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May 15, 2000Foster care -- IntroductionChild welfare officials take it case-by-case Binsfeld 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 childrenPattern for the child welfare program came from New ZealandBy CARI NOGARecord-Eagle staff writer PESHAWBESTOWN - In one year, a pilot child welfare program in Leelanau County has cut in half the number of American Indian children in foster care. Family Group Decision-making, a program modeled after one in New Zealand, started with the goal of reducing the disproportionate number of Indian children in foster care. Leelanau County is home to the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. "We've been struggling for years to find a way to bring down the number of Native American kids we had in care," said Gary Aschim, social services program manager for the Benzie-Leelanau Family Independence Agency. While Indians make up only 2 percent of Leelanau County's population, they constituted 75 percent of the children in foster placement, Aschim said. Partly because of that statistic, the county a year ago became one of six sites to win a $60,000 state grant to pilot the Family Group Decision-making program. "It rallies the family," Aschim said of how the program works. It started in New Zealand when indigenous people there became disappointed with the way the white government was treating troubled families and children, he said. The centerpiece is a family conference. Anyone the family wants - whether they live in the local area or not, whether they are biologically related or not - is invited. That can be a big group. "In the Native American culture, philosophically, every member of the band is kin," Aschim said. At the conference, the professionals within the system state their case, defining the family's problems. The professionals then leave the room. The family formulates a plan to care for the children, either in the home or in a relative's home. They present their solution to the professionals, who do have veto power if child safety issues are not addressed. But Aschim said the system has worked very well. "It's kind of allowing people to self-determine their own fate," he said. The effect stemmed the number of new foster care placements, Aschim said. By avoiding placing children in foster care, which typically costs $30 to $50 per day, it's also saved more than $200,000, he said. The program also involves considerable cooperation between the FIA and the Grand Traverse Band. FIA has no authority on the Peshawbestown reservation or other tribal property, but the band has its own child welfare workers. When they discover "minors in need of care" - the term used to describe abused or neglected children - and tribal court takes custody of their parents, the children are typically referred to FIA because the band has no mechanism to place children in foster care, he said. The $60,000 grant was intended to serve 10 families. Because of the success of the program, the state doubled the amount of money Leelanau-Benize FIA will receive this year and next While conceptually the family group decision-making process could be applied in every case, Aschim said funding and caseloads don't permit it. Benzie-Leelanau FIA contracts with Child and Family Services of Northwestern Michigan to run the program. An estimated 30 to 40 hours of work goes into just arranging to hold the conference, he said. |
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