PRR Reader Writes:
"Laws do need to be changed! What we really need to address is Congress in Washington D.C., and put a STOP to the federal funding that goes to DSHS for EVERY child they keep in foster care. DSHS doesn't get federal funding if that child remains with a family member. Last year alone Washington State received roughly fifteen million dollars in federal funding. That doesn't include the social security DSHS files for these kids as well. If the federal funding was in place to support family members over foster care, you would see a lot more of these kids and families preserved. It's no wonder children in foster care has increased 350% since this federal bill was passed in 1998. This bill was passed to HELP the children! NOT to help a corrupt state agency supplement their spending habits with OUR children!"
My Comment: Money is not the real motivator. $15 million is chump change in the big picture. SSI is also a chunk of change. Sure...in part it is about the industry that surrounds the agency...counseling for the mothers (usually it is the mother with a drug issue no matter how small)...counseling for the children (they are so traumatised by the removal and placement with strangers that they now need it!), the CASA program, the money and jobs associated with free attorneys for the young and often indigent mother and boyfriend, the workers who drive the child to and from visits, the court clerks, bailiffs and judges, etc. But, there is one very highly placed DSHS person who agrees with me. Money is not the issue.
11 comments:
The motivation is fear and dogma. Politicians are too afraid to tackle children, family and reproductive right issues and DSHS administration is full of true believers who feel they are not so much doing a job but rather enforcing a set of beliefs. These arnt the people not visiting their clients..these are the people who are dusting child abuse and neglect under the carpet for the good of the system. Or the people who see DSHS as a big jobs program and their employees as clients.
Dear Senator, I think we are back to having a good c.w. and supervisor on the girls` case. I guess time will tell. I do want to address something. We are the girls` family. I see where in all this mess people try to seperate the issue of family vs. foster care. I think foster care is a great thing and there are many children who have been long term in the same home and that`s where they should stay. Everybody says this but I know the girls were taken from us FOR NO REASON other than to place the 3 year old with a foster-adopt family she was promised to. That is wrong!! But I cannot stress enough that this stuff is also happening to loving foster families. I have nothing against the family that has my neice. They were lied to also. They were told the parents rights had been terminated which is not true. But she doesn`t belong with them when she was with us for 18 months and had never been harmed in any way. So many people are hurt in these situations, relatives and foster parents alike. But the kids are the ones especially damaged.
If money is not the issue then what? What could possibly motivate this kind cruelty to children and their families? Are they sociopathic? Do they actually enjoy this horror?
Finally someone who gets the whole picture,it's job security for so very many and children and families are paying the price.If the Governor really wants to save money she would do a case by case needs instead of a set of hoops every family is subjected to.
If you are in the apple business you must have apples. Or you have no business. Job security plays a lot in part of the madness. I think that money does play some role. Government is known for things such as $400.00 toilet seats. To keep things going even chump change helps
yes, you are right on the mark with the industry that surrounds this agency. BUT...money does play a big part. Does anybody know how many kids are in foster care in Washington? Lets say we have 20 thousand kids,(actually it's more like 30 something) DSHS files for s.s. for these kids, which is roughly $500.00 per kid. Thats 10 million dollars per month! 120 million per year, add the 15 million for federal funding and that equals 135 million dollars per year! I wish I had that kind of chump change. I do understand what you are saying about the industry that surrounds dshs, but you don't need to lie and steal children from good families. There are enough bad people out there as it is. Perfect example: The Stuth case. You seem to have gotten to know this family very well haven't you? can you explain any other reason why... other than to feed the attorneys, casa's etc. etc.... And if this is the driving force that propels dshs to steal these children from good families, how do you change it? Look at all the jobs it creates, look at all the money it brings into our economy. look at all the broken hearted children and families..... who cares, we're making jobs and money. Senator, I think you are the greatest! This state needs more senators like you. But how do we change it? or can we? Congrats on little Hannah! Best wishes.
Dear Senator Roach,
Boy you are so good at leaving us all in suspense.
If money is not the motivation, dear Senator tell us what is?
I don't think one thing or another can be THE explaination. There is the job factor, the money factor, the economic philosophy and social control factor, and the fact that some children really are abused.
It is about the state's view of themselves as parens patriae and what that role consists of. It is about trend setting and the sheep following those trends without much thought to the cause and effects. It is about the difficulty of setting up an ethical public policy that works and it fair.
It is also about training in places like Yale, a toxic waste of dangerous information that has been embraced by world leaders.
Why, WHY would our government support a drug dealing Marxist leader like Chavez unless there are a great deal of dirty hands in the pot? How does that roll over into family preservation and/or destruction? How do sociopathic world leaders view the family? As a threat or an asset? I think everyone needs to stop having kids until this gets straightened out.
Jan Smith
Dear Senator Roach, I have a solution to this. You are already trying to correct the wrongdoing. I believe the only way the children of our state have a chance is if you become the next Governor.
Senator Roach
I agree that it will take a person to run for Governor to fix this mess; including working for the families who have already been ripped apart. Even if the situation with CPS improves; it is the toll that has already taken place on people that needs to be addressed. I just might consider running for office someday.
I do not agree that if a child has been with a foster family for a long time that is where they should stay. Absolutely not, for example: we are forgetting as to why a baby was taken for in the first place? Could that baby have gone to a relative out of state? If so, obviously this would not happen right away or should have that happened and would it? Please remember that while you may think that your child or baby was taken for no reason other families feel the same way! That is what you have to remember and always think of the reason first before anybody should make claims to other people's children. The length of time with a foster family does not matter if there was no good reason in the first place and there was no good reason why these children could have been placed with a relative!
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