Invade, Search, then Disappear (ever to be seen again?)

Foster and Adoptive Parents Well-Screened

Feb 7, 2007 06:30 PM EST

INDIANAPOLIS - Children taken away from abusive parents and placed into foster care is a scene that is played out far too often. Unfortunately, foster and adoptive parents can be abusive too. One organization says it does have a thorough screening process.

"There are families that are turned down," said Sharon Pierce, The Villages CEO.

The Villages is a local not for profit foster care and adoption agency. Pierce said Indiana law requires a thorough screening of potential adoptive families called a home study.

"And that is a process where an experienced social worker actually goes into the home, asks difficult questions, looks at what kind of support system that family has, talks with the biological children if there are children in the home," Pierce explained.

"They get references and they check your references," said adoptive parent Roy Higgins.

Higgins and his wife Shelly know the screening process well. They adopted teenage sons Josh and Brandon after fostering them.

"They're thorough. They invade your privacy sometimes, but they're pretty thorough," Higgins said.

Before the Higgins became foster parents, they were required to attend 30 hours of training, even though they had two biological children. The Higgins' were monitored by The Villages agency during the fostering.

Higgins is concerned that some people might want to foster children because they think it will pay their bills.

"You can't make money. It's called like a reimbursement, but the time you spend with the kids, it doesn't add up to making money," Higgins said.

"I am always so anxious to let folks know that 99.9 percent of the families who are doing this work are doing it because they are feeling called to do it," Pierce said.

Pierce is always hopeful that negative news about the child welfare system will result in more good people opening their homes.

"I really think that foster and adoptive parents are the everyday heroes of the child welfare system," Higgins said.