CHAPTER
10
Abused
and Neglected Children in Foster Care
Distressing
statistics show that nationally over half a million children
and youth were in state foster care systems in 1996.[201]
Since 1997, there has been a 90 percent increase in American
children in foster care while the number of licensed family
foster homes has decreased.[202] Child welfare agencies
find it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain foster
homes. There are barely 130,000 foster homes available
at present,[203] and as many as 40 percent of foster
families quit in their first year.[204]
Massachusetts
is far more likely than most other states to remove children
from their homes. In July 1997, there were 11,957 Massachusetts
children living in substitute care, e.g. foster homes, residential
programs, or adolescent shelters.[205] In 1995, 65 of
every 1,000 maltreated children were removed from their
Massachusetts homes, compared to 49 of every 1,000 in
the nation as a whole.[206]
The
reason these numbers are greater may be complex. They may
represent an over-dependency on the use of foster care as
a substitute for an array of family preservation and support
services that could work to keep kids safe in their own
homes. The lack of these services or the inability of protective
service staff to locate and access them may be a factor.
On the
other hand, Massachusetts' practice may simply reflect a
stronger bias against keeping children in any home where
the threat of future abuse or neglect may be present. The
reasons for this conservative bias, if there is one, may
be tied to the tremendous personal burden front line workers
feel when they make decisions to leave children in homes
that are less than ideal. DSS workers and their supervisors
have often been held personally accountable for those decisions
when children have been re-abused in those homes.
Multiple
Placements
Multiple
placements are perhaps the most serious problem facing children
in foster care. In Massachusetts, more than one-third
of children in DSS foster care had experienced three or
more placements in their lives, according to a 1997
DSS report.[207] Some children and adolescents can experience
dozens of placements while under DSS supervision. This is
due largely to the very challenging problem of enough quality
foster and group homes.
Studies
document that particularly for younger children, multiple
placements can have serious adverse consequences. One study,
for example, confirmed that those who experienced more changes
in caregivers during their early childhood were more likely
to commit more serious crimes.[208]
The
practice of placing children in multiple homes and settings
is fundamentally indefensible. Children need safety but
they also require stability and predictability in their
lives if they are even to begin healing from the effects
of their abuse or neglect. The constant disruptions these
children are forced to face in their relationships with
peers and adults and in their schools and environments would
generate enormous stress in any normal adult with good coping
skills.
State
systems meant to protect children have a fundamental obligation,
first and foremost, to "do no harm." Children must not be
exposed to multiple placements and to the distress and psychological
harm that caused one multiply placed 10-year-old to say
"I wanted to die, because if you die you don't have to
start all over again.."
Foster
Home Supply
Clearly,
the multiple placement problem could be reduced if there
were an adequate supply of foster homes. Yet it is becoming
increasingly difficult to locate families willing to care
for children who have special needs and behavioral issues
related to trauma.
A high
profile DSS media campaign to recruit foster families and
address the needs of severely traumatized children has had
some success in recruiting new homes. The state has also
contracted for services to support the special needs of
foster parents so that crises can be managed effectively
before they result in overwhelmed foster parents demanding
immediate removal of a child from their home.
Despite
these strides, however, front line workers continue to
report children missing school and being cared for throughout
the day in DSS offices because no foster placements are
available. Homes for adolescents are particularly short
in supply, leaving some workers with no choice but to place
their teen clients in a string of one-night placements in
emergency adolescent shelters. The stress precipitated by
this constant instability and disruption results in many
teens simply running from DSS care to the streets where
they are vulnerable to drug and alcohol abuse, sexual victimization,
and even more abuse and neglect. Clearly, these situations
are untenable. Children must not be further traumatized
by the very system mandated to serve and protect them.
Children
Transitioning Out of Foster Care
The
National Foster Care Awareness Project has found that 12
to 18 months after leaving foster care, 27 percent of male
and 10 percent of females had been incarcerated, 37 percent
had not finished high school, and 50 percent were unemployed.[209]
Studies have also found that 30 percent of the nation's
homeless population is comprised of former foster children.[210]
Clearly,
the challenge of transitioning adolescents successfully
out of foster care and into independent living must be met
if we are to avoid these outcomes for them and our society.
