Number of American Indian children in foster care worries tribal leaders - Minnesota

by Sasha Aslanian

St. Paul, Minn. — Each year about 1,500 American Indian children in Minnesota spend time in foster care or other out-of-home-care, often after allegations of neglect or substance abuse by a parent.

In Minnesota, American Indian children are 14 times more likely to be placed in out-of-home care than white children - the widest such gap in the nation. Officials place 66 percent of the children with relatives or with American Indian foster families.

Even as the total number of Minnesota children in foster care dropped 44 percent in the last decade, the number of American Indian children placed in foster care dropped by only 16 percent.

That worries tribal officials like Erma Vizenor, chairwoman of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe. She said the tribes should be able to determine which of their families need intervention, and what kind.

"When we do not have the decision making and the authority and the control to determine what is best for them, it has become a major concern," Vizenor said.

Aiming to reduce the break-up of Indian families, the White Earth and the Leech Lake band of Ojibwe have taken over responsibility for child welfare on tribal lands. Now the White Earth, Minnesota's largest tribe, is now preparing to care for its children living hundreds of miles away in Hennepin County.

High poverty among American Indian families makes it more difficult to meet a child's basic needs, but that doesn't completely explain why Indian children are much more likely to be removed from their parents' care.

The tribes have questioned whether racial bias is a factor in such decisions, and they've worked with state officials to develop training for county workers to reduce bias in deciding which cases to investigate. The training also seeks to help outsiders understand the traditional role extended families play in raising Indian children.

Dawn Blanchard, the state's ombudsperson for American Indian Families, said removing American Indian children from their homes is "a daily reality."

Blanchard sorts cases into those she can solve over the phone, and those that require an investigation. She reports wide variation in how well counties follow a federal law designed to keep Indian children with other family members, or to at least place them with an Indian foster family.

Blanchard said the most common complaints she handles are disagreements between county social workers and tribes over where children should go.

"The tribe will say we want them to go to Aunt Betty and the county will say, 'we have problems with Aunt Betty. We think that she's not a good person,' " Blanchard said. "Maybe she's too old. 'We've heard' — that's a big one 'we've heard that she's drinking.' Is it substantiated? Do we know for sure if she has a history of drinking or was it 10 or 15 years ago and she's cleaned up her life now?"

Representatives of Minnesota's 11 tribes were so concerned that the needs of their children were not adequately addressed that late last year they sent letters to then-Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Gov.-elect Mark Dayton requesting immediate action to address the problem.

White Earth tribal officials want to take on responsibility for the tribe's children in Hennepin County, hundreds of miles south of the reservation. White Earth children make up a quarter of Hennepin County's American Indian caseload, or about 2 percent of the county's overall cases.

Margaret Thunder, a program manager for Hennepin County child protection, is enthusiastic about the tribe's effort.

"I think it's a huge deal," said Thunder, a member of the Red Lake band of Ojibwe. "They will have 100-percent say. Not that they don't already have a fair percent."

Tribes do have a seat at the table in child protection cases.

The 1978 federal Indian Child Welfare Act requires tribes be notified and involved in decision-making for their children. Hennepin County, with its large urban Indian population, has a high volume of these cases. The county gets high marks for complying with the act, and that's one of the reasons White Earth officials believe addressing the needs of the tribe's children there is a next logical step.

Transferring such cases to the tribe would give it complete control over American Indian cases such as a recent one heard in juvenile court.

Four children, ages 4, 2, 1 and one month, were placed in emergency foster care following reports that their parents were abusing drugs and neglecting the children. The parents didn't show up for the court hearing. Their father is a member of the White Earth band and their mother is enrolled in the Ho-Chunk Nation in Wisconsin.

"Her current address is technically St. Joseph's hospital where the treatment center was," said Mike Hogan, a courtroom monitor for the Minneapolis American Indian Center. "No one's quite sure where she is, even her attorney."

A Ho-Chunk attorney who joined the hearing by speaker phone said the tribe would prepare a list of relatives who could care for the children. White Earth officials agreed to let the mother's tribe take the lead, but they agreed to compile a list of paternal relatives.

A guardian ad litem said the children were doing well under the care of their foster care families.

Hogan's boss, Sheri Riemers, said the embrace of extended families offers the most hopeful outcome for children in such tough situations.

"We do believe when children are removed that their spirit is left behind," said Riemers, program director of Indian Child Welfare for the Minneapolis American Indian Center.

Other tribes around the state and around the country are watching closely.

Erin Sullivan Sutton, assistant commissioner of the state Department of Human Services, said she is not aware of another state transferring public child welfare from a state or county to a tribal system. But there are good reasons to do so, said Sutton, the state's point person on child welfare.

"We're thinking that if services can be provided in a cultural context to Indian families and by tribal agencies that there may be more success," she said.

