Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Criticism of LA Times' Series on Foster Care; the Agency Leadership and the Federal Funding Scheme

The Los Angeles Times has recently published a series of articles by reporter Garrett Therolf on child protecive services highlighting some of the cases with horrible outcomes that resulted from allowing children "known to the system" to remain in their homes vs. placing them in foster care. 

The nature of the reporting came under fire from several critics, including Daniel Hempel of Fostering Media Connections, Celeste Fremon of the Blog WitnessLA, and Richard Wexler of the National Coalition of Child Protection Reform.  Times' Assistant Managing Editor, David Lauter's response to that criticism appeared on the Times' Readers' Representative web page, and Lauter's response generated additional criticism as well as several reader comments.

One reader's comment began with "I don't know what this fuss is about...", which I took personally.  Thinking about these cases in the abstract is so far removed from the visceral, real-life experince of being a cast member in the actual drama. 

As a result, I posted the following comment on the Blog, which you can find at http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/readers/2010/11/times-responds-to-criticism-of-foster-care-coverage.html.

Thank you, William, for wondering what all the fuss is about.

Here's what it's about for me: in April of 1999, my wife and I had our two sons taken from their elementary school one afternoon. They were first placed into a group home and then into foster care. It never should have happened.

I very much appreciate the incisiveness of the criticism -- much deserved -- leveled by Mssrs. Heimpel and Wexler against the Times' reporting in the recent series of articles by Mr. Therolf. Celeste Fremon is correct when she identifies the straw man arguments constructed by David Lauter in his response. I hope that Mr. Lauter will get past them, make his way into a more forthright self-examination of the Times' reportage and continue this very important conversation.

The underlying fuss, beyond the reportage, is about a curious system of financial incentive/disincentive, imposed upon counties by federal policy that reimburses counties ONLY for the costs of out-of-home placement of children, even though other alternatives may be more effective, less costly and most importantly, less damaging and traumatic for children and families.

Presently Los Angeles County, along with Alameda County and the State of Florida, have been granted waivers from compliance with that federal policy, and are able to use federal reimbursement dollars in the best interests of child welfare. That waiver is making a very positive difference in Florida outcomes, and under the right child welfare agency leadership, it can do the same in Los Angeles County.

Though we were lucky in the foster care department (incredibly supportive family friends volunteered and were approved to act as our sons' foster parents, although we were not allowed contact with them absent a monitor for many months), our children, my wife, who has multiple sclerosis and whose condition worsened considerably under the stress of the separation, and I endured much emotional trauma. Our family nightmare, which took place in Orange and not LA County, ended when we were reunited ten and one-half months after that horrible day in April, 2009.

Our lives were forever changed -- and not in a good way -- because of an institutional bias toward removing children from their homes that prevails in most places in this country under the current child welfare funding scheme. Far too many families experience similar treatment. THAT's what the fuss is all about.

Yes, child abuse and neglect are real. And yes, child protective services are a necessary thing. However, they need not be the necessary evil which they far too often are. If we are going to provide those services, let's fund them in ways that eliminate institutional bias, give children what is best for their welfare, help deserving families that need help, and improve outcomes, both social and fiscal. Let's get child protection right.
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This is just one small step forward toward reform, a step toward the elimination of the institutional bias in favor of removing children from their homes resulting from the Federal funding scheme.  Each case needs to be viewed individually, and all options in the best interest of the child's welfare -- and the family -- need to be considered without any financial incentive or disincentive toward any such option.  That would be one more way of getting child protection right.
   

Reasonable Efforts: Preview "Criticism of LA Times' Series on Foster Care; the Agency Leadership and the Federal Funding Scheme"

Reasonable Efforts: Preview "Criticism of LA Times' Series on Foster Care; the Agency Leadership and the Federal Funding Scheme"