B.C. foster children at risk
A shortage of experienced foster homes in B.C. is another indication the province's child welfare system is failing, according to foster parents and their advocates.
By The Vancouver Sun
A shortage of experienced foster homes in B.C. is another indication the province's child welfare system is failing, according to foster parents and their advocates.
The allegation comes as the beleaguered Ministry for Children and Family Development (MCFD) is undergoing a sweeping review by former judge Ted Hughes following the recent deaths of two children in care and the mishandling of child death reviews.
Even the government's Child and Youth Officer, Jane Morley, warned in her August 2005 Asking Questions project that "there appears to be a chronic shortage of experienced foster homes capable of meeting youth needs."
B.C. Federation of Foster Parent Associations statistics indicate there were between 4,300 and 4,400 foster homes across B.C. in the late 1990s and early 2000s. But since the Liberals took power in 2001 and restructured MCFD, the number of homes is down to 3,500.
Critics say that has led to some cases of existing homes taking in too many kids, troubled teens having no home in which they can be placed, or foster parents without adequate training raising children with special needs.
There were 6,216 foster children in about 4,350 homes in August 2001, and another 46 children placed in homes by aboriginal agencies. By August 2005, there were 5,343 foster children in 3,500 homes, plus another 323 children placed elsewhere by aboriginal agencies.
The government acknowledges it is always looking for new foster parents, but maintains there is no "heightened concern" about a foster home shortage.
Acting Assistant Deputy Minister Mark Sieben said B.C. needs fewer foster homes today because the number of annual reports from the public about possible abuse or neglect of children has fallen from 33,000 in the late 1990s to 29,000 last year.
And, he added that the total number of children receiving government services has dropped to 9,000 from about 10,500 in 2001 because of alternatives pursued by the Liberals, such as children remaining with parents or relatives, or being adopted.
"We've tried to use mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution to come up with plans that might ensure a child's safety without necessarily having to bring a child into care," Sieben said.
But The Vancouver Sun interviewed more than a dozen people involved in the care of children who argue the government's alternatives to foster care are admirable, but not yet successful enough to make up for the lost foster homes.
Recent deaths of children receiving services from MCFD illustrate these shortcomings, critics say. Sherry Charlie, a 19-month-old Port Alberni girl, was killed after being placed in the home of a relative, and three-year-old Savannah Hall, who died under mysterious circumstances, had been living in an overcrowded foster home.
(It was the cases of these two girls, and the mishandling of 713 child death reviews, that led to Hughes' review of MCFD.)
"You're going to have more deaths. They'll have to come up with other alternatives to house these kids," said Kula Zervos, an Abbotsford foster parent who has taken in between 25 and 30 children over 20 years.
"Somebody has got to help these kids, because what we have now isn't working."
NDP MLA Adrian Dix, the Opposition's child welfare critic, alleged MCFD ended contracts with some skilled foster parents -- who receive larger monthly payments to care for children with special needs -- to cut costs.
"I believe there are children out there who require special needs foster homes who are now being assigned to regular foster homes, and this is a great challenge for the system and for foster parents," said Dix, who consistently challenged the government this fall about the consequences of cutbacks to services.
"Children are falling through the cracks, children are not having a chance in life . . . . Being in a regular home is something we all expect. I think waiting lines . . . are not the right approach."
David Paul, vice-chair of the Powell River Child, Youth and Family Services Society, wrote a critical two-page letter to Premier Gordon Campbell earlier this month demanding MCFD restore services that have been hit hard by Liberal budget cuts.
The letter calls for "increased supports to foster parents . . . assisting in the true costs of maintaining children in their care, and helping to keep enough of these homes available."
In an interview, Paul said experienced foster parents are quitting because government money and resources are inadequate.
"Support for foster families has also been hugely eroded. We need good homes for these kids, and we can't get those unless we have the kind of supports in place financially," said Paul, a 10-year society board member and a retired high school counsellor.
"People are financially and emotionally bankrupt."
B.C.'s child and youth officer met with 59 groups who provide services to children and families between November 2004 and March 2005, and her Asking Questions project identified insufficient government funding as their top concern.
That resulted in a "lack of adequate compensation for foster families, which in turn leads to a shortage of foster homes in some locations, especially for children and youth with special needs," Morley's recent report said.
"In many locations, there appears to be a chronic shortage of experienced foster homes capable of meeting youth needs. Youth often have to be moved to another community, breaking continuity of relationships with social workers and others."
