A national report published Tuesday finds that 57,000 of the 400,000 American children in the child welfare system live in group homes.
The ‘Every Kid Needs a Family” report, put out by the Anne E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count research group, emphasizes the importance of making sure children who do fall into state care eventually find a real home and real family.
The Dispatch reported in October 2014 that there were more than 4,500 foster children in the custody of the state of Mississippi.
The Kids Count report stated that in 2013, 15 percent of Mississippi’s foster children were in group homes. The national average for group home residence is 14 percent.
Managing the wardens of the state is a daunting task not for the faint of heart, said Iris Joiner the Region IV director for the Mississippi Department of Human Services. Joiner’s region covers nine counties, including the Golden Triangle. She told The Dispatch there are 194 wardens of the state in Region IV, about 15 of whom live in group homes.
The Kids Count report found that nationwide 40 percent of those in group homes did not have the behavioral challenges normally necessary to be assigned there. The report calls for: An expansion of government services towards foster children to provide more mental health therapy; the recruitment of more relatives and foster families with an emphasis on placing children with family whenever possible; and to support decision making that ensures the least restrictive placement of children that prioritizes putting them with relatives and providing justification when they cannot.
“Systemic changes coupled with adequate resources are key in setting children’s safety and well-being on a steady course for improving children’s outcomes,” said Dr. Linda Southward, Director of Mississippi Kids Count. “The importance of high quality out-of-home placements and a well-trained child welfare workforce cannot be overstated. These are some of our state’s most vulnerable children who are at greatest risk, but also have great potential for becoming productive citizens if Mississippi can provide stable, secure and safe environments for them.”
‘We definitely need more resource parents’
Joiner said the first thing her agency does when someone is named a ward of the state is look for family members who can take them and get them certified as foster parents.
“All of our children have to be in licensed foster homes, so relatives must go through that process as well,” Joiner said.
For relatives, the state expedites the process so it can be completed in 30-90 days, Joiner said. For non-relatives seeking to become foster parents, known as “resource parents”, the process of certification and background checks can take three to four months.
“If no relatives are available, we recruit resource and adoptive families,”Joiner said. “We definitely need more resource parents.”
The ultimate goal is always reunification with the parents. But that is not always easy. Joiner said the state gets children as young as a few days old to 17 year olds on the verge of adulthood. The older the children, the more likely they are to have behavioral struggles with adjustment and anger. Joiner, who has been with the agency 18 years, said the behavior depends on the severity of the abuse the children received.
“It’s very hard to see a lot of what we see,” Joiner said.
Heading in right direction
Conditions in the state have improved for foster children in the past decade, with more moving into homes with relatives and fewer in groups. Southward said that in 2003, 29 percent of Mississippi foster children lived in a group home or institution compared to 15 percent today.
“Where children are placed really makes a difference,” Southward said.
Joiner echoed the thoughts, saying children who are placed with some form of relative have an easier time adjusting.
“We have an obligation to help all of our kids succeed,” said Patrick McCarthy, president and CEO of the Casey Foundation. “If our children couldn’t live with us, we would want them to live with someone close to us – and if that couldn’t happen, with a caring foster family who could provide them with as normal a life as possible during a turbulent time. This report shows more kids can live safely in families and get the nurturing they need while under the care and protection of our child welfare systems.”
Joiner said the child welfare system often does not get the attention it merits, something that has frustrated her during her career. She said there have long been misconceptions that child welfare wants to take children from their parents, when really they strive to unite them under better circumstances.
“What we need the most for our agency is support,” she said.
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