Vulnerable Children in Our Town

This article is the second in a series of guest writers to be published as part of CASA Corner in the Eureka Reporter. This article ran in the Eureka Reporter on August 25, 2006.

Vulnerable Children in Our Town
by Steve Volow, Executive Director
CASA of Humboldt

Many children who find themselves in the child welfare system due to abuse and/ or neglect have the good fortune of going back home to live with their parents, or are taken in and raised by a relative or friend of the family. Some children are adopted, providing them with an opportunity for a successful life. Sadly, there is another group of children, the most vulnerable, who are raised under the Parens Patriae model-- government as parent of the needy.

This model, derived from English common law, was brought to America by the colonists. Relatively recent federal legislation has put social service agencies and the court in the shared role of parent. For the government to raise a child to become a healthy adult is often a futile task. Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco stated recently, “It is our responsibility to give them the tools to succeed in life, and we have failed.”

When a child experiences placement instability or lack of a permanent place to call home, the challenges for that child mount in impact similar to numbers increasing on the Richter scale. A former foster child explained long-term foster care this way: “Every day, when I would come home from school, I would check to see if my bags were packed.” Repeated moves largely account for the fact that half of all long-term foster care children don’t graduate from high school. Only 15% take enough courses to prepare for college, and fewer than 2% graduate from college.

There are many excellent legislative reform initiatives currently working through the California Senate and Assembly that seek to provide remedies in the areas of emancipation, health, education, kinship care, court, social worker workloads, state oversight, and caregiver support. In the past legislative reform has been followed by inaction. Hopefully this reform package will come with few implementation barriers.

For a vulnerable child living in long-term foster care, very little can mitigate the devastating effects of not having a home. The mental health consequences of child abuse followed by multiple placements can make the goals of legislative reform unreachable. A foster child who becomes a runaway or who is institutionalized due to criminal behavior stemming from mental illness may never break the dysfunctional pattern of his or her birth. Fortunately, a recent court ruling gives hope to many of these children and the community members who provide care.

On March 14, 2006, United States District Judge A. Howard Matz issued a decision in a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of foster children in California against the Director of the California Department of Social Services and the Director of the California Department of Health Services. The ruling gives those state directors 120 days to provide therapeutic foster care and wraparound services to affected foster children statewide.

These two programs are critical to placement stability. Therapeutic foster parents are highly trained to provide the structure and support that many foster children need. The training program for therapeutic foster care was closed in Humboldt County years ago. The wraparound program provides a team that meets with the child and the caregivers on a regular basis to empower the child and to support the placement so it will succeed. Humboldt County has wraparound services, though there is a waiting list and some confusion as to who is eligible.

Child Welfare Services is one of the few government responsibilities that acknowledges the need for the community to be involved. The CASA programs nationwide with over 62,000 volunteers are a testament to this need. As legislators pass new laws and government workers implement necessary reforms, vulnerable children need you, the community, to provide loving homes where they can thrive. A home is a place where these children as adults can come back to on holidays and school vacations. A home is a place where these children will be able to dream of a future so different from their pasts. A home gives us all hope that these children can reach their full potential.

To find out how you can help call:
CASA of Humboldt 443-3197
County of Humboldt Foster Care 441-5013
State Adoptions 826-9180
Environmental Alternatives Family Foster Agency 443-7370
Remi Vista Family Foster Agency 268-8722

CASA Kid Walk now forming teams 443-3197

Posted by casa at August 28, 2006 11:10 AM