Fern5827
October 1st 03, 10:28 PM
Subject: *Perverse incentives* can't keep kids based on bucks/head
From: (Fern5827)
Date: 9/30/2003 2:18 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Message-id: >
Kids rushed into Foster Care too soon. Says California.
Los Angeles Daily News
Study: Kids rushed into foster system
By Troy Anderson
Staff Writer
Monday, September 29, 2003 - Too many children have been unnecessarily placed
in foster care because of a "perverse financial incentive" that encourages
local governments to earn money by bringing youngsters into the system, a new
state report says.
The study by the California Department of Social Services also says too much
emphasis has been placed on investigating whether parents abused or neglected
their children while not enough has been done to help families overcome their
problems.
"Over a period of years, the original vision for supporting and healing
families through the child welfare system has deteriorated into an adversarial
and coercive approach," DSS Director Rita Saenz said.
David Sanders, who took over in March as head of the troubled Los Angeles
County Department of Children and Family Services, said experts have estimated
that as many as half of the county's foster children could have been left in
their parents' care if the appropriate services had been provided.
A study by a child welfare think tank released earlier this year found that the
government spends an average of $65,000 to $85,000 a year to house and educate
a foster child in a group home.
The total costs are staggering, authors of the report wrote, noting that the
direct costs of child abuse and neglect nationwide are estimated at $25 billion
a year while indirect costs such as juvenile delinquency, adult criminality and
lost productivity to society total $95 billion.
In response, the Child Welfare Services Stakeholders Group, a body of 60
child-welfare experts formed by Gov. Gray Davis in 2000, has proposed an
"ambitious and far-reaching overhaul" of the state's child-welfare system.
Andrew Bridge, managing director of child-welfare reform programs at The Broad
Foundation in Los Angeles, said one of the most basic problems with the system
is restrictions that provide money only when a child enters foster care.
"The county will only continue to receive funding for the period it keeps the
child in its care. You can't run a system that is based on a buck-a-head for as
long as you can keep the child," Bridge said.
The state report said California has 13 percent of the nation's total child
population and 20 percent of its foster children.
More than 700,000 children come into contact with the child-welfare system
annually statewide. About 77 percent of those in foster care were removed from
their homes for neglect.
In Los Angeles County, more than 160,000 children came into contact with the
system last year. Nearly 80 percent were involved because of neglect.
More than 91,000 children are in foster homes statewide. In the county, the
$1.4 billion DCFS budget pays to provide services to 75,000 children in the
system or living in adoptive homes. Of those, nearly 30,000 actually live in
foster homes.
The stakeholders' report recommends the Department of Social Services seek
approval from the federal government for more flexible use of its $3.7 billion
annual child-welfare budget so more money can be spent on services to help keep
families together. Congress is expected to take up legislation next year
dealing with reforms in how the system is funded.
The stakeholders also recommended that the state improve its method of
contracting with public and private foster care agencies.
Of the county's 30,000 children in foster homes, an average of 6 percent to 7
percent are abused and neglected, a rate among the highest in the nation.
"The safety issue is such a big one," Sanders said. "Los Angeles County is way
out of line with the rest of the country. You just have kids who are being
abused after we have supposedly put them in a safer environment."
Janis Spire, executive director of the Alliance for Children's Rights in Los
Angeles, said the report outlines the "only realistic path toward achieving
stable, secure homes for our children."
"The toughest job is still ahead in terms of providing a step-by-step plan for
achieving these goals," Spire said.
Troy Anderson, (213) 974-8985
From: (Fern5827)
Date: 9/30/2003 2:18 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Message-id: >
Kids rushed into Foster Care too soon. Says California.
Los Angeles Daily News
Study: Kids rushed into foster system
By Troy Anderson
Staff Writer
Monday, September 29, 2003 - Too many children have been unnecessarily placed
in foster care because of a "perverse financial incentive" that encourages
local governments to earn money by bringing youngsters into the system, a new
state report says.
The study by the California Department of Social Services also says too much
emphasis has been placed on investigating whether parents abused or neglected
their children while not enough has been done to help families overcome their
problems.
"Over a period of years, the original vision for supporting and healing
families through the child welfare system has deteriorated into an adversarial
and coercive approach," DSS Director Rita Saenz said.
David Sanders, who took over in March as head of the troubled Los Angeles
County Department of Children and Family Services, said experts have estimated
that as many as half of the county's foster children could have been left in
their parents' care if the appropriate services had been provided.
A study by a child welfare think tank released earlier this year found that the
government spends an average of $65,000 to $85,000 a year to house and educate
a foster child in a group home.
The total costs are staggering, authors of the report wrote, noting that the
direct costs of child abuse and neglect nationwide are estimated at $25 billion
a year while indirect costs such as juvenile delinquency, adult criminality and
lost productivity to society total $95 billion.
In response, the Child Welfare Services Stakeholders Group, a body of 60
child-welfare experts formed by Gov. Gray Davis in 2000, has proposed an
"ambitious and far-reaching overhaul" of the state's child-welfare system.
Andrew Bridge, managing director of child-welfare reform programs at The Broad
Foundation in Los Angeles, said one of the most basic problems with the system
is restrictions that provide money only when a child enters foster care.
"The county will only continue to receive funding for the period it keeps the
child in its care. You can't run a system that is based on a buck-a-head for as
long as you can keep the child," Bridge said.
The state report said California has 13 percent of the nation's total child
population and 20 percent of its foster children.
More than 700,000 children come into contact with the child-welfare system
annually statewide. About 77 percent of those in foster care were removed from
their homes for neglect.
In Los Angeles County, more than 160,000 children came into contact with the
system last year. Nearly 80 percent were involved because of neglect.
More than 91,000 children are in foster homes statewide. In the county, the
$1.4 billion DCFS budget pays to provide services to 75,000 children in the
system or living in adoptive homes. Of those, nearly 30,000 actually live in
foster homes.
The stakeholders' report recommends the Department of Social Services seek
approval from the federal government for more flexible use of its $3.7 billion
annual child-welfare budget so more money can be spent on services to help keep
families together. Congress is expected to take up legislation next year
dealing with reforms in how the system is funded.
The stakeholders also recommended that the state improve its method of
contracting with public and private foster care agencies.
Of the county's 30,000 children in foster homes, an average of 6 percent to 7
percent are abused and neglected, a rate among the highest in the nation.
"The safety issue is such a big one," Sanders said. "Los Angeles County is way
out of line with the rest of the country. You just have kids who are being
abused after we have supposedly put them in a safer environment."
Janis Spire, executive director of the Alliance for Children's Rights in Los
Angeles, said the report outlines the "only realistic path toward achieving
stable, secure homes for our children."
"The toughest job is still ahead in terms of providing a step-by-step plan for
achieving these goals," Spire said.
Troy Anderson, (213) 974-8985