Foster Care and Adoption Fraud

Foster Care and Adoption Fraud - Sunshine Review

No Transparency, No Accountability

When one utters that cathartically odious phrase, “child abuse and neglect”, a reactionary wave of emotion impulsively floods our instincts to rely upon the institutions created to protect children. But when one questions the designs of such institutions, that odious phrase resurfaces to aver innocence of wrongdoing and acts in bad faith. Quintessentially, child welfare policies, specifically Foster Care and Adoption, have never been examined because they were specifically constructed to protect, not just children, but to preserve the industry of child abuse and neglect.


[edit] Federal Legislative Errors

When the Child Abuse Prevention Treatment Act was designed, there was a fatal flaw that was inculcated into the Adoption Safe Families Act: the lack of checks and balances; there is no transparency nor accountability. When a social system has a zero error rating in decisions to remove and/or terminate parental rights, a red flag should immediately be raised. When a system does not possess parallel jurisprudence in by a balancing mechanism of reinstatement of parental rights, we, as a nation should stand up in disgust. All actions dealing with abuse and neglect should be strictly under the jurisdiction of law enforcement. There needs to be implemented a grievance process and database of such. There needs to be sanctions, fines, and contractual debarment for the child placing agencies that violate material provisions of law and policy. Privatization of foster care and adoption services has allowed for quasi-governmental organizations to function under a protective veil of immunity that shields them from federal and state audits, as they are operate as faith-based and non-profit status.


[edit] Central Registry of Child Welfare Fraud

For many years the Congress of the United States has worked diligently to protect the health and welfare of the nation's elderly and poor by implementing legislation to prevent certain individuals and businesses from participating in Federally-funded health care programs. We, the people, now mandate that the health and welfare of the nation's children and families must be protected by including Child Welfare Agencies in this exclusion database. Foster Care and Adoption Agencies should be banned from entering contracts using federal funds if the bases for exclusion have been met.

Bases for exclusion include for child welfare program-related fraud, child abuse, child deaths, licensing board actions, improper and questionable claims, false reports.

The effect of not being able to participate in federally funded contracts is:

No payment will be made by any Federal child welfare program for any items or services furnished, ordered, or prescribed by an excluded individual or entity. Federal foster care and adoption programs include Medicaid Targeted Case Management, and Social Security Title IV A, B, D, and E, Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant (Title V), Block Grants to States for Social Services (Title XX), State Children's Health Insurance (Title XXI), National Indian Child Welfare and all other plans and programs that provide health benefits for foster care and adoption funded directly or indirectly by the United States.
The reason for this database, The Central Registry of Child Welfare Fraud, is because on April 18, 2008 the U.S. finally signed the U.N. Hague Convention InterCountry Adoption Treaty. Contained within this treaty is where the mandate for databases of complaints is found. This not only meets the international requirements of the treaty, it will make DOJ and DHHS OIG job alot easier if and when they start audits.

This peculiar institution of foster care has demonstrated itself to be dysfunctional as the failure to provide for the necessary needs of the child is considered abuse and neglect. Poverty is not a crime, yet it has been codified to be under the current language. The time has come to hold child welfare agencies to the same standards parents are held.


[edit] Forgotten State Medicaid False Claims Acts

Social Security is a bi-polar system with one end the aged and the other the child. Each state has a Mediciad False Claims Act, yet all fail miserably in its implementation in child welfare. Billions of dollars are abused and wasted by states in the improper removal of children, improper payments and questionable costs, under the color of law. Policymakers and members of the bench financially profit from membership of these child welfare agencies. Fraud and false federal claims are perniciously pervasive and continues without enforcement of law and policy. The stewardship of child welfare has been abandoned, never being beholden to the people.

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