CALIFORNIA

Budget falls short on protecting children

FOR more than 80,000 children in California, foster care is where they spend their days and nights, sometimes for the duration of their childhood. Foster care is the core service of the child welfare system, yet, as it now stands, foster care is failing too many of our children. With the release of the governors May Revise — an update on the states budget forecast — the quality of foster care is not likely to improve. Legislators, however, still have an opportunity this year to make a difference in the lives of our states most vulnerable children and youth. California lawmakers are examining more than 20 bills related to the child welfare system, a half-dozen of which focus on improving the quality of foster care.

Research on children in foster care paints a mixed portrait. A number of studies suggest that what children experience is mostly positive. Indeed, in one national survey, about 90 percent of children reported that they liked the people they were living with and felt as though they had been accepted into their families. Yet despite evidence of a largely positive regard for caregivers, other findings are more disturbing: Some reports indicate that maltreatment of children in foster care is a serious problem, and in one recent large-scale study, about one-third of respondents reported maltreatment at the hands of their caregivers.

Foster parents who do provide high quality care are the unsung heroes of our community. They are the ones who open their homes to children often with excessive health or behavioral problems. They facilitate frequent visits with parents and siblings. They drive children to numerous medical appointments, attend meetings with teachers and school administrators, and arrange recreational activities to develop childrens natural talents. Moreover, they act as emotional buffers between children and chaotic court and social service systems, and the parents who are unable to care for them. But support for foster parents is woefully inadequate. In study after study, caregivers point to their real frustration: Payment rates that are unfathomably low, insufficient training, no respite from the relentless nature of the work, unresponsive and unsupportive social workers during times of crisis, and little assistance finding appropriate services to meet childrens intense needs.

How much do we pay foster parents? The USDA sets benchmarks based on the cost of rearing a child in low, moderate and high income families. Based on their estimates the average foster care payment is 37 percent below the minimum amount that the USDA deems necessary for raising a child in a low-income family. In many states, these financial conditions deteriorate annually. California foster parents, for example, have not had a cost-of-living-adjustment to their base rate since 2001 and Gov. Arnold Schwarezeneggers recent budget release did nothing to improve that situation.

When you consider these deficiencies, its remarkable that abuse and neglect are not more frequent. Foster parents used to receive annual visits by licensing workers to assess basic quality standards. In recent years, however, rules have relaxed and most foster parents only get a licensing visit once every five years. Do we disregard these childrens welfare so much that visits twice a decade seem acceptable? With inadequate financial compensation, monitoring and support, we should not anticipate quality foster care for children.

This is clearly a system built upon the good will of unsung heroes. But mandated public service systems such as foster care should not have to depend on the good will of saints. Much more must be done to motivate people to become effective foster parents, to support their heroic work, and to give children the care they need and deserve.

Jill Duerr Berrick is a professor at UC Berkeley with a long-time focus on foster care.
25 May 2006

http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/oped/ci_3862828
 

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