Aug 4 2010 parental rights call to action.
On August 4 2010 parentalrights.org hosted a press conference on UN Treaties. This series of movie clips expose how these treaties will remove fundamental rights from the family. This must be the top priority of every social group in America. Treaties will over rule all State law, Federal Law and place our system of government in the hands of small UN Committees. Protect your RIGHTS! Contact your Senator and ask that they support SR 519 to defeat these UN Treaties. The American way of life and freedom is under attack in a deceptive manner.
Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXGFkQW76Nk
Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go6B7nFdEFM
Part 4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkRz4btjCnE
Part 5:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lkfl8_zp-O0
Part 6:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRmhsBswyCU
Part 7:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tC0xZqyF9c
Contact www.parentalrights.org for more information to support SB 519
Isabella Brooke Knightly and Austin Gamez-Knightly
In Memory of my Loving Husband, William F. Knightly Jr. Murdered by ILLEGAL Palliative Care at a Nashua, NH Hospital
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Grandparents vie with foster parents to adopt girl(this happens to grandparent's all over the country-complements of our Govt)
Grandparents vie with foster parents to adopt girl
Your local news
Local news, discussion, events and the Norwin Star at YourNorwin.com
About the writer
Amy Crawford can be reached via e-mail or at 724-850-2856.
By Amy Crawford
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Carolyn and Dennis Konopka learned they had a grandchild on the same day they were told of their daughter's brutal murder.
"It was a confusing time," said Dennis, sitting at the dining room table in the couple's tidy North Huntingdon ranch house. "We walked around probably two weeks numb."
Megan Konopka, a 21-year-old Norwin High School graduate, was stabbed and strangled in a hotel in Bradford, McKean County, in September 2009. She had been 8 months pregnant, and her unborn son also died.
Greggory Theobald, 21, and Thomas Haggie, 30, both of Bradford, were charged with homicide, homicide of an unborn child and conspiracy in the deaths. Theobald pleaded guilty in July and is scheduled to be sentenced today. Haggie pleaded not guilty.
According to court records, Megan Konopka, who was mentally challenged, left behind a daughter, Michell Hardy, whom McKean County Child and Youth Services had placed in foster care in December 2008, when the child was 3 months old.
The foster parents, Scott and Laura Lorenzo of Kane, McKean County, are trying to adopt Michell, now almost 2. The Konopkas filed paperwork to adopt their grandchild.
"I just can't understand what kind of person would take somebody's grandchild, knowing that they have family," Carolyn Konopka said.
Reached by phone, Scott Lorenzo said the family would not comment.
Joan Benso, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, said that when parents are found unfit, it is standard practice to place the child with a relative.
"It is widely believed the best placement for a child is a family setting with a relative," said Benso, whose organization advocates for children and youth across the state.
Carolyn Konopka said her daughter, who had been diagnosed with a borderline IQ, had run away from home. She never told her parents that she was pregnant.
When McKean County Children and Youth Services took custody of Michell, Megan apparently did not tell them how to reach her parents. The Konopkas said that the agency did not make an effort to find them.
Dan Wertz, the agency's solicitor, said he could not comment on the specifics of the case, but that each case is analyzed to see if a relative's home would be the best place for the child.
"When it comes to searching out relatives, the law does require and regulations require the agency make efforts to locate potential relatives if the child is ultimately not able to be in the care of the parent," Wertz said. "While the law requires an analysis or an attempt or effort to locate kin, the law is also clear, it does not (mean) kin is automatically a preference."
After the Konopkas learned of their granddaughter's existence, Carolyn said, they began trying to get custody. In January, a mediator awarded them weekend visits every two weeks, and they have since bonded with Michell, who calls them "Nana" and "Pap."
"At first, she seems to be a little shy," Carolyn said. "She eventually starts smiling, though."
"She's friends with everybody in the neighborhood already," Dennis said.
A hearing is scheduled Aug. 13 for the Lorenzos' adoption petition. If a judge finds in their favor, the Konopkas' visiting arrangement would be terminated, and they fear they would no longer be able to see their granddaughter. In Pennsylvania, as in most states, adoption cuts off grandparents' visitation rights.
"If Pennsylvania at least had grandparents' rights, we would at least be able to see her," Carolyn said. "I wish someone could help us."
Though the Konopkas plan to keep fighting, they are struggling to pay legal bills and said they were seeking pro bono representation.
