawmakers also want to look into whether Florida's privatized foster care system has improved -- or diminished -- the welfare of abused and neglected children. David Fairbanks, the DCF's assistant secretary for programs, said administrators are ''very concerned'' by the group's findings but await the final report before drawing any conclusions. ''The department fully expects the [private agencies] will make an effective management response to the final report. That's what we're focused on: the future,'' he said. SOME CONCERNS Larry Rein, interim president of ChildNet, which provides foster care service in Broward under contract with the DCF, said he, too, is awaiting the final version. ''We have expressed concerns about the draft and several things we don't think are accurate,'' Rein said. ``We very much want to work on improving those things that need improvement. But at this point, there are several things brought up in the report that may not accurately reflect the situation.'' Said Fran Allegra, chief of Our Kids, the agency that provides foster care services in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties: 'Parts of the draft report contain valuable information that we will use to continue to improve the system of care in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. However, we have alerted DCF and Chapin Hall that we have been unable to validate some of the reviewers' preliminary assertions, findings and conclusions.'' The Chapin Hall report involved the review of 90 foster children's files -- 45 from ChildNet and 45 from Our Kids. It looked at whether the two South Florida agencies were performing well at critical tasks such as health screenings, reacting properly to repeat abuse, making monthly foster-home visits and preparing adolescents for the transition out of state care. The report says much work needs to be done, even for such basic requirements as medical and mental healthcare. ''In general, the health needs of the children are not addressed in a consistent manner,'' the study said of the youths under Our Kids' supervision. Of the medical and dental care provided by ChildNet, the report concluded: ``Compliance is low with respect to how routinely the [agency] connects children served to ongoing health- and dental care.'' MORE FINDINGS The report also found: • Children in the care of both ChildNet and Our Kids are forced to move from one foster home to another because the agencies are ''slow'' to respond to requests for help from foster parents. The situation in the Florida Keys is even more dire, as children sometimes are sent ''outside of their communities'' to receive care because the agency has no therapeutic or medical foster homes in Monroe for kids with severe behavioral problems, mental illness or chronic healthcare needs, the report said. • Siblings in foster care often do not live together in the same foster home, and visitation among siblings ''is occurring infrequently'' in Miami-Dade and Monroe, and ''not occurring regularly'' in Broward. The report says brothers and sisters are not offered opportunities to talk on the phone or communicate in other ways. • In Miami-Dade and Monroe, 75 percent of the foster kids whose records were reviewed had been moved at least once, and the kids with mental health or behavioral problems were the most likely to be bounced from home to home. In Broward, children in a ''family-like home'' were more likely to be stable than kids in group homes. Across the three counties, children placed with relatives were less likely to be moved than their counterparts living with strangers or in group homes. • Children and families are not getting services to improve the conditions that brought them into foster care to begin with. Case records suggest that children under the care of Our Kids are not getting referred to programs ``even though the case record documents a need for clinical services.'' At both agencies, children sometimes are forced to wait for services. At Our Kids, the delay is ``significant.'' • Foster care administrators have the most trouble finding foster homes for teenage girls, sibling groups, children who have been sexually abused and minority children. • Services for older foster kids who are moving into young adulthood are in such short supply in Miami-Dade and Monroe that ``there are instances where youth are unable to maintain their housing and are utilizing homeless shelters.'' CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA / CIA 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 CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING HUNDREDS OF INNOCENT FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON... 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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