New foster care bill includes stringent background check
By Phyllis Noah/The Ironton Tribune
Saturday, September 15, 2007 10:04 PM CDT
http://www.irontontribune.com/articles/2007/09/15/news/news374.txt
Sen. Tom Niehaus recently introduced Senate Bill 163, a foster care
reform bill spurred by an incident in Clermont County — the Marcus
Fiesel case.
The 3-year-old boy’s foster parents bound him, tied him up and locked
him in a closet where he died while they went to a family reunion in
Kentucky for the weekend.
The bill provides some requirements for additional background checks for
foster parents. This would include a Bureau of Criminal Investigation
and Identification background check and other additional checks that are
required.
According SB 163, in part, the list of offenses that disqualify a person
from providing out-of-home care, being certified as a foster parent, or
being approved as an adoptive parent will be expanded to include the
following: cruelty to animals, permitting child abuse, menacing by
stalking, menacing, soliciting or providing support for act of
terrorism, making terrorist threats, terrorism, identity fraud, inciting
to violence, aggravated riot, ethnic intimidation, or two or more state
OVI or state OVUAC violations committed or substantially equivalent
offenses within the three years immediately preceding the submission of
the person's application.
It also allows a public children services agency to access the otherwise
confidential criminal records checks for prospective out-of-home care
providers, foster caregivers, or adoptive parents.
“This list of violations is an obviously necessary list and probably
should be expanded to more violations of the law,” said David Lambert,
director of Mended Reeds, a small faith-based foster care and
full-service adoption agency in Lawrence County. “Any violation or any
illegal act that would jeopardize the safety or health of a child should
be included in that list. This bill is long overdue.”
The qualifications to be certified as a foster parent are not that
stringent, he said.
“But, there are some safeguards built into the process,” he said. “The
laws been changed in the last few years to put more of a collaborative
effort on social workers coming together and having a placement matching
meeting so that professionals consider the parents and the needs of the
child so they can match them more closely.”
They have always completed criminal background checks for employees and
foster parents and anybody who is more than18 years old and lives in the
home.
“There is also a process called the central registry check where we can
check throughout the state of Ohio to see if anybody applying has ever
been investigated for abuse and neglect of children,” said Bilreka
Ferguson, foster and adoption manager at Mended Reeds. “Even though
there’s no criminal record, there is still a process to see if they’ve
ever been investigated or charged. So, there are safeguards.”
One concern that people in the social work field have about the central
registry is that it may not be updated and properly funded so that it
has accurate information, Lambert said.
Faye Blankenship, a social worker and certified home assessor,
investigates the families who want to foster or adopt a child.
She interviews each parent separately, asking about their marriage and
home life.
“Most of them are pretty honest because we’re in a small community,” she
said. “We tell them that we will verify everything so they are aware of
that. We do a very thorough investigation of all of our homes. We feel
very secure before we ever place a child there.”
“Everyone who has been involved in an assault or domestic violence or in
an alleged child abuse or neglect situation … will be placed on this
registry and it will have an impact on the future,” Lambert said.
There are two levels of placement, he said.
One is to be approved for certification. The second layer is that social
workers get together and make a subjective decision to make sure the
family is a good match.
“Our license and reputation is on the line every time we do one of
these,” said Nancy Varney, case manager at Mended Reeds. “We are
incredibly thorough.”
Varney visits each foster home weekly to see what may be needed in the
home and help connect them with services they may need.
“The most important thing about SB 163 is that it allows the agencies
that work with foster care children both public and private to share
information, which they could not do before and we’ve set up some
electronic means for them to do that,” Niehaus said. “This is designed
to be prospective. It links to some other systems.”
If, for instance, a foster parent is picked up for DUI, it would give
the agency a red flag and they could check into the situation.
Niehaus and other senators worked on the legislation for more than six
months. Several foster parents and foster children from both public and
private agencies were involved in the meetings.
“Under this bill, the agency would get a red flag,” Niehaus said. “It
has passed the Senate and pending before the House. I expect it will
move pretty quickly over there and we hope it will be passed by both
houses by the end of the year.”
CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA / CIA
WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....
CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.
every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...
http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf
http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com
Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS
*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*
Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5
Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.
CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT
FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...
BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...
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