"I'm hoping, somehow, there has to be someone that can help," Carolyn said.
Meanwhile, they are preparing for one more visit this weekend with the little girl who reminds them of the daughter they lost.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/westmoreland/s_693534.html
Your local news
Local news, discussion, events and the Norwin Star at YourNorwin.com
About the writer
Amy Crawford can be reached via e-mail or at 724-850-2856.
By Amy Crawford
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Carolyn and Dennis Konopka learned they had a grandchild on the same day they were told of their daughter's brutal murder.
"It was a confusing time," said Dennis, sitting at the dining room table in the couple's tidy North Huntingdon ranch house. "We walked around probably two weeks numb."
Megan Konopka, a 21-year-old Norwin High School graduate, was stabbed and strangled in a hotel in Bradford, McKean County, in September 2009. She had been 8 months pregnant, and her unborn son also died.
Greggory Theobald, 21, and Thomas Haggie, 30, both of Bradford, were charged with homicide, homicide of an unborn child and conspiracy in the deaths. Theobald pleaded guilty in July and is scheduled to be sentenced today. Haggie pleaded not guilty.
According to court records, Megan Konopka, who was mentally challenged, left behind a daughter, Michell Hardy, whom McKean County Child and Youth Services had placed in foster care in December 2008, when the child was 3 months old.
The foster parents, Scott and Laura Lorenzo of Kane, McKean County, are trying to adopt Michell, now almost 2. The Konopkas filed paperwork to adopt their grandchild.
"I just can't understand what kind of person would take somebody's grandchild, knowing that they have family," Carolyn Konopka said.
Reached by phone, Scott Lorenzo said the family would not comment.
Joan Benso, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, said that when parents are found unfit, it is standard practice to place the child with a relative.
"It is widely believed the best placement for a child is a family setting with a relative," said Benso, whose organization advocates for children and youth across the state.
Carolyn Konopka said her daughter, who had been diagnosed with a borderline IQ, had run away from home. She never told her parents that she was pregnant.
When McKean County Children and Youth Services took custody of Michell, Megan apparently did not tell them how to reach her parents. The Konopkas said that the agency did not make an effort to find them.
Dan Wertz, the agency's solicitor, said he could not comment on the specifics of the case, but that each case is analyzed to see if a relative's home would be the best place for the child.
"When it comes to searching out relatives, the law does require and regulations require the agency make efforts to locate potential relatives if the child is ultimately not able to be in the care of the parent," Wertz said. "While the law requires an analysis or an attempt or effort to locate kin, the law is also clear, it does not (mean) kin is automatically a preference."
After the Konopkas learned of their granddaughter's existence, Carolyn said, they began trying to get custody. In January, a mediator awarded them weekend visits every two weeks, and they have since bonded with Michell, who calls them "Nana" and "Pap."
"At first, she seems to be a little shy," Carolyn said. "She eventually starts smiling, though."
"She's friends with everybody in the neighborhood already," Dennis said.
A hearing is scheduled Aug. 13 for the Lorenzos' adoption petition. If a judge finds in their favor, the Konopkas' visiting arrangement would be terminated, and they fear they would no longer be able to see their granddaughter. In Pennsylvania, as in most states, adoption cuts off grandparents' visitation rights.
"If Pennsylvania at least had grandparents' rights, we would at least be able to see her," Carolyn said. "I wish someone could help us."
Though the Konopkas plan to keep fighting, they are struggling to pay legal bills and said they were seeking pro bono representation.
"I'm hoping, somehow, there has to be someone that can help," Carolyn said.
Meanwhile, they are preparing for one more visit this weekend with the little girl who reminds them of the daughter they lost.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/westmoreland/s_693534.html
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Foster care often takes kids miles away from home
Foster care often takes kids miles away from home
By Michael Boren, McKinney Courier-Gazette
Published: Tuesday, August 3, 2010 9:29 PM CDT
Mary Haynes has to drive three hours to meet the 12-year-old boy she’s appointed to oversee.
It’s too far to travel there and back in one day, so she spends the night.
As a volunteer with Court Appointed Special Advocates, Haynes meets with foster children and their families to determine a child’s best interests.
But it’s not unusual for the foster kids to be far from their original homes, sometimes counties away. Other children appointed to Haynes had to travel 60 miles from the foster home to see their biological parents.
