Monday, September
4, 2006
Good foster
homes in demand
By Peggy Kreimer
Post staff reporter
 When
Liz and David Carroll were charged this week with killing their
foster child, 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel, officials said the couple's
other four children could end up in the foster care system.
That would add four more
youngsters to the ever growing number of children who need safe,
stable homes.
The need far exceeds the
homes available for those children, and Marcus' horrifying end
underscores the problem of not only finding homes, but good ones for
foster children.
Marcus, autistic and
sometimes difficult to handle, was removed from the home of his
biological mother this spring by Butler County Children's Services,
which then contracted with the Lifeway for Youth agency in
Sharonville to place him in the private foster home of the Carrolls
in Clermont County.
Lifeway is one of
several private agencies that recruit, screen and support foster
parents locally. They recruit and supervise foster homes, where
children removed from their parents' care are placed. Children are
put in foster care because of abuse, neglect or that parents are
committed to state care. Those privately administered homes augment
foster care programs operated by the state.
So it was not all that
unusual that Butler County turned to a private agency like Lifeway
for a placement for Marcus, said Joel Griffith, field services
director of Northern Kentucky's office of the Kentucky Cabinet for
Health and Family Services.
In eight Northern
Kentucky counties, nearly 800 children need foster care, but the
state agency administers only about 137 foster homes in those
counties. More than half a dozen private agencies, including the
Diocesan Catholic Children's Home, Holly Hill and the Kentucky
Baptist Home for Children, administer about 155 additional foster
homes, which are all licensed by the state.
Many children who need
foster care get sent to homes out of the region or to larger
residential facilities because there are not enough private homes
and families to meet the need locally, Griffith said.
In Hamilton County, the
situation is similar, said Brian Gregg, spokesman for Hamilton
County Job and Family Services, which administers foster care
programs there.
He said Hamilton County
had more than 2,000 children in foster care at various times last
year. This month, the number is 730.
The county directly
oversees 320 foster care homes and also contracts with several
agencies that run their own foster care programs. Gregg said 150
Hamilton County children have been placed in foster homes run by
Lifeway, the same agency that contracted with Butler County to place
Marcus Fiesel with the Carrolls.
Hamilton County has
suspended placement to Lifeway for Youth foster homes and is
reviewing the current placements it has through the agency.
"We're re-examining all
our placements with them," Gregg said.
On both sides of the
river, all foster parents must have background checks, get training
and pass a home assessment to be licensed by the state.
Foster families are paid
for caring for foster children based on the child's needs, medical
condition and behavior. But to be approved by the state, foster
families must be able to support themselves independent of the
payments, Griffith said.
"The sad part of this
will be if the public walks away thinking foster parents are bad
people who do this for the money. This is the exception. The vast
number of foster parents are good people who are committed to
helping kids in need," he said.
Cases like Marcus
Fiesel's are horrendous and illustrate the need for good people to
step up and help, said Gregg.
"If all the people who
showed support and love in this search for Marcus, if only a
fraction of them would come forward and say 'I want to be a foster
care parent,' we would really see a difference," he said.
There is no question
that children with disabilities can be a challenge to care for, but
the system includes a network of supports, including respite care
that can take a child for hours or days to give a family a break;
therapy programs, child care, special education and training
programs.
Griffith said foster
parent training sessions talk about the importance of asking for
help.
"It's not a sign of
weakness," he said. "The whole purpose of the foster parent support
network and mentoring is to encourage people to ask for help if they
get overwhelmed."
In Northern Kentucky,
the state pairs new foster families with more experienced families
as mentors.
The private agencies
that administer foster homes have their own support systems,
counseling and training programs.
All of the homes get
regular visits by state or county workers. In Northern Kentucky,
workers typically must visit the home at least twice a month. In
Hamilton County, it's at least once a month. Individual
circumstances often dictate more frequent visits.
In Marcus' case, a
worker had seen him at the Carrolls Aug. 3. She attempted another
visit Aug. 10, but was told he was sick and was turned away. She
scheduled another visit, but investigators now know that Marcus was
already dead by Aug. 10.
Griffith said if a
mother told one of his Kentucky case workers her child was sick and
scheduled another visit, that would not necessarily raise a red
flag.
"At lot depends on the
circumstances," he said. "If it was a one-time incident, not part of
a larger pattern, it probably wouldn't raise a red flag. If it
happened repeatedly, we'd be concerned."
Gregg said Hamilton
County workers must see the child when they pay a home visit.
"Our rule is you do a
face-to-face with the child. Even if that means you go into the
bedroom and just look in on him. If they are in foster care, they
are actually in our custody. If a parent says you can't see the
child right now, we say we are going to see the child."
In both states, workers
look for red flags including signs of abuse or neglect, and
unexplained injuries.
"We look at how
frustrated you are, how parents are coping with the child's special
needs," Griffith said. "Are they taking advantage of respite? Do
they seem overwhelmed?"
Gregg said workers have
to assure a child has a safe, clean and healthy environment.
"If an adult who's not
approved is living in the home now, that would be of concern; if a
criminal conviction comes to our attention," he said.
Foster homes are
regularly re-evaluated, with social workers looking for major life
changes such as illness or loss of a job. But those wouldn't
automatically cause a child's placement to be terminated, said
Griffith.
Gregg said most Hamilton
County foster children also have court-appointed guardians who make
their own regular inspections.
The Court Appointed
Special Advocate - or CASA - program uses trained volunteers whose
only concern is the child's best interest. Pro-Kids in Greater
Cincinnati runs one of several CASA programs that serve foster
children across Greater Cincinnati, said Mary Carol Melton, a
Pro-Kids board member and CASA volunteer.
"I think people are
understandably and justifiably horrified that a young child could be
found in a situation such as this," said Melton of Marcus Fiesel's
death. "At some level people feel helpless, (and ask) what could I
have done? My response is there's a lot you can do."
She said volunteer CASA
workers typically are assigned to one child or sibling group in a
foster family. She watches out for three brothers in one foster
family. She makes twice monthly visits, keeps in touch with the
foster parents, the children's case manager, therapist and teachers
and brings concerns about the youngsters to regular review meetings.
The extra scrutiny pays off for foster children, she said.
"Case workers have a
huge load, I have one CASA case that I'm working with and paying
attention to," she said.
Griffith said several
counties in Northern Kentucky have similar CASA programs, which are
administered through the court system. But there are not enough CASA
workers to assure one for every child.
Melton said she hopes
that the tragedy of Marcus Fiesel's death brings greater awareness
of the needs of foster children.
"Sometimes out of
tragedies come real opportunities," she said. "I'm hoping more
people want to get involved and make a difference for a child."
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