For state and tribal officials success won't mean eliminating out-of-home placements. There will always be children who need to be removed from unsafe situations, but they hope more tribal involvement will reduce the disparate treatment of American Indian children.

Vizenor said the Hennepin County program could be the beginning of an ambitious venture to expand care for children living off the reservation.

"Without a doubt, I know we will be successful and gradually, we will phase in the metro area and eventually all our children in the state of Minnesota," she said.

White Earth and the state will present a report to the legislature in January. The timeline for the Hennepin County transfer, and the costs, are still to be determined.

Source http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/11/30/american-indian-children-foster-care/

Unprecedented: N.J. judges find foster parents have no say in child placement

Blog authors note:
Finally, it's about time! Most blood relatives have no say in these kangaroo courts so why do foster parents get a say in them? They are just glorified babysitters for the state kidnappers! Hopefully, this will carry over to all states. Then it would be nice if they would allow legal blood relatives to chime in about placement - that is when the best interests of the child will truly be served. Blood families should never be replaced if they are willing and capable of providing everything necessary for the child.
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By Jerry DeMarco

The hearts of New Jersey foster parents are in the right place, but that doesn’t give them a say in placement hearings, a state appeals court has ruled in an unprecedented decision stemming from a Hudson County case.

The “resource parents,” as parents are called in the state’s courts, have “no independent legal interest” when a judge is weighing where to place youngsters from troubled situations, the Appellate Division determined. That responsibility belongs to a law guardian appointed by DYFS.

"The importance of the essential role of resource parents in the child placement arena is unquestioned," Judge Marie Lihotz wrote. "However, the legal rights of such caregivers in securing an undisturbed relationship with a child placed in their home [are] very limited."

The decision was brought on by a Hudson County judge’s refusal to allow two foster parents a say in a hearing that removed a child from her drug-addicted parents and placed the girl with her aunt.

The youngster, now 2, was born on July 16, 2009 with cocaine and other drugs in her system, which put her into a hospital for six weeks. She ended up with the foster parents while DYFS moved to remove her parents’ biological rights.

The foster parents requested "full participation" in proceedings aimed at final placement of the girl, calling themselves "indispensible parties" and "psychological parents."

They said they had plenty of information to share, wanted to review expert reports produced by DYFS and requested they be allowed to retain their own expert. They also gave the judge statements from a pediatrician.

Superior Court Judge Marilyn Foti in Jersey City allowed them to speak, and to attend various hearings, but said their participation ended there. Their testimony couldn’t carry any weight in the ultimate decision, in which the girl was taken from them on April 21. 2011, Foti ruled.

They appealed.

The appeals judges backed Foti, saying the foster parents “should be given the opportunity to let the judge know their wishes during the best-interests hearing.” They noted that "Foti evaluated the competence, sensitivity, patience, responsiveness and devotion of all possible caregivers."

They even went so far as to say that it would hurt the girl somewhat to be removed "from the loving care" of the foster parents.

In the end, however, the appeals judges said Foti "properly balanced the evidence of all necessary considerations and was not merely a preference for a relative placement over care by her resource parents."

What's more, they said, DYFS clearly spells out in its contract that foster parents don’t have the legal right to seek adoption.

The foster parents "opened their home" to the girl, identified in court papers as V.B., "who then stole their hearts," the judges wrote.

"The protective services system values adults like [them], who have optimally fulfilled their role as resource parents. The commitment, care, sacrifice and unconditional love [they] nobly conferred on V.B. will forever alter the course of her life. Nevertheless, the emotional ties that unavoidably developed neither result in psychological parent status nor otherwise confer an interest permitting standing to intervene in a interests hearing."

Source http://www.cliffviewpilot.com/hudson/2981-unprecedented-nj-judges-find-foster-parents-have-no-say-in-child-placement

Oregon Child Abuse Cases Drop Dramatically in Lane County

By Stacia Kalinoski

EUGENE, Ore. -- After increasing in 2010, child abuse cases in Lane County have dropped dramatically this year.

So far, thirty percent fewer children have been taken into the state's care.

DHS District Manager John Radich attributes that to places like Willamette Family, which is considered an in-home service.

Last year, the state reallocated money for in-home services, so kids didn't have to straight to foster care.

To fund those agencies, Radich says the state took money away from parenting classes.

Radich says parenting classes don't do much good if the kids are in foster care.

But with in-home services, parents get parenting advice, treatment and can stay with their children all at the same time.

Holding her six-week-old baby girl is something Nikia Modrell may not have been able to do, if she was in this position a year ago.

"I would probably still be out on the streets," Modrell said.

And her baby would be in foster care. But thanks to more state funding for in-home services, Nikia is living in a home setting, at Willamette Family in Eugene.

It's a health, wellness, and drug recovery agency.

She can take care of her baby and get treatment for drug abuse at the same time.