The problem? Kids are placed in foster homes outside their original county, because there are not enough foster caretakers or the right types of homes inside the county. That means visits to parents can take up whole days.
Foster parents and officials partly blame the issue on people only wanting to take younger kids, while others argue a bad light is shed on foster caretakers. Some foster officials also admit foster applicant requirements prohibit families from entering the system.
In May, 64 percent of Collin County kids were placed in foster homes outside the county, according to the latest statistics from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). That equates to 96 out of 150.
“It’s sad because you want those kids to be connected to their parents,” Haynes, 62, said.
In January, DFPS began planning a foster care redesign intended to keep foster kids closer to home and siblings together. At a forum in June, a children’s shelter official recommended the use of emergency shelter placements to situate large sibling groups and provide them with immediate care.
Other childcare groups have also given their input on the plans, which will be finalized on Dec. 31 and presented to the Texas Legislature in January 2011.
The number of local foster kids has dropped in recent years, because DFPS has increasingly emphasized placing them with relatives, said DFPS spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales.
There were more than 7,600 foster kids in the 19-county North Texas DFPS region four years ago, compared to 5,442 last year, she said. The statistics for this year were not yet available.
But there’s a constant need for more foster homes, said DFPS spokesperson Patrick Crimmins. Depending on a child’s needs, the best placement may be hundreds of miles away.
“It’s not as simple as, ‘We need 15,000 beds,’” Crimmins said. “You need 15,000 of the right kinds of beds.”
There are four different service levels of foster caretakers and kids: basic, moderate, specialized and intense.
All caretakers offer medical and therapeutic services, such as cognitive therapy and counseling, which are specialized toward the foster child’s age. But the frequency of services increases by each level as a child’s needs become more specific.
In the North Texas region at the end of June, there were 1,669 basic-level kids and 56 intensive-level kids.
But as children are placed far away from their biological parents, it puts a burden on the foster caretakers and volunteers who may have to drive the kids to court-ordered visits, said Susan Etheridge, executive director of the Collin County division of Court Appointed Special Advocates.
“It’s not the parents who suffer from that,” Etheridge said. “It’s the child and the professionals.”
Collin County kids placed in foster care receive one of Etheridge’s volunteers, who attends the child’s court hearings, sees him or her at least twice a month and talks to family members, doctors, lawyers or others to present an independent view of the child’s situation to the courts.
There are at least 200 volunteers, but Etheridge said some people don’t join because of gas expenses needed to see far-away foster kids.
“We have had people tell us, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t afford to do this,’” Etheridge said.
The lack of foster homes was a historical problem, she said, and she attributed it partly to people not knowing the need or thinking the requirements were harder than they actually are.
With the state, some obligations for potential foster parents include undergoing background checks, personal interviews and 35 hours of foster care training. Depending on the service level, parents may also have to take at least 20 hours of training on precautionary and medical issues.
Private foster agencies can add to the state’s foster requirements by requiring more training or specifications, such as how many kids are allowed in a certain-sized room, said David Chandler, director of the private agency Buckner Foster Care and Adoption.
The requirements to become foster parents prohibit some families from getting into the system, Chandler said. But he questioned the commitment or motivation of the families, as some just do it for the money, he said.
Child-placing agencies pay foster families anywhere from $22 to $88 per foster child and per day the child is in their home, depending on the service level.
But not enough families take in large sibling groups, specialized-needs kids or teenagers, Chandler said, which leads to foster kids being placed far away from home.
“The older kids are perceived as being more difficult, which is not always the case,” Chandler said. “But I think that’s the perception.”
Many foster parents interested in adoption usually want younger kids, said Danette Swasey, president of the Denton County Foster Parent Association.
“I know the older the kids are in the system, the more baggage they come with,” said Swasey, who also teaches emotionally disturbed kids with the Lewisville Independent School District.
She and her husband started fostering in 2007 to adopt kids, adopting their first one this March, she said.
Before that, she underwent foster training and a required home study, in which childcare officials ask about a family’s background and lifestyle.
“It’s time consuming,” Swasey, 42, said. “It’s somewhat invasive into your personal life, because they do ask some very personal questions when you get involved into the home study.”
A few of the questions asked about bodily functions, such as menstruation, she said.
