CPS gets calls every day: UNCONTROLLABLE KIDS

Story comes from Minnesota. And reinforces what I said. Parents everywhere
are distressed by the destructive behavior of young people today.

Parents feel their options are limited. It makes even MD physicians resort to
squirting kids with cold water to keep them from sneaking from the home at
night to party.

But listen to the *experts* parents.


Subject: MN: only 19 placements in Otter Tail Co., Minnesota
From: (Fern5827)
Date: 2/29/2004 11:40 AM Eastern Standard Time
Message-id:

Subject: Feds review foster care
From: wexwimpy
Date: 2/25/2004 4:53 PM Eastern Standard Time
Message-id:

Feds review foster care
By Janet Preus By now the phrase "No Child Left Behind" has been added
to our common vocabulary. Foster Care Eligibility Review doesn't have
quite the same ring to it, but the federal government has been
scrutinizing the social service programs it funds even longer than
education.
Otter Tail County Social Services Supervisor Brad Vold said Minnesota
is next on the list in the multi-year process, right in the middle of
a budget crunch that has stressed social workers who manage local
foster care.
"We do have a good system, but the system can only be stretched as far
as the staff," Vold said.
http://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/ar...ews/news01.txt

The county has about 35 foster homes, on average, with 19 placements
currently, but that "doesn't really reflect the picture," he said.
Some homes are licensed for certain ages, some just for a relative,
some just for short-term respite care, or emergency. And other factors
restrict placements.
Foster homes are licensed for a certain number of children -- usually
two, he said, but the state requires keeping sibling groups together.
"The state is pretty clear on this," he said.
Vold's office also looks for placements with relatives of the child --
or children -- first, and tries to keep the child in the same school
district. They also want to give foster parents a rest between
placements, especially when the foster child's family is "difficult"
and has "multiple needs."
"It's pretty stressful to be a foster parent, dealing with (foster
child's) parents, the kids, the school, social services," he said. "At
times we're not as available to foster parents to really support
them," he said.
Although the rate of foster care "ebbs and flows," Vold said, county
foster care homes are getting full, largely because of parents with
drug and alcohol problems "having difficulty changing their
behaviors."
"That really starts to put stress on the system -- especially when
you're looking at sibling groups of four," he said.
Foster child placements occur when social services, law enforcement,
or a judge determines the child's safety is at risk. Vold said a
10-year-old, for example, could be placed because of physical or
sexual abuse in the home, an unsanitary home, or parents who leave the
child alone too much and do not provide enough supervision.
If a single parent goes into residential treatment for drugs or
alcohol, or is in jail, and there is no relative available to step in,
the child will be placed in foster care.
Foster care is not for parents who think they have lost control of
their child, however. The system does not "make a kid listen, if
they're not doing anything that isn't really wrong," said Vold.
"We don't offer to take their kids. We get calls from parents every
week. 'Take my kid, I can't handle him or her.' Our first response is
always 'no.' Our second response is always 'no'. There may be a means
to work with the parent. We're not going to take any child, push a
button, take them home, and they're fixed. It takes two to fight; it
takes two to argue. We're dealing with relationships. They'll be
expectations on both the parents and the child," he said.
If, on the other hand, the school calls social services concerned
about a student, a social worker will meet with them and usually go
home with the child and talk to the parents. Then a determination is
made whether or not the child is in danger.
Vold said the public doesn't generally see much of what social
services does in child protection.
"We work with a small subset of the population. We wish we didn't have
to do it, but the reality is children deserve to be in a safe
environment. The big question is, 'what is safe?' Parents have a right
to parent," he said.





Fern comments: How many cw's on salary in Otter Tail Co., MN?

What do they do? Troll for additional clientele?

I loved this one! Every day I see the trend in pediatricians to squirt
kids will cold water. In fact, pediatricians in Minnesota are so
committed to the "cold water treatment" that they are now replacing all
medical treatment with cold water squirts. Fern, thank you for
understanding my state. You truly are a work of art.

By the way what is an MD physician? I thought all MD's were physicians.

Go Minnesota. Squirt those kids with water. Me thinks Fern is a bit
ridiculous in her assertions.

LaVonne

Fern5827 wrote:

Story comes from Minnesota. And reinforces what I said. Parents everywhere
are distressed by the destructive behavior of young people today.

Parents feel their options are limited. It makes even MD physicians resort to
squirting kids with cold water to keep them from sneaking from the home at
night to party.

But listen to the *experts* parents.

Gosh, Lavonne, I guess you are NOT familiar with DO physicians.

Embarassing for you really.

Lavonne reveals her ignorance:

gets calls every day: UNCONTROLLABLE KIDS
From: Carlson LaVonne
Date: 3/2/2004 10:57 PM Eastern Standard Time
Message-id:

I loved this one! Every day I see the trend in pediatricians to squirt
kids will cold water. In fact, pediatricians in Minnesota are so
committed to the "cold water treatment" that they are now replacing all
medical treatment with cold water squirts. Fern, thank you for
understanding my state. You truly are a work of art.

By the way what is an MD physician? I thought all MD's were physicians.

Go Minnesota. Squirt those kids with water. Me thinks Fern is a bit
ridiculous in her assertions.

LaVonne

Fern5827 wrote:

Story comes from Minnesota. And reinforces what I said. Parents
everywhere
are distressed by the destructive behavior of young people today.

Parents feel their options are limited. It makes even MD physicians resort
to
squirting kids with cold water to keep them from sneaking from the home at
night to party.

But listen to the *experts* parents.

Fern, Fern, Fern.....

What a hoot your posts have turned out to be. They're particularly good
for giggles after a long work day!

By the way, I checked the University of Minnesota Medical School
curriculum for the well-known "water squirting" medical procedure that
Minnesota "MD physicians" use as a treatment for children likely to
"sneak from the home at night to party." There it was...MD 101
"Treatments that help prevent children at risk for sneaking from the
home at night to party -- what every aspiring MD physician needs to know."

Silly, silly post, Fern. Don't trust those professionals, especially
"MD physicians." They'll squirt your kids with water when you're not
looking!

LaVonne



Fern5827 wrote:
Gosh, Lavonne, I guess you are NOT familiar with DO physicians.

Embarassing for you really.

Lavonne reveals her ignorance:


gets calls every day: UNCONTROLLABLE KIDS
From: Carlson LaVonne
Date: 3/2/2004 10:57 PM Eastern Standard Time
Message-id:

I loved this one! Every day I see the trend in pediatricians to squirt
kids will cold water. In fact, pediatricians in Minnesota are so
committed to the "cold water treatment" that they are now replacing all
medical treatment with cold water squirts. Fern, thank you for
understanding my state. You truly are a work of art.

By the way what is an MD physician? I thought all MD's were physicians.

Go Minnesota. Squirt those kids with water. Me thinks Fern is a bit
ridiculous in her assertions.

LaVonne

Fern5827 wrote:


Story comes from Minnesota. And reinforces what I said. Parents

everywhere

are distressed by the destructive behavior of young people today.

Parents feel their options are limited. It makes even MD physicians resort

to

squirting kids with cold water to keep them from sneaking from the home at
night to party.

But listen to the *experts* parents.