"Being able to bond with my newborn is really important and if we were seperated we wouldn't be able to do that," she said.

"The more we can keep the parents connected and involved with the kids, I think the better chance we have of them addressing their issues and behaviors they need to change," said Radich.

"We look at attachment and bonding, we don't want to interupt that process," said Chris Sterling, Oregon Child Protective Service worker.

Sterling says more support from relatives is also a reason for the decline, and so far, the theories seems to be working. In 2010, petitions to have children placed under state custody rose 15 percent in Lane County.

Now?

"Twenty to 30 percent less than we had a year ago. I'm a little surprised our numbers are down this much based on the economy," said Radich.

The numbers are now back to where they were before the economy tanked, in 2007.

Last year, DHS had 60 child abuse cases a month in Lane County.

So far this year, it's 40.

Nikia is grateful to be part of this year's success rate.

I'm learning how to be clean and sober. It's everything that I've needed," she said.

Radich says DHS is understaffed, So he hopes fewer cases means his employees can spend more quality time with children in foster care.

Another benefit to fewer cases is that it saves taxpayers money.

Radich says it costs $22,000 a year for just one kid to go through the foster care system in Oregon.

Source http://kezi.com/page/228132

Bariatric Physicians do not Support State Intervention for Childhood Obesity

AURORA, Colo., Aug. 17, 2011 -- The American Society of Bariatric Physicians (ASBP) does not support the concept that state intervention to remove a child from his or her home is the proper way to address life threatening cases of childhood obesity. Comprised of physicians involved in the frontline clinical treatment of obesity, the ASBP believes that in most cases this type of state intervention is extreme and unjustified.

With approximately one out of three children in America considered overweight or obese, it is clear that childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions. Since the CDC began tracking childhood obesity data in the mid 1970s, and despite millions of dollars spent on various campaigns and research efforts, childhood obesity rates have continued to rise. ASBP does not attribute this dramatic increase solely to poor parenting.

Race and ethnicity, genetic predisposition, environment in utero and birth weight all affect obesity rates long before any active parenting occurs. After birth, poverty, infant feeding practices, parent education level, and the well recognized cost disparity between healthy and less healthful foods play a role. Children cannot expend energy as in the past due to the unfortunate fear of injury or abduction as well as unsafe sidewalks, trails, and parks left behind due to state budget deficits. In schools, vending machines, poor quality subsidized school lunches, and the regrettable removal of physical education, recess, and health education classes factor in. If that child turns on a computer and browses the internet, she is barraged by cereal, candy, soda and various other unhealthy advertisements. The same occurs if he listens to the radio, downloads music, or turns on the television. Increased caloric density of foods and portion sizes, and introduction of processed foods have also paralleled our obesity epidemic.

This is not to say that parents are completely defenseless to our obesogenic environment. As physicians who treat childhood obesity, ASBP recognizes that parental involvement is paramount to a child's long term success. Simple changes such as sitting down to dinner as a family, decreasing dining out and fast food consumption, controlling electronics and modeling good behavior can have a significant impact on the weight of the entire family. Parents can drink water instead of sugar sweetened beverages, remove junk foods from the home, decrease processed foods and increase produce (if they can afford to do so and have access to fresh fruits and vegetables). However, these behaviors alone do not guarantee success. Consider an engaged family who has made these changes and the child remains severely obese. ASBP does not agree that the only option is to put him through surgery or remove him from his home.

Approximately two million children are severely obese, clearly more than an overburdened foster care system can handle. Research has shown that the quality of life of an obese child is analogous to that of a child with cancer. Obese children are discriminated against by peers and teachers, and are bullied relentlessly. The additional insult of removing a child from her home will in most cases do more harm than good. In addition, given the fact that 2/3 of our society is overweight and 1/3 obese, the chances that a child will be placed in a home of a family who itself struggles with a weight problem is more likely than not.

Choices do exist separate from surgery and state intervention that should be considered, including early recognition and treatment by medical obesity experts. Research has shown that the probability of childhood obesity persisting into adulthood is estimated to be 20% at age 4 and 80% by adolescence. Research is currently being conducted by bariatricians and other childhood obesity experts using techniques that are much less invasive and equally promising as surgical outcomes without the risks.

Certainly, the premise of turning a severely obese child over to the state is thought provoking, but unless there are clear signs of neglect or abuse in conjunction with the obesity, the ASBP considers it unnecessary, unrealistic and likely damaging to that child long term.

About the ASBP

Founded in 1950, the ASBP is the oldest medical association dedicated to the non-surgical treatment of obesity and associated diseases. The ASBP is a collaborative organization that provides its members practical information and business tools to implement a successful medical bariatric practice. For more information about the ASBP, visit http://www.asbp.org.


SOURCE: American Society of Bariatric Physicians

RELATED LINKS" http://www.asbp.org