Up in Melissa, Denise and Bruce Kendrick became foster parents through the private agency Buckner. Since starting in 2003, they’ve fostered 25 children.
When the two originally fostered kids in Denton County, none of the kids were from inside the county, Denise, 30, said. Since she and Bruce moved to Collin County five years ago, about half of the placements had been from inside the county.
The couple previously had kids from Gainesville who would miss entire school days to visit their parents because of the required travelling distance, Denise said.
Denise and Bruce, 29, have three biological children, three foster kids and one adopted child. DFPS rules state foster parents can’t typically have more than six biological and foster children at once, but the couple got an exception because it had foster siblings.
Yet foster families get a bad rap, the couple said, because news stories and movies portray them negatively.
“There’s just like this stigma about kids that are in foster care in general and then you as a foster parent,” Bruce said. “It’s constantly like, ‘Are you a good parent? Maybe you’re a good parent to your kids, but are you a good parent to somebody else’s kids?’”
That stigma makes the couple want to go above and beyond for their foster kids, Denise said.
“We’re going to make sure that we look put together so that we’re not painting that continued picture of foster parents who are just doing the bare minimum to get by and make a buck,” Bruce said. “And that’s huge.”
http://www.scntx.com/articles/2010/08/03/news_update/202.txt
By Michael Boren, McKinney Courier-Gazette
Published: Tuesday, August 3, 2010 9:29 PM CDT
Mary Haynes has to drive three hours to meet the 12-year-old boy she’s appointed to oversee.
It’s too far to travel there and back in one day, so she spends the night.
As a volunteer with Court Appointed Special Advocates, Haynes meets with foster children and their families to determine a child’s best interests.
But it’s not unusual for the foster kids to be far from their original homes, sometimes counties away. Other children appointed to Haynes had to travel 60 miles from the foster home to see their biological parents.
The problem? Kids are placed in foster homes outside their original county, because there are not enough foster caretakers or the right types of homes inside the county. That means visits to parents can take up whole days.
Foster parents and officials partly blame the issue on people only wanting to take younger kids, while others argue a bad light is shed on foster caretakers. Some foster officials also admit foster applicant requirements prohibit families from entering the system.
In May, 64 percent of Collin County kids were placed in foster homes outside the county, according to the latest statistics from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). That equates to 96 out of 150.
“It’s sad because you want those kids to be connected to their parents,” Haynes, 62, said.
In January, DFPS began planning a foster care redesign intended to keep foster kids closer to home and siblings together. At a forum in June, a children’s shelter official recommended the use of emergency shelter placements to situate large sibling groups and provide them with immediate care.
Other childcare groups have also given their input on the plans, which will be finalized on Dec. 31 and presented to the Texas Legislature in January 2011.
The number of local foster kids has dropped in recent years, because DFPS has increasingly emphasized placing them with relatives, said DFPS spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales.
There were more than 7,600 foster kids in the 19-county North Texas DFPS region four years ago, compared to 5,442 last year, she said. The statistics for this year were not yet available.
But there’s a constant need for more foster homes, said DFPS spokesperson Patrick Crimmins. Depending on a child’s needs, the best placement may be hundreds of miles away.
“It’s not as simple as, ‘We need 15,000 beds,’” Crimmins said. “You need 15,000 of the right kinds of beds.”
There are four different service levels of foster caretakers and kids: basic, moderate, specialized and intense.
All caretakers offer medical and therapeutic services, such as cognitive therapy and counseling, which are specialized toward the foster child’s age. But the frequency of services increases by each level as a child’s needs become more specific.
In the North Texas region at the end of June, there were 1,669 basic-level kids and 56 intensive-level kids.
But as children are placed far away from their biological parents, it puts a burden on the foster caretakers and volunteers who may have to drive the kids to court-ordered visits, said Susan Etheridge, executive director of the Collin County division of Court Appointed Special Advocates.
“It’s not the parents who suffer from that,” Etheridge said. “It’s the child and the professionals.”
Collin County kids placed in foster care receive one of Etheridge’s volunteers, who attends the child’s court hearings, sees him or her at least twice a month and talks to family members, doctors, lawyers or others to present an independent view of the child’s situation to the courts.
There are at least 200 volunteers, but Etheridge said some people don’t join because of gas expenses needed to see far-away foster kids.
“We have had people tell us, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t afford to do this,’” Etheridge said.
