Although class-action suits seeking reforms of state foster care systems are common these days, a new one in Los Angeles alleges the county is violating the rights of former foster youth who are over the age of 18 and entitled to “extended foster care” or independent living plan services (ILPs) until age 21. Under federal law, states have the option of continuing to support former foster youth up to age 21 by providing housing, support services, and educational or vocational assistance. Almost all states have adopted some form of ILP services or are in the process of doing so.
The complaint filed against Los Angeles County focuses on alleged failures of government agencies to provide appropriate housing and mental health services for these youth. The validity of the allegations and the effectiveness of such litigation aside, the case cites examples of youth being kicked out of independent living placements for such reasons as pregnancy and having unauthorized guests. The result for the young person is homelessness or worse.
The larger question for systems around the country should be this: to what extent is participation in “extended foster care” or “ILP” something to which former foster youth should be entitled vs. a “reward” for good behavior? States can and do place requirements on youth to participate in the program: for example, to attend college or technical school or hold down a job unless a disability prevents them from doing so. But in too many instances, we have seen youth denied the benefits of ILP because they were deemed “difficult” or “noncompliant” with program requirements. Given the trauma many of these youth have experienced, and their age, what more would we expect? Reasonable parents would not abandon their 18- or 19-year old child for getting in trouble or being difficult. As the “parent” of children in foster care, the State must recognize that it has ongoing obligations to these youth to prepare them for adulthood.
In other news:
A report out of the University of Pennsylvania School of Law criticizes the disparate impact of the state’s child abuse registry on black families. While the racial impact is a focus of the report, there are good arguments overall that child abuse registries don’t work, that they fail to distinguish between parental mistakes and abuse, that the process for appealing a substantiation is (in many states) constitutionally inadequate, and that they have a heavier impact on the poor, who are more likely to work in occupations (such as child care) that require a clean registry check and are less likely to be able to afford to hire an attorney for the necessary appeal.
Speaking of child abuse registries, this article out of Washington highlights how foster parents often find themselves the target of child maltreatment allegations. Sometimes, children — especially those with a history of severe trauma or who have attachment disorders — make untrue allegations against foster parents. When they do, foster parents often feel burdened to prove their innocence.
The federal government is making it easier for school systems to access Medicaid to provide mental health treatment for students. Many schools are leaving money on the table.
What’s going on in Pennsylvania? Following similar charges in Scranton, CPS workers in Gettysburg — a frontline case manager and his two immediate supervisors — have been charged with failing to protect a 15-month old child who suffered fatal abuse at the hands of her mother. The child had been in foster care, and a statewide grand jury found the three had recommended to the court in February that the child be reunited with her mother. Three months later, the mother’s physical abuse resulted in the child’s death. As the county solicitor stated, grand juries see one side of the evidence. CPS workers are required to constantly balance parental rights against child safety, and they don’t always make the right call. But here, there was a court involved in the decision to return the child as well, and presumably attorneys for the mother and the child. I’m not sure how a prosecutor can see charging these workers criminally is going to advance child safety.
Amid the questions as to why we don’t have enough foster parents is a potential answer: too much red tape.
Kansas continues to struggle with kids sleeping in offices. The Supreme Court is collaborating to hold a child welfare summit next year. I hope I’m invited :)
Concern over conditions at a Tennessee facility has caused New Hampshire to bring some of its foster youth home who were placed there.
In Illinois, a DCFS employee was somehow allowed to get away with stealing $3.2 million from the state over the course of several years by paying “fake” foster parents who then gave her kickbacks.
In Italy, the government has started listing only biological parents on birth certificates, making life miserable for same-sex couples who have a child together.
One day, perhaps, Russia will be held responsible for its crimes against humanity involving the forced deportation and “Russianization” of Ukrainian children.
Thanks!