The special demands of adolescence often make these older
children extremely difficult to place or adopt. However,
social workers are often able to predict early - often by
the time an adolescent reaches the age of 12 or 13 - what
the chances will be for his or her adoption. For these teens,
a permanent place to live is likely to be more appropriate
than a series of temporary homes.
Federal
guidelines under the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence
Care Program specifically state that funds may be used to
identify teenagers who will probably "age-out" of the system
and that specialized services may be targeted to teenagers
who are as young as 13 or 14. These guidelines represent
a paradigm shift in the way state workers can deal with
these older children.
Many
child advocates suggest that a "permanent" living arrangement
for them can be identified, for example, a boarding school
or other permanent group care model. This strategy would
allow these children to remain in one stable environment
and school for the duration of their teen years. The especially
challenging adjustments that are a normal part of every
teenager's life should not be compounded by the instability
and psychological stress that result from numerous placements.
Timeliness
of Placements
Children
who are removed from their birth home must also have timely
access to a permanent and safe home with a secure and loving
family. The Adoption and Safe Families Act (AFSA) described
earlier attempts to support children early on by establishing
state requirements meant to prevent children from languishing
in foster care year after year. Massachusetts must maintain
data on the effect of these new federal and state mandates
to ensure that children are, in practice, finding permanent
placements as soon as possible.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Reduce multiple placements of children in foster
homes and residential settings.
Though the move to foster care for some children can be
a lifeline to safety and the path to a stable and loving
family, many children experience foster care as another
source of instability, stress and disappointment. This
is particularly true for children who experience the unpredictable
disruptions of multiple placements. Multiple placements
are the result of several factors, including foster home
shortages in high demand areas and lack of round-the-clock
supports for foster parents. DSS is working hard to address
these issues and should be encouraged in its efforts to
build a quality and stable foster care system. The reduction
of multiple placements of children should be the goal
that drives all foster care improvement efforts.
- Adequately fund and support relatives in caring
for kin children.
Due to financial constraints, many relatives are unable
to care for abused or neglected children of family members.
Unless qualified for foster parent status, many simply
cannot afford to care for a related child. The state is
working to qualify more relatives as foster parents so
these kin can receive financial support to ease the burden
of caring for an extra child in their home. Additional
supports, such as respite care and transportation assistance,
could also help keep children with their kin.
- Expand the availability of foster homes, particularly
specialized homes able to meet the needs of traumatized
children.
To address the rapid increase in foster care and the serious
shortage of qualified foster homes, Massachusetts should
review and replicate successful strategies proposed by
The Casey Family Program it its recent study. Some of
these include: clarifying roles and responsibilities for
foster families, investing time to "match" children to
homes, building collaborations among agencies recruiting
these families, and supporting foster families to do their
job well.
- Identify young adolescents likely to age
out of foster care without adoption and provide them with
early, permanent, and stable placements.
Federal guidelines under The Chaffee Act specifically
state that funds may be used to identify teenagers who
will likely age out of foster care without being adopted.
Services may be targeted to teenagers as young as 13 or
14 years of age. Massachusetts must address the needs
of these older children creatively by exploring boarding
schools and other group care models that would ensure
them a stable living arrangement.
- Ensure the successful transition to independence
for older adolescents aging out of foster care.
Housing, skills development, education, and independent
living programs must be implemented to address the pressing
needs of abused, neglected and traumatized children who
are growing older and "aging out" of foster care.
Again, Massachusetts must take advantage of the 1999 Foster
Care Independence Act and the John H. Chafee Foster Care
Independence Care Program to help these children develop
the requisite skills to attain independence. To avoid
the transition of these older children into homelessness,
unemployment, and other problems, Massachusetts must work
aggressively to implement needed programs now.
- Ensure school and educational continuity for foster
children.
Often, placements for teenagers are so difficult to find
that schooling is rarely a consideration when making placement
decisions. Frequent moves that result in different schools
take away from most of these children the only anchor
they have to consistency and social supports in their
lives. Sadly, frequent moves also jeopardize their ability
to keep up with schoolwork and to graduate on time or
at all.
Chaffee guidelines and funds also address the educational
needs of older children in foster care. Massachusetts
must use these funds and explore pooling them with related
grants administered by the Department of Education. Children
in state custody are technically considered "homeless".
Under federal law and protections children have the right
to equal access to public schooling.
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Section
III: Protecting Our Children:
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