Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote,
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licóur
Of which vertú engendred is the flour;
Then thosæ sin brende afresh th' newſ ophe children
gī forth a'd compīlen ophe thingſ hẹ̄ founede amusende
insteaede ophe takende ain blessede pilgrimagæ
oth-the baskende in th' sun ophe ain seæ villagæ.
OK, enough riffing on Chaucer. On to interesting news.
One of the issues we’ve faced here in Georgia is that those foster parents who devote themselves full-time to the care of medically fragile children and would love to make them family through adoption can’t afford to because doing so would end the child’s entitlement to necessary services. In some states, such as Colorado, families who adopt medically fragile children are paid to care for them. Maine’s legislature is considering such a program.
Arkansas is joining Utah in limiting children’s access to social media.
If you’re interested in international child protection issues, I recommend you join ISPCAN, the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. On their website right now is an interesting free article on children living in the streets.
This article raises an interesting question about the potential fallout of a Supreme Court ruling overturning the Indian Child Welfare Act: would the greater intrusion of non-Native child protection agencies lead to more Native children being placed on psychotropic drugs?
Does the current focus on parental rights legislation reduce children to property? Sarah Jones at New York Magazine opines.
KidsPeace in Pennsylvania is launching a foster home service especially for children with autism.
Critics of Kansas’ 2016 juvenile justice reforms express concerns that they are leading to more children with significant behavioral problems being placed in foster care.
Now, for the news that seems these days all too routine. Some days when I write up the news summary, it feels as if I’m just repeating myself. Then again, it’s not really me repeating myself — it’s that all across the country, child welfare systems are facing the same challenges. So today, let’s categorize these “standard” latest stories a bit.
Care for children with complex behavioral health needs is broken almost everywhere, resulting in children coming into the system because their parents can’t get help and children in care being placed in offices, jail cells, and hotels.
Texas is struggling to provide a continuum of care for these children, especially in rural areas. The federal judge overseeing Texas’ child welfare litigation is livid that children in care are being prescribed an “appalling” level of psychotropic drugs and that child sex abuse victims have been placed in facilities alongside children with sexual aggression issues.
In Sacramento, California, youth in foster care have been housed in “cells” in a former detention facility. “One of the biggest barriers is a lack of appropriate placements in California, including near Sacramento, able to meet the complex needs of our youth,” said an agency spokesperson. “We have a number of youth that have been rejected by multiple placement options and/or ejected after being placed.”
In Georgia, the managed care organization responsible for providing mental health services to children and youth in care has been accused of denying those services unfairly.
In North Carolina, children with complex behavioral needs continue to be housed in offices and hotels.
This article from New Mexico highlights the need for integrated services for children with complex behavioral health needs.
The foster care system is overwhelmed. The pandemic damaged agencies’ ability to recruit foster parents, and there is significant need for foster homes interested in caring for teens.
Legislators care about these issues, but finding workable solutions is hard. System reform litigation may be brought with good intentions, but the road to Hades is paved with those.
In West Virginia, the child welfare system continues to struggle despite four years of litigation and a great deal of legislative focus.
Maine is trying legislative reforms, including a pilot program to provide pre-petition legal counsel for parents involved with the child protection agency.
North Carolina legislators are considering exercising more authority over county Departments of Social Services.
Enjoy the Spring weather!