The lack of foster homes was a historical problem, she said, and she attributed it partly to people not knowing the need or thinking the requirements were harder than they actually are.
With the state, some obligations for potential foster parents include undergoing background checks, personal interviews and 35 hours of foster care training. Depending on the service level, parents may also have to take at least 20 hours of training on precautionary and medical issues.
Private foster agencies can add to the state’s foster requirements by requiring more training or specifications, such as how many kids are allowed in a certain-sized room, said David Chandler, director of the private agency Buckner Foster Care and Adoption.
The requirements to become foster parents prohibit some families from getting into the system, Chandler said. But he questioned the commitment or motivation of the families, as some just do it for the money, he said.
Child-placing agencies pay foster families anywhere from $22 to $88 per foster child and per day the child is in their home, depending on the service level.
But not enough families take in large sibling groups, specialized-needs kids or teenagers, Chandler said, which leads to foster kids being placed far away from home.
“The older kids are perceived as being more difficult, which is not always the case,” Chandler said. “But I think that’s the perception.”
Many foster parents interested in adoption usually want younger kids, said Danette Swasey, president of the Denton County Foster Parent Association.
“I know the older the kids are in the system, the more baggage they come with,” said Swasey, who also teaches emotionally disturbed kids with the Lewisville Independent School District.
She and her husband started fostering in 2007 to adopt kids, adopting their first one this March, she said.
Before that, she underwent foster training and a required home study, in which childcare officials ask about a family’s background and lifestyle.
“It’s time consuming,” Swasey, 42, said. “It’s somewhat invasive into your personal life, because they do ask some very personal questions when you get involved into the home study.”
A few of the questions asked about bodily functions, such as menstruation, she said.
Up in Melissa, Denise and Bruce Kendrick became foster parents through the private agency Buckner. Since starting in 2003, they’ve fostered 25 children.
When the two originally fostered kids in Denton County, none of the kids were from inside the county, Denise, 30, said. Since she and Bruce moved to Collin County five years ago, about half of the placements had been from inside the county.
The couple previously had kids from Gainesville who would miss entire school days to visit their parents because of the required travelling distance, Denise said.
Denise and Bruce, 29, have three biological children, three foster kids and one adopted child. DFPS rules state foster parents can’t typically have more than six biological and foster children at once, but the couple got an exception because it had foster siblings.
Yet foster families get a bad rap, the couple said, because news stories and movies portray them negatively.
“There’s just like this stigma about kids that are in foster care in general and then you as a foster parent,” Bruce said. “It’s constantly like, ‘Are you a good parent? Maybe you’re a good parent to your kids, but are you a good parent to somebody else’s kids?’”
That stigma makes the couple want to go above and beyond for their foster kids, Denise said.
“We’re going to make sure that we look put together so that we’re not painting that continued picture of foster parents who are just doing the bare minimum to get by and make a buck,” Bruce said. “And that’s huge.”
http://www.scntx.com/articles/2010/08/03/news_update/202.txt
Paying for foster care and family preservation: How CWLA works to kill real reform
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2010
Paying for foster care and family preservation: How CWLA works to kill real reform
The most recent online newsletter from the Child Welfare League of America, the giant trade association for public and private agencies, makes clear how CWLA will try to oppose any real reform of how federal child welfare dollars are spent.
The newsletter included a rather odd account of a recent House subcommittee hearing, the one discussed in this previous post, concerning "waivers" which allow federal dollars normally reserved for foster care to be spent on better alternatives as well. While CWLA doesn't mind spending on better alternatives if that spending is in addition to the great gobs of money its private agency members scarf up in per diem payments for holding children in foster care, they are not about to sit idly by and risk having some of their members put out of business by reform which allows states and localities to use the money on alternatives instead of foster care.
But it's gotten harder to oppose reform as overtly, now that one great big state has switched sides. Florida has had enormous success with the only comprehensive statewide waiver allowing foster care funds to be used for better alternatives. Even the state's big private agencies have largely been won over – in part because the waiver actually prevented state budget cuts in child welfare. A lot of those agencies, and the Florida Department of Children and Families, are dues-paying members of CWLA.
So is Casey Family Programs, the multi-billion dollar foundation that also is a provider of direct services (but should not be confused with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which also provides both. Though both groups were endowed by the same family, and sometimes collaborate, they are run separately).
