Let’s run around the country and see what’s going on in child welfare!
Leading off with Indiana, where lawmakers are considering a bill that should be in place in every state to provide auto insurance for youth in foster care. Especially in rural areas, getting a job or an education — or just buying groceries — requires a driver’s license and a car. We need to make sure our youth in care are prepared to drive.
Is it just me, or is there a trend across states to make it tougher to prove a child dependent? The latest is Texas, where legislation last year both raised the mandated reporter bar and made it harder to show neglect in juvenile court. “Previously, the definition of neglect meant that an act was committed with blatant disregard for the consequences that resulted in harm or a substantial risk of harm to a child,” says Judge Monique Diaz of San Antonio. “The law has now been changed to where those actions have to result in harm or immediate danger to a child. So it’s heightening the threshold of proof.” Washington State passed a similar bill last year. In conversations I’ve had with Texas colleagues, it seems the push was to promote parents’ rights and keep kids out of care. However, the new law has also made it harder for the court to intervene with less onerous measures that family might need, such as court-ordered services and monitoring.
Lots of focus this week on Illinois, which columnist Naomi Schaefer Riley says “keeps children in foster care longer than any other state in the country.” It’s also where DCFS Director Marc Smith has been held in contempt for the fourth time in six weeks. Each time, it’s been over children with severe behavioral health issues for whom there were no suitable placements. Apparently, in the latest case the young woman had been moved 25 times.
Here’s a peek into what’s happening in Pennsylvania’s child welfare system.
A Nebraska report confirms what many of us already know: children (and especially youth) in foster care are much more likely to run away. That’s why it’s critical that (1) the agency work closely with law enforcement to look for children missing from care; and (2) that courts not discharge a child from the agency’s custody just because he or she has run away.
Is Alaska’s foster care system in crisis?
Continued fallout from the Eckerd foster care crisis in the Tampa Bay, Florida situation.
New York will no longer arrest children under the age of 12.
Maine is looking to strengthen its Child Welfare Ombudsman’s Office.
More free-range parenting! This time in Vermont.
In child welfare, organizational culture matters.
If you see any interesting tidbits, let me know!