The MCFD's Sieben said the government has more competition today to find residents willing to take in children -- such as from private schools that need families to provide room and board for foreign students -- but maintained about 900 new foster parents have been approved annually for the past few years.
"A very feasible solution is to recruit more foster homes, however, we are finding it is increasingly difficult to find individuals that are willing to step forward and do that type of work," Sieben said.
The fees for foster parents were boosted in 2001, and the increased maintenance payments were meant to cover other services that had been cut. But foster parents say the highest fees for the most difficult children are rarely paid, and that they have less money in the end.
"We're having to go into our own pockets to raise these children," said Patricia Youson, a foster parent of eight years who has taken in more than 50 children.
"My little baby girl came to me at 11 days old with only the diaper she was wearing."
Sieben said MCFD foster parents are among the highest-paid in Canada, and insisted there is still cash to help out with one-time purchases, such as presents.
"There continues to be money available for social workers to help foster parents and children in care celebrate milestone events," Sieben said.
The Sun tried to interview MCFD Minister Stan Hagen, but his staff said he was on holidays.
Sieben said it was up to the minister to respond to budget questions about complaints that much-needed respite opportunities for foster parents and summer camps for foster children have been slashed. But he added that Hagen has asked his staff to investigate those types of grievances.
"I know the concerns that you've heard from foster parents are similar concerns to what our minister has heard," Sieben said.
"Things like respite, for example, we take extremely seriously and we want to make sure it's available to foster parents."
Respite is perhaps more crucial today because foster parents say they are at times asked to temporarily take in extra children when there is nowhere else for them to go. "There's lots of overloading of homes out there," said Youson, chair of the Fraser Valley Foster Parents Association.
A few weeks before Savannah Hall died, she was one of 10 foster children living in her Prince George home. Her foster mother later sued MCFD, alleging it often gave her more children than she could handle.
While the vast majority of foster parents are keeping their government contracts because they're committed to the children, some have quit because of service cutbacks that include:
- Fewer support groups or agencies to help children with psychological or drug problems.
- Fewer teaching assistants or vocational classes to keep children with challenges in school.
- Longer waiting lists for assessments to determine if children have fetal alcohol syndrome, attention deficit disorder, or other challenges.
- Overworked social workers who, despite being well-intentioned, can be "a revolving door" in a child's life.
- Less training for foster parents, and less in-home support for children with challenges.
The NDP's Dix argued foster parents require more, not fewer, services because foster children are more challenging than they were a decade ago. The least problematic ones, he said, are often not put in foster care anymore, and he noted more babies are born drug-addicted and that drugs like crystal meth are creating new problems with teens.
He said it is admirable that the government is trying to reduce the number of children in care by keeping them with families, or by assisting teenagers' transition to adulthood by giving them rent money instead of a foster home.
But he argued those efforts are failing because other community services required to support those at-risk youth have been cut.
"These [decisions] have been driven entirely by cost savings. And their argument about keeping families together isn't really that -- it isn't genuine -- because they don't support families sufficiently," Dix charged.
Vicki Travis, a Chilliwack resident who cared for about 70 foster children over 13 years, quit in October because she said the system no longer supported foster parents.
"They're finding it harder and harder to provide the services that they feel are adequate for the kids that they have. I know foster parents just seem to be kind of demoralized," added Sheila Durnford, president of the foster parents' federation.
"And I think [the government] sort of slacked off in recruiting a year or two ago, and now what's happening is there are kids coming into care again and they don't have a foster home."
Foster parents also noted the job often prohibits work outside the home because handicapped children require round-the-clock care, and offers no benefits, pension or vacation leave.
"I think foster parents have to be respected more," said Zervos, president of the Upper Fraser Valley Foster Parent Association.
lculbert@png.canwest.com
MONTHLY RATES PAID TO FOSTER FAMILIES IN B.C.:
Regular Care:
(Provide care for up to six children of varying ages and needs.)
Age 11 and under -- $701.55
Age 12-19 -- $805.68
Specialized Care:
Level 1
(Provides care for up to six children who have average to moderately challenging behaviour.
Age 11 and under -- $1,059.57
Age 12-19 -- $1,163.70
Level 2
(Designed for up to three children who have moderate to severely challenging behaviour and/or a moderate to severe degree of risk to self, others or property.
Age 11 and under -- $1,741.95
Age 12-19 -- $1,846.08
Level 3
(Requires very specialized child care skills for a maximum of two foster children. In some cases the children may be a danger to themselves or others and require additional support and supervision.
Age 11 and under -- $2,418.21
Age 12-19 -- $2,522.34
Source: Ministry for Children and Family Development