Foster care has become one of my favorite topics to talk about these days. I enjoy that others are usually intrigued and are anxious to know more about it; which, of course, I am
more than happy to talk about my new-found passion! My ulterior motive for writing this blog post is that more people will become involved in foster care in one way or another. If there is a reader or two out there who has more info (or finds that mine needs tweaking), add away!
So if anyone out there is interested, here is a
brief overview of fostering:
Basically, the foster care system exists because children are not able to currently live in a safe environment. Children are usually placed in state care because of one or more and of the following reasons: physical abuse, child neglect, sexual abuse, emotional abuse. CPS ("Child Protective Services", which is a part of DFPS "Department of Family and Protective Services") receives notification, usually in the form of a call by a family member, neighbor, or community member to the Child Abuse Hotline, which in Texas is: 1.800.252.5400. Sometimes parents contact CPS if they are in need of specific services to help them live in a safe environment and provide a safe environment for their child/ren.
Abuse can range from physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, and/or emotional abuse. After the individual reports the information, there is sometimes a follow-up investigation. If the situation is serious enough, there can be an immediate removal where the child/children are taken out of the current situation and placed in a temporary home. This home can be a relative, family friend, or a foster home.
Once CPS does a removal and the child needs to be placed in a foster home, CPU (Central Placing Unit) is notified and begins contacting foster care agencies or families that are licensed directly with CPS to try to find an available home. Foster care agencies are privately funded organizations that are responsible for training, licensing, and supporting foster families. More to come on these in the next blog post!
Shortly after the placement, there is a court hearing where the decision is made to either keep the child/ren in the state's care, move them to the Conservatorship Department of CPS (which is basically the foster care department), or the child/ren could be moved back home with services in place to help the family maintain a safe environment.
If the child/ren remain in foster care, the parent(s) have 1 year (according to the "Safe Families Act") to complete their services and create and maintain a safe environment for their children to return. The CPS caseworker creates a list of services that they deem will help the parents become more equipped to create this safe environment. The service plan can include classes, personal goals, random drug testing, etc.
Throughout the year, there are several court hearings that take place to check in on the parent's progress as well as the child/ren's progress. CPS caseworkers, attorneys,
CASA workers all present their information related to the case to update the judge.
During the course of the case, there is a "Plan A" or a "Plan B". By default, "Plan A" is usually reunification since CPS policy is to reunify if at all possible. "Plan B" is typically termination of rights, which would mean that the child/ren would be adopted by a relative, family friend, or stranger (e.g. foster parent). During the life of the case, the "Plan" could be switched based on the parent's progress.
Often times, once the parent is close to meeting the goals, the children get increased visits, unsupervised visits, and then overnight visits to help make the transition back home more smooth for both the parent and the children.
If the parent does not make progress towards meeting the goals by the 1 year mark, termination of rights is seriously considered. There are times when the judge allows for a 6 month extension to continue working towards their goals, but I have heard that this is more the exception instead of the rule. The goal is to get the children to a permanent and safe home as quickly as possible, whether that be with their biological parent(s) or with another family.
If the child/ren are able to return home, DFPS keeps in contact with the family and often continues to provide services to help them maintain that safe environment, both for themselves and for their children, that they worked so hard for. This helps to encourage success for everyone involved.
It's a messy, complex system, yes, but at least there is a system in place.
We have been ever so grateful to work with people thus far that really do have the best interest of the children at heart. Being a voice for the voiceless- that's what it's all about.
