Keep an eye on headlines like this: Child welfare reform proving costly for providers. I'm still pretty ignorant of the inner workings, but every indicator I've seen suggests that foster care is in deep doo doo right now in Nebraska. Lead contractors are losing millions; communication between participants is horrible; foster parents are over-stressed and under-compensated; and so on. For a system that's supposed to serve some of the state's most fragile populations, it's in a remarkable state of disarray.
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I’m honored that you are taking a more upfront and hands on role with foster care, but for many of us, the realization that the foster care system is broken has been evident for many many years. My husband and I had to deal with the foster care with a child in the extended family some 20 years ago, and I had to deal with them when I was a kid in regards to my brother. Take care of these children is not on the top of the average voters list of things to push money towards. Very little protesting, picketing, billboards, fundraising ... is done to get $344 million pushed to help better it.. that money is earmarked for things like the Arena.
You’re right Stacy, I do have a habit of unintentionally implying that these problems are new. They aren’t. Well, many of the specific problems are new, but Nebraska’s foster care system has never been without serious flaws.
What’s new is me, and it just so happens I have a little extra energy I’d like to put into a cause. Foster care may turn out to be that cause.
I’m clearly no expert on foster care, but I did work in human services for four years with developmentally disabled in group and acute care settings. It seems that the people in charge know there are problems, but when they try to fix it what they end up doing it adding regulations to the already muddled bureaucracy. Much like the medications that are prescribed to the people in these services, it just ends up getting conflicted with tons of “side effects.”
What it really needs is a “med cleanse.” Someone to come in and press the reformat button and start all over…until then, get your check books out!
If we would get serious about helping at risk kids, we wouldn’t have to spend so much money on prisons, prosecutors, public defenders, drug and alcohol treatment, etc. Kids who don’t have stable homes or good role models end-up as adults with poor coping skills. My parents always said an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Investing in foster care and other programs for kids is the ounce of prevention which will pay off when the kids grow up and are on their own.
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