Change the culture of the foster care system

Change the culture of the foster care system
Vivek S. Sankaran
Wayne County recently joined cities across the country and celebrated the first national Reunification Day to recognize the accomplishments of those who help parents regain custody of children lost to the foster care system.
For years, the goal of reunifying children in foster care with their families has received short shrift. Even though most children come to the attention of child protective services for allegations of neglect, far too many are removed abruptly from their homes and placed with strangers.
Once in foster care, they see their parents and siblings infrequently, change placements too often and receive inadequate medical and mental health treatment. Their parents rarely receive the help they need and they lack a meaningful voice in court.


All of this does enormous harm to the children. Foster care is a toxic intervention that must be used sparingly. An MIT study revealed that outcomes for children in foster care were far worse than similarly maltreated children who remained at home. Not surprisingly, numerous child welfare systems, including Michigan's, are under the oversight of federal courts for failing to meet the basic needs of foster children. Additionally, no state system passed recent federal audits evaluating the treatment of foster children in state custody.
These problems are particularly troublesome in Michigan. In 2008, only a third of children who exited foster care were returned to their parents, nearly 20 percentage points below the national average. And the time it takes for Michigan to reunify those families is double the national average.
In contrast, Michigan is swift and efficient at separating children from their parents forever. Our state has the seventh highest rate of terminating parental rights in the country. Michigan has the second largest population of "legal orphans" -- children whose only parent is the state.
Reunification Day is an important step toward changing our culture in child welfare. But other steps must be taken.
First, we must improve efforts to keep children out of foster care. Parents must be given access to social work and legal services prior to a child's removal from the home.
Second, we must strengthen the decision-making process when the Department of Human Services is contemplating removing a child from the home. Legislation is pending to clarify that children should only be removed when there is evidence of "serious harm" or "an imminent risk of harm" and to ensure that court review of this life-altering decision is meaningful. The Legislature should swiftly adopt these measures.
Third, the Legislature must improve the legal representation that parents receive after children are removed.
Finally, caseworkers, lawyers and judges need to recognize the importance of viewing family members as collaborators instead of enemies.
Let's honor achievements in the system., but also acknowledge that there is much to be done.
Vivek S. Sankaran is clinical assistant professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School.


From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100701/OPINION01/7010343/1008/Change-the-culture-of-the-foster-care-system#ixzz0sQT8iP8o