Just a few years ago, Casey Family Programs' CEO, William Bell would become angry at the very thought of funding child welfare the way Florida does it under its waiver. At last week's hearing, with his testimony strongly supporting waivers, he proved a primary tenet of the family preservation movement: people can change. While I would like to think the 51 hours CFP spent at this Blog and on www.nccpr.org last year alone had something to do with it, more likely it was the influence of two of the top executives Bell recruited to CFP, David Sanders, who obtained a Florida-style waiver while running the child welfare system in Los Angeles County, and David Berns, who used flexibility in state funding to reform the county-run system in El Paso County, Colorado.
CFP also is a CWLA member, and a prestigious one at that.
What's a trade association to do? What they always do in child welfare. Never say no, just "Yes, but…" it to death.
So the most recent online newsletter from CWLA characterized the hearing this way:
While some testimony strenuously maintained emphasis on the need for immediate flexibility in state use of IV-E funds through waivers, others pointed to the potential for action on waivers to delay comprehensive reform, particularly in light of the limited capacity of waivers to improve outcomes for children nationwide and to cultivate innovation across the continuum of needed child welfare services.
OK, let's stop there. First, none of the witnesses actually said waivers could "delay comprehensive reform." That may appear in written statements that groups like, say, CWLA, can submit, but none of the witnesses said it.
As for whether waivers can improve outcomes nationwide, that depends on how many are offered and how many states have the guts to accept them. The Bush administration proposed offering a Florida-style deal to every state without a cumbersome waiver progress – and CWLA, and the entire foster care-industrial complex through a fit over it. So first CWLA opposed making flexibility easily available nationwide, and now they claim waivers aren't enough – because they don't apply nationwide.
As for "cultivat[ing] innovation across the continuum of needed child welfare services" – whatever that gobbledygook means, since waivers allow money to be spent on just about every possible alternative to foster care, from primary prevention, to family preservation, to adoption, it's hard to see what is left out of the "continuum" – except, of course, even more foster care.
The whole argument is disingenuous, because the last thing CWLA wants is "comprehensive reform." What CWLA wants is "delinking" – the removal of the one small, clumsy brake that still exists on unlimited "entitlement" spending on foster care. (For details, see our report on child welfare financing.)
CWLA goes on to claim that the Subcommittee chair, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Washington) and Ranking Member John Linder (R-Georgia) "both agreed on the necessity to further evaluate and address the structural deficiencies of child welfare financing."
Well, yes. But they had somewhat different visions. While McDermott promised to introduce legislation to allow more waivers and then spent the rest of the hearing fretting about his own bill, Linder suggested that, if so many states wanted waivers from rules limiting funding to foster care, maybe the rules should just be abolished.
And maybe it's time for the relatively few reform-minded child welfare agencies, public and private, to quit CWLA and form their own association. Because it's hard to see what they're getting for their dues money now.
Posted by NATIONAL COALITION FOR CHILD PROTECTION REFORM at
http://nccpr.blogspot.com/2010/08/paying-for-foster-care-and-family.html
Paying for foster care and family preservation: How CWLA works to kill real reform
The most recent online newsletter from the Child Welfare League of America, the giant trade association for public and private agencies, makes clear how CWLA will try to oppose any real reform of how federal child welfare dollars are spent.
The newsletter included a rather odd account of a recent House subcommittee hearing, the one discussed in this previous post, concerning "waivers" which allow federal dollars normally reserved for foster care to be spent on better alternatives as well. While CWLA doesn't mind spending on better alternatives if that spending is in addition to the great gobs of money its private agency members scarf up in per diem payments for holding children in foster care, they are not about to sit idly by and risk having some of their members put out of business by reform which allows states and localities to use the money on alternatives instead of foster care.
But it's gotten harder to oppose reform as overtly, now that one great big state has switched sides. Florida has had enormous success with the only comprehensive statewide waiver allowing foster care funds to be used for better alternatives. Even the state's big private agencies have largely been won over – in part because the waiver actually prevented state budget cuts in child welfare. A lot of those agencies, and the Florida Department of Children and Families, are dues-paying members of CWLA.
So is Casey Family Programs, the multi-billion dollar foundation that also is a provider of direct services (but should not be confused with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which also provides both. Though both groups were endowed by the same family, and sometimes collaborate, they are run separately).
