Nashua, NH DCYF STILL Refuse Relative Placement Before Foster care

It has just recently come to my attention that Nashua, NH DCYF is STILL not following Federal Government mandates when it comes to children being placed with relatives before Foster care.

NH DCYF's Director Maggie Bishop prides herself in contacting relatives first for the child's placement before placing the child in Foster care. What a crock!

By law, the State of New Hampshire must make efforts to identify and notify all adult relatives of a child within 30 days of a child going into placement. If a family relative is not available or not appropriate, the child may be placed in a licensed foster home.

After failing the Federal Statewide Assessment's in 2003 and again in 2010, which clearly show failure by the State to place children with relatives first, especially in Nashua, it's the same old same old. Children are still being placed in Foster care instead of with fit and willing relatives.

I was recently told about a Mother who was arrested a few months back, who was raising a toddler and an older child. The arrest had nothing to do with child abuse, yet the children were placed in Foster care instead of with their Grandmother, who went to the home at the time of the arrest to specifically take the children to her home. She was denied and the children were placed in Foster care. This Grandmother is a good woman, not a trouble maker and neither was I when my Grandchildren were stolen. And that was nine years ago and DCYF practices still haven't changed.

The NH Legislature claim,s auditing DCYF and watching over their practices would be too expensive, yet DCYF fail's both Govt. Audits and still get's their almighty Federal Funding even though Federal Mandates STILL aren't being followed! Whats up with that?