Foster Children - Not Finding a Foster Child's Relatives May Open a New Door

The goal of foster care agencies is to get children out of the system as soon as possible. Foster care statistics show that about half of the foster children removed from their parents end up going back to them after they have received counseling on how to be better parents. For those foster kids who aren't returned to their parents, agencies work to locate adult family members to give these children a forever home. Sometimes another door is opened to help these foster youth.

A case worker with the Durham County Department of Social Services presented our organization with a case where a foster child's birth father was known to be living in Mexico. Cases where one parent lives outside the U.S. are not unusual for us although more often we tend to get cases where a grandparent, uncle or aunt is being sought.

Parents are interviewed as their children enter the foster care system. Sometimes a parent will be uncooperative. Both mothers and fathers have been known to resist offering any information that would help agencies locate the other birth parent. In our experience, mothers are generally the ones that will withhold details about the birth father. We're not going to go into the reasons given by a parent for this lack of cooperation because the one important point is that the children are the ones who end up getting hurt.





Keep in mind that if a foster child isn't returned to their parent(s), it's usually for very good reasons. The parent is now in prison. The parent is a habitual criminal whose lifestyle puts their children at risk on a daily basis. The parent is mentally or emotionally unstable or completely apathetic about their responsibilities again placing their children at risk.


Due to confidentiality, we can only say that the case worker handling this matter had insufficient details about the birth father. Despite the image portrayed in spy shows and movies that government agencies see all and record all, there are still serious limitations to how this plays out in real life including foster youth cases.




(If you are at work, turn down your speakers.)


Our organization provided a report "detailing the information that would be necessary so that a potentially successful family finding effort could be conducted to locate this parent in Mexico." Anthony Poole, the case worker for the foster child, added:

"Unfortunately, we have not been able to obtain any additional details to aid your organization in this case. We appreciate the report that you provided us showing that without further assistance from the child’s mother, no successful family finding can be conducted."

There is still good news even though this foster child's adult relatives cannot be found. Many foster youth spend years in the system because a path was not available for the court or social services to pursue another option. Before an adoption can be initiated, case workers are often court mandated to do everything possible to find and notify a parent.

Our foster youth findings have been accepted by courts across the country as evidence of a thorough effort on the part of agencies to locate a foster child's family members still living in Mexico. By the county coming to us and receiving our report that concluded that no search could be conducted, the agency is now free to ask the court to open the way to adoption.


Everyone wants to see foster kids leave the system sooner than later. Many will go back to the parents they love. Some will stay in foster care and age out. A small percentage will run away while many others will be adopted. Hopefully this child will soon be in a forever home with loving, caring foster parents in part because of our donor-supported foster youth services.

Now let's talk about our next case.

Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

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Foster Kids - Finding Family Key to Happiness

 

One of the best, proven ways to help foster kids is by finding their adult family members.

Several studies reveal that these children are happier and healthier. They do much better in school and have a higher rate of graduating high school than foster teens who are placed with non-family members.

By achieving a higher educational level, these children do better getting and keeping a job. Many foster youth who age out without any family support struggle to get or maintain a job often leading to homelessness.

Although there is no one solution, finding family members and reconnecting these foster children with their relatives is a proven strategy that can change a foster kid's life and give them the family support and nurturing they need to grow into healthy adults.

Do it for the children,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

PS. Share your thoughts and ideas below and share this post with others.

Get a PDF copy of this blog on how to give a foster kid a happier, healthier life.

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Foster Children's Relatives Still Shorted by California

Recently in our blog "California Foster Children Costly for Relatives", we talked about the disparity in the amount that family members or "relatives placement" get paid for caring for a foster kid versus that of non-relatives or "foster placement." California just had a budget debate to determine what to do with a $4.7 billion windfall.

Many foster youth organizations submitted proposals including increasing the amount that relative placement are paid. Unfortunately, this proposal along with others was not taken up.

Once again, no proposals were submitted by county agencies to increase funding for efforts to locate foster children's relatives still living in Mexico despite research by the California Permanency for Youth Project that showed significant saving by placing foster kids in a home.

The report concluded that: 

"Over $200,000 a month could be saved if only 37 youth were placed, resulting in millions in annual savings. The calculations provide solid cost justification for permanency programs, aside from the immeasurable benefits that come from providing youth with homes.”

So for now, caring family members such as Cecilia Escamilla-Greenwald, who took in two related foster youth, will have to continue to care for these kids with their $351 monthly allowance. Additionally, thousands of foster teens are at risk of aging out with no family support because a few hundred dollars were not invested to locate family members.