Just a few years ago, Casey Family Programs' CEO, William Bell would become angry at the very thought of funding child welfare the way Florida does it under its waiver. At last week's hearing, with his testimony strongly supporting waivers, he proved a primary tenet of the family preservation movement: people can change. While I would like to think the 51 hours CFP spent at this Blog and on www.nccpr.org last year alone had something to do with it, more likely it was the influence of two of the top executives Bell recruited to CFP, David Sanders, who obtained a Florida-style waiver while running the child welfare system in Los Angeles County, and David Berns, who used flexibility in state funding to reform the county-run system in El Paso County, Colorado.
CFP also is a CWLA member, and a prestigious one at that.
What's a trade association to do? What they always do in child welfare. Never say no, just "Yes, but…" it to death.
So the most recent online newsletter from CWLA characterized the hearing this way:
While some testimony strenuously maintained emphasis on the need for immediate flexibility in state use of IV-E funds through waivers, others pointed to the potential for action on waivers to delay comprehensive reform, particularly in light of the limited capacity of waivers to improve outcomes for children nationwide and to cultivate innovation across the continuum of needed child welfare services.
OK, let's stop there. First, none of the witnesses actually said waivers could "delay comprehensive reform." That may appear in written statements that groups like, say, CWLA, can submit, but none of the witnesses said it.
As for whether waivers can improve outcomes nationwide, that depends on how many are offered and how many states have the guts to accept them. The Bush administration proposed offering a Florida-style deal to every state without a cumbersome waiver progress – and CWLA, and the entire foster care-industrial complex through a fit over it. So first CWLA opposed making flexibility easily available nationwide, and now they claim waivers aren't enough – because they don't apply nationwide.
As for "cultivat[ing] innovation across the continuum of needed child welfare services" – whatever that gobbledygook means, since waivers allow money to be spent on just about every possible alternative to foster care, from primary prevention, to family preservation, to adoption, it's hard to see what is left out of the "continuum" – except, of course, even more foster care.
The whole argument is disingenuous, because the last thing CWLA wants is "comprehensive reform." What CWLA wants is "delinking" – the removal of the one small, clumsy brake that still exists on unlimited "entitlement" spending on foster care. (For details, see our report on child welfare financing.)
CWLA goes on to claim that the Subcommittee chair, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Washington) and Ranking Member John Linder (R-Georgia) "both agreed on the necessity to further evaluate and address the structural deficiencies of child welfare financing."
Well, yes. But they had somewhat different visions. While McDermott promised to introduce legislation to allow more waivers and then spent the rest of the hearing fretting about his own bill, Linder suggested that, if so many states wanted waivers from rules limiting funding to foster care, maybe the rules should just be abolished.
And maybe it's time for the relatively few reform-minded child welfare agencies, public and private, to quit CWLA and form their own association. Because it's hard to see what they're getting for their dues money now.
Posted by NATIONAL COALITION FOR CHILD PROTECTION REFORM at
http://nccpr.blogspot.com/2010/08/paying-for-foster-care-and-family.html
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Social Workers Guilty Of Fraud In Danieal Kelly Case-4 down and many more to go!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZc20nRka5Q
Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect-NH
State Statutes Results
New Hampshire
Child Abuse and Neglect
Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect
To better understand this issue and to view it across States, see the Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect: Summary of State Laws (PDF - 665 KB) publication.
Physical Abuse
Citation: Rev. Stat. § 169-C:3
Abused child means any child who has been:
Sexually abused
Intentionally physically injured
Physically injured by other than accidental means
Neglect
Citation: Rev. Stat. § 169-C:3
Neglected child means a child:
Who is without proper parental care or control, subsistence, education as required by law, or other care or control necessary for his or her physical, mental, or emotional health, when it is established that his or her health has suffered or is very likely to suffer serious impairment, and the deprivation is not due primarily to the lack of financial means of the parents, guardian, or custodian
(This is where DCYF Psychic's come in where they tell the Judge the child WILL BE "neglected in the future" and the Judge falls for it and illegally kidnaps the child.)
