Listen to thisKANSAS
Barbara Allen recounts story of own foster child transferred without her input
Former state Sen. Barbara Allen apologized to the Senate Judiciary Committee in advance for becoming emotional while testifying for a Foster Care Parents' Bill of Rights. As she began to tell her story, it became obvious why.
"Yesterday my foster baby was removed from our home," Allen said. "I have no idea where she is or who she is with.”
Allen's family had taken in the child in late November, when the girl was 6 days old. Allen had been in close contact with the biological father since then, sending him updates about his child and photos. She believed he would eventually be a suitable permanent parent. But after two months the case worker from the foster care agency that Allen was working with, KVC Health Systems, told her the agency had located "a possible relative placement" for the child.
"The only thing I was told was that she was an aunt," Allen said. "No information was ever provided to me, and to this day I don't know who this relative is because her identity is a closely guarded secret by KVC."
Allen said she contacted a high-ranking official within KVC and received an apology Wednesday. Allen said she had no legal standing in the placement decision because she had been fostering the child for less than six months, one of the statutes the proposed foster care bill of rights, Senate Bill 394, seeks to change. The legislation would also create a state foster care advisory board, give foster parents more access to information about the child's medical and psychiatric background, and more input into placement decisions.
Foster parents lined up with Allen to testify for the bill.
Kathy Armstrong, an attorney for the Kansas Department for Children and Families, said communication breakdowns have occurred and “we certainly are disheartened when the system doesn’t work as it should." But she also said she believes the grievances outlined by Allen and others "are an anomaly."
“We have about 2,500 foster homes in the state today, and I would assert that in many of those cases things are going well and they are supporting reintegration (with biological families)," Armstrong said. "About 60 percent of our children are reintegrating with their families, about 30 percent are adopted, many by their foster families and about 10 percent age out."
Lori Ross, president of Midwest Foster Care and Adoption Association, said more foster parents would have come out in support of the bill, but they feared retaliation in the form of losing their current foster children or not getting future foster care placements. “I want to let this committee know I will be watching for retaliation against any of the conferees on this bill, and I will be reporting that retaliation to the committee and to the press,” Ross said.
Sen. Forrest Knox, R-Altoona, asked Armstrong about retention rates for foster families. Armstrong said she didn’t have that information on hand but would provide it to the committee.
Armstrong said her agency is "neutral" on the bill, but has concerns about some provisions of the "bill of rights" and proposed an alternative version. She said SB 394 is based on a Missouri bill of rights, but the neighboring state's child welfare system is only partially privatized, while Kansas is one of two states – along with Florida – that has a fully privatized system, using state contractors like KVC. “It does not necessarily reflect an understanding of how our system works,” Armstrong said of the bill, adding that oversight of the foster care system is also split between her agency and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Armstrong said her agency also has concerns about some of the confidentiality issues within SB 394.
Senate Vice President Jeff King, R-Independence, the chairman of the judiciary committee, said he plans for the committee to debate and vote on the bill next week, and he urged consensus-building.
“I would, with the utmost strength, encourage all parties to get together well in advance of then," King said, adding that it would make it “much easier for the committee if we have agreement on as much of this as possible.”
Andy Marso
19 February 2014
http://cjonline.com/news/2014-02-19/former-senator-pushes-foster-care-bill-rights