Maybe it's time California got a new accountant because somehow the numbers just don't add up, and foster children are left suffering.

Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

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Foster Youth Savings Through Relative Placement Can Equal Millions

Since 2008, most state agencies have bemoaned their slashed budgets and the growing cost to maintain services. A case in point is the $7.2 billion bill to taxpayers for social services for foster teens who age out. This estimated cost is based on the 24,000 foster children who aged out in 2013 and the social services they will incur over their lifetime. However, millions in tax dollars could be saved while much more is done to help foster youth.

One financial impact area is the placement of foster children. Once a child comes into foster care, the clock starts ticking for the social services agency to locate family members. The hope is for "relative placement," having a foster child cared for by a relative. The alternative is "foster placement," where the child goes to live with non-relatives. The difference in cost for placement can result in millions of dollars in savings for a state.

California presently pays $820 a month to a foster placement parent while allocating only $351 a month to a relative placement such as a grandparent of the foster kid. The difference in payments is $469.

For now we'll overlook the numerous studies that highlight that foster youth do much better when living with a family member or the glaring disparity in payments. Instead let's focus on the potentially large savings.

When one takes this difference in foster care payments, in this case $469, and multiplies it by each foster child, the savings are huge. California had 81,174 foster kids as of 2009. If each child had been in relative placement compared to foster placement, California would have had an extra $38 million to spend on supporting the economy, benefiting businesses and improving foster care services.

These savings are based on a perfect scenario and can never be fully realized. However, it should be clear that for the benefit of foster youth, taxpayers and the state, foster care agencies must have a goal to find family members so that whenever possible, foster kids are placed with relatives. To help ensure that as many foster children as possible are in relative placement, agencies must do their utmost to search out family members including those who still live in Mexico.

There's no denying that every state budget and agency took a hard hit because of the recession. However, instead of looking back, foster care agencies need to look for solutions that will allow for more and better care of foster children while saving millions in taxpayer dollars. It's time for the public to demand more from foster care agencies; otherwise, they will continue to waste resources while leaving foster youth with dismal futures and taxpayers with billion dollar tabs.

Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

PS. Like and follow us on Facebook for more information about foster teens.

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Foster Children Impact San Diego Businesses

San Diego Business Owner

We all know that companies are in the business of making money. Without profits, a business won't last too long. With all the activities of marketing, sales and operations, it's easy for companies to overlook other costs that can and do impact their bottom line as well as opportunities to generate more sales and profits.

A commentary in San Diego's The Daily Transcript provides more shocking statistics about foster kids and touches on their financial impact on businesses. "On any given day, 3,500 children are living in foster care in San Diego County. Some children enter the foster care system and... never leave until they come of age."

The cost to support one foster child in California for the average stay of three years is $190,000. That's tax dollars at work including those of companies. The commentary hits on several costs that impact businesses, both in California and nationally.

"The cost of supporting foster children carries through into adulthood, which means increased social services. Unfortunately, crime is a byproduct of foster care, as is an uneducated workforce, due to the poor academic performance and dropout rate correlated with foster children."

By the way, that cost for increased social services has been estimated to be $300,000 over the lifetime of just one foster youth. Reports say that nationally 24,000 foster teens age out each year. Crunching the numbers taxpayers will pay a staggering $7.2 billion. Next year, 24,000 more foster kids will age out for another hit of $7.2 billion.

Let's put this amount into perspective.

2014 budget: $2.8 billion 2014 budget: $4.1 billion

The cost to communities and businesses for the 24,000 foster kids who aged out in 2013 is more than the 2014 budgets for both San Diego and Houston with a combined population of 3,272,122.

The commentary gives many suggestions as to how businesses can support children while in foster care and once they age out. However, one critical activity was omitted, that of supporting efforts to find family members of foster youths.

Several studies reveal that foster kids do better when they are connected with family members whether a grandparent, aunt or adult sibling. Many of these children can be reunited with a birth parent who was not responsible for the child being placed in foster care.

The solution to helping foster children is not to simply feel sadness or pity for them. Businesses can and should take an active role in helping these children. Not only will these kids benefit greatly by the effort, but savvy companies can promote their efforts to develop and increase goodwill with consumers in the community.

Business involvement can help reduce criminal activity committed by aged out foster youth. Otherwise, companies can lose financially by having to pay for expensive security products, systems and personnel, increased insurance rates and the direct cost of vandalism and theft.

Businesses could do much worse that to help foster children and create a win-win for everyone.

Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

PS. Like and follow us on Facebook for more information about foster teens.

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