Whose parents, guardian, or custodian are unable to discharge their responsibilities to and for the child because of incarceration, hospitalization, or other physical or mental incapacity-
Sexual Abuse/Exploitation
Citation: Rev. Stat. § 169-C:3
Sexual abuse means the following activities under circumstances that indicate that the child's health or welfare is harmed or threatened with harm:
The employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coercion of any child to engage in or having a child assist any other person to engage in any sexually explicit conduct or any simulation of such conduct for the purpose of producing any visual depiction of such conduct
The rape, molestation, prostitution, or other form of sexual exploitation of children, or incest with children
Emotional Abuse
Citation: Rev. Stat. § 169-C:3
The term abused child includes any child who has been psychologically injured so that the child exhibits symptoms of emotional problems generally recognized to result from consistent mistreatment or neglect.
Abandonment
Citation: Rev. Stat. § 169-C:3
Abandoned means the child has been left by his or her parent, guardian, or custodian without provision for his or her care, supervision, or financial support, although his or her parent, guardian, or custodian is financially able to provide such support.
Standards for Reporting
Citation: Rev. Stat. § 169-C:329
A report is required when there is reason to suspect that a child has been abused or neglected.
Persons Responsible for the Child
Citation: Rev. Stat. § 169-C:3
A person responsible for a child's welfare includes the child's parent, guardian, or custodian, as well as the person providing out-of-home care of the child, if that person is not the parent, guardian, or custodian.
The term parent means mother, father, or adoptive parent, but the term shall not include a parent whose parent-child relationship has been terminated by judicial decree or voluntary relinquishment.
Exceptions
Citation: Rev. Stat. § 169-C:3
No child who is, in good faith, under treatment solely by spiritual means through prayer in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination by a duly accredited practitioner thereof shall, for that reason alone, be considered to be a neglected child under this chapter.
http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/state/index.cfm?event=stateStatutes.processSearch
New Hampshire
Child Abuse and Neglect
Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect
To better understand this issue and to view it across States, see the Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect: Summary of State Laws (PDF - 665 KB) publication.
Physical Abuse
Citation: Rev. Stat. § 169-C:3
Abused child means any child who has been:
Sexually abused
Intentionally physically injured
Physically injured by other than accidental means
Neglect
Citation: Rev. Stat. § 169-C:3
Neglected child means a child:
Who is without proper parental care or control, subsistence, education as required by law, or other care or control necessary for his or her physical, mental, or emotional health, when it is established that his or her health has suffered or is very likely to suffer serious impairment, and the deprivation is not due primarily to the lack of financial means of the parents, guardian, or custodian
(This is where DCYF Psychic's come in where they tell the Judge the child WILL BE "neglected in the future" and the Judge falls for it and illegally kidnaps the child.)
Whose parents, guardian, or custodian are unable to discharge their responsibilities to and for the child because of incarceration, hospitalization, or other physical or mental incapacity-
Sexual Abuse/Exploitation
Citation: Rev. Stat. § 169-C:3
Sexual abuse means the following activities under circumstances that indicate that the child's health or welfare is harmed or threatened with harm:
The employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coercion of any child to engage in or having a child assist any other person to engage in any sexually explicit conduct or any simulation of such conduct for the purpose of producing any visual depiction of such conduct
The rape, molestation, prostitution, or other form of sexual exploitation of children, or incest with children
Emotional Abuse
Citation: Rev. Stat. § 169-C:3
The term abused child includes any child who has been psychologically injured so that the child exhibits symptoms of emotional problems generally recognized to result from consistent mistreatment or neglect.
Abandonment
Citation: Rev. Stat. § 169-C:3
Abandoned means the child has been left by his or her parent, guardian, or custodian without provision for his or her care, supervision, or financial support, although his or her parent, guardian, or custodian is financially able to provide such support.
Standards for Reporting
Citation: Rev. Stat. § 169-C:329
A report is required when there is reason to suspect that a child has been abused or neglected.
Persons Responsible for the Child
Citation: Rev. Stat. § 169-C:3
A person responsible for a child's welfare includes the child's parent, guardian, or custodian, as well as the person providing out-of-home care of the child, if that person is not the parent, guardian, or custodian.
The term parent means mother, father, or adoptive parent, but the term shall not include a parent whose parent-child relationship has been terminated by judicial decree or voluntary relinquishment.
Exceptions
Citation: Rev. Stat. § 169-C:3
No child who is, in good faith, under treatment solely by spiritual means through prayer in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination by a duly accredited practitioner thereof shall, for that reason alone, be considered to be a neglected child under this chapter.
http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/state/index.cfm?event=stateStatutes.processSearch
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