Why and how? I wrote this article explaining how I felt:
Too Many children left behind. Please see what I offer as a soultion to help with these issues.
"Did you know that Foster/Adopt Parents don't do counseling before they take a child in? Foster/Adopt Parents don't take a psychological test either.
I have noticed that in the data banks that there are still over 10 thousand children waiting for adoption and all over the age of 5 for the past two years plus (Texas). With this I have noticed several sites of people pursuing to adopt babies but not older children. I find this discouraging that so many people that can not have children of their own by natural ways do not choose to take on a child in the system over the age of 5. I have found many of these children suffer from severe Detachment and Emotional damage, yet the State provides no constant intensive Emotional Health services. The children at best see a therapist once a or twice a month which doesn't resolve their abandoment issues nor their anger and hurt issues of being placed not in just one home but several homes over the course of a year. I have first hand knowledge these kids are left in ophanages for a few months than transfered to a home than in a couple months later transferred again. They have no
stability nor any Emotional help to deal with the dramatic changes in their lives. At these times these children show signs of either complete withdrawn or complete abusive natures. Than alot of them age out of the system and don't thrive to become caring productive emotional stable adults. More than half of the girls end up pregant and living with abusive partners. More than half of most of these children end up on the streets or jail. In order for better outcomes and futures for these kids we must stop the constant cycle of rolling them over to new foster homes all the time. Most of the children with siblings don't or to far away to see their siblings. This is a shame because the only bond these kids have left is severed due to lack of good Foster Parents. I encourage Foster Parenting but doing a basic backround check, some classes and a home study doesn't rectify the problem. These Foster Parents need not take kids in hopes of getting a young child to raise as
their own. These Foster Parents like natural parents should be in Counseling sessions to insure they have the mentality and good emotional health to truely understand that if they take these kids that are awaiting for Adoption can be theirs with alot of hard work in participating in Emotional COunseling before and after the child is placed with them until the child's symptons of oppression or aggression are resolved in order to gain a bond to help keep the children placed in on place and possibly adopted by that Foster Family.
This is where our system is Failing Children. They place the kids in where they can but the matches are not always to the children's needs unless it's the needs of phyisical. Than these Foster/Adopt Parents tend to these kids with no clue what is wrong with them, because CPS never gives them the gist of the problems prior to removals or termination. CPS doesn't give much history on these children from the family, schools, parents, nor any other source of these kids past. The kids come in as vicitims but have learned from their "abusers" how to react or act on different forms of abuse but counseling is never given extensively to help curve what these child have learned from their former environments. With this these children get around other children just like them and the destructive behavior of these kids is encouraged by their peers with like problems. Thus these kids never stop the cycle and as adults repeat or become worse than their "abusers." First thing taught
in Child Psychology is that Children Model and repeat everything they hear and see. So if bad behavior is being reinforced by the abuser for many years, than an other child is helping reinforce bad behavior, as possibly well as a Foster/Adopt parent (knowing they don't do couseling or any testing prior to becoming Surgorate) end up encouraging bad behavior, and the child has no stablity with one home for more than 2 years with only a couple counseling sessions if that to help with behavior than EVERY CHILD IN FOSTER CARE is going to FAIL in adulthood. Not just that most children in Foster Care stop Thriving.
Yes, Family placement would be nice but CPS doesn't always want to do that so they don't really search. Sorry it's the Truth. Some kids come from homes that had minor problems but CPS had the judges convinced the Parent was ill prepared to take the child home so Termination was granted after 12 months. Than there's The incentive of keeping their jobs because as of 2011 these Caseworkers will have no job because it is going to private sector and they aren't going with it. Than there's the financial bonus to get kids adopted. Well, getting termination is easy in Texas so many judges love thinking they are protecting children by doing this.,but getting adopted for children over 5 is a curse to these kids.
Why can't we get more Funding, not for Adoption or Foster Care, but for more intensive Family based Services for children of different severities of problems? Such as all Services provided to Parents in both Removal and Family based are the same. Why can't we tailor these services for Family based services with more intensive services of 2 to 3 times a week counseling with children and children by themselves. Parenting Aids in homes twice a week. A big brother/big Sister outreach program required to do by these families to put more intervention in to see problems of parenting and for the kids to have someone who they can focus on when there are more than on child in the house.
My goal is to put these into effect. We have a request going through to push a 1 year program for Nurses to assist low income/single parent families for the first year of an infants life to help prevent homelessness, abortions, joblessness, malnurishement, and fatalities of infants by the Pro-Life organization in Houston. I believe an half an ounce of prevention leads to a pound of cure.
I believe my suggestions are Prevention with some needed immediate Cure." "I found, from information provided by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, in Fiscal 2003, 30 foster children died in our state's care; in Fiscal 2004, 38 foster children died; and in Fiscal 2005, 48 foster children died.
"Data shows that while the number of foster children in our state's care increased 24 percent from 26,133 in Fiscal 2003 to 32,474 in Fiscal 2005, the number of deaths increased 60 percent."-Caroly Keeton Strayhorn
I am one of those parents fighting a Termination of Parental Rights Hearing in two months. The laws in Texas make it one of the most difficult states in the United states to termnate a parents rights. Granted some Judges play loose with the laws, but as a whole it is very difficult to terminate a parents rights in Texas. As for counseling children in Texas can receive daily therapy depending on what is called their Service Level. Most children do not need that level of intense counseling. The system is only as good as the individual caseworkes and foster parents working with the parents. As to the privitization of CPS that looks to be prety much dead in the water now. i fell asleep=sorry. All state have CPS -By The Way. You seem to have put a lot of thought into the flaws of the Foster Care system. The problem is lack of money from the government and also difficulty finding people who want to be foster parents. I am not familiar with all the details involved in becoming a foster parent, but I do know they go through training as well as having background checks and home studies. However, I'd like to address your comment about being a parent facing termination of your parental rights. Normally when CPS removes a child from your home they work with you to establish a plan to reunite you with your children. As long as you are following the plan's requirements they don't normally terminate parental rights. If you can prove to the judge that you have met the requirements you should be able to get your children back. I completely agree there should be more intensive and ongoing work with the family before (and after if it comes to that) the child/children are removed. Bureaucracy is bad but in the case of family issues such as this the state totally botches the job and it is no light matter.
Work on your sentence structure and spelling a bit. It is a reflection of your thought processes and how you conduct yourself in life.
Good Luck with the hearing! I'm positive you are an adequate and loving parent :) |
