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May 14, 2000Foster care -- IntroductionBinsfeld laws aim at stability Home not always a haven for children Agencies impose strict criteria Changes put onus on biological parents Pilot program making progress with Indian children Child welfare officials take it case-by-caseBy CARI NOGARecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - Whether it's clothes or public policy, one size rarely fits all. Nowhere is this more true than in child welfare. "It becomes a case-by-case decision-making process about people's lives, and there's nothing uniform about people's lives," said Mike Pavlov, child welfare services supervisor for the Grand Traverse Family Independence Agency, the arm of the state that handles child protection. While every case is different, the basic process works like this: - An allegation of abuse is made. Allegations can be anonymous. In fact, it's rare that reporting parties can learn the outcome of investigations because of confidentiality laws.. Investigations are handled by the Child Protective Services division of the FIA, which is on call 24 hours a day. - The protective services unit has standards for action. Response is immediate to very severe situations, such as those involving medical abuse - indifference to a child's medical well-being - physical or sexual abuse, or immediate risk of harm to the child. Very specific predetermined criteria is used to determine whether an immediate response is warranted. Among other things, investigators look for evidence like bruises and burns, consider the child's age and whether he or she is limited by disability, and also whether the child is afraid to go home. The purpose of the investigation is to avoid assumptions or jumping to conclusions and to determine if there is evidence to support the concerns of the reporting person, Pavlov said. The Grand Traverse FIA gets about 120 calls per month and investigates 35 to 50 cases, he said. A face-to-face investigation typically begins within 24 hours of the allegation. In about 5 percent of the cases, it begins within 72 hours. - If removal of the children is not deemed necessary, there are several courses of action the FIA can take to help the family. Parenting classes, substance abuse assessment and counseling, individual therapy, anger management classes, and enrollment in social service programs are some of the options. Authorities can also order live-in boyfriends, girlfriends or others believed to be the abusers to leave the home. "Removal is just one of the things we do, some of the time," Pavlov said. - If removal is necessary, the FIA looks at options such as placement with relatives or with foster families arranged by private agencies, like Child and Family Services of Northwestern Michigan. Child and Family Services is the largest foster home provider in a 13-county region stretching from Ludington to the Mackinac Bridge to I-75. It licenses about 150 homes, which care for about 175 children, deputy director Jim Scherrer said. Parents have a right to a court hearing within 24 hours of their children's removal. A permanency planning hearing has to be held within a year. At the hearing, it is decided whether parental rights will be terminated or not. - During the year, "reasonable efforts," according to Scherrer, are made to reunite the family. These include visitation, counseling, classes, and substance abuse treatment. Status hearings are held every 90 days, instead of every six months, the pre-Binsfeld timeline. "You try and rectify the things that brought us in to care," said Pavlov, while bound to make decisions "quickly and aggressively." - After the year of foster care - a time frame that still has a little flexibility built in depending on the progress being made - the permanency planning hearing is held. The main decision is whether to terminate parental rights. If the judge decides termination is still unwarranted, the child either returns home and services to the family continue, or remains in foster care while remaining safety issues are resolved. In 1999, the bulk of Child and Family Services' children - 38 percent - went back home to the custody of a parent. Another 8.5 percent were placed with relatives. If rights are terminated, there are several options. The child could be adopted. About 25 percent of the children handled by that agency go that route. Another 12 percent go to more restrictive care, such as residential group facilities. Detention is another option, usually resorted to if behavioral problems prevent the child from adjusting to foster care. They could enter long-term foster care, which typically happens to older children, or those with multiple problems. They could enter into a permanent foster family arrangement, which would mean stability with one specific family. About 5.6 percent of the children served by Child and Family Services "age out" of the foster care system and go on to independent living. Just under 2 percent go to jail. Almost 3 percent run away. |
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