Comments on: Independent study on Michigan foster care http://fost-adopt.adoptionblogs.com/weblogs/independent-study-on-michigan-foster-car News and information for those planning to adopt through foster care as well as firsthand accounts of those who have. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:12:20 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: xxsurroundedbyxy http://fost-adopt.adoptionblogs.com/weblogs/independent-study-on-michigan-foster-car/comment-page-1#comment-876 xxsurroundedbyxy Sun, 10 Feb 2008 05:13:46 +0000 http://foster-adopt.www.adoptionblogs.com/2008/02/08/independent-study-on-michigan-foster-car#comment-876 As a former elementary teacher, I know how daunting it can be to have 20-25 third graders and their paperwork to keep up with along with parent concerns, principal, counselor, therapist (my last year teaching over 50% of the kids in my class had a therapist that came to the school to see them once a week....a sign of the times), etc.<br /> <br /> As a foster parent, I know that the case loads are too much for the workers. However, it isn't about them. It is about the kids and if the reform needs to start with retaining more case workers, then do so. Because for every caseworker that they do not add, they lose that same number in foster parents. <br /> <br /> They complain that they can't keep good foster parents and I am sure the same can be said for not keeping good social service workers.<br /> <br /> Teachers and social workers, neither one, are given the respect and pay they deserve. When they do, things will start to reform. Til then, it isn't going to happen.<br /> <br /> Kim<br /> As a former elementary teacher, I know how daunting it can be to have 20-25 third graders and their paperwork to keep up with along with parent concerns, principal, counselor, therapist (my last year teaching over 50% of the kids in my class had a therapist that came to the school to see them once a week….a sign of the times), etc.

As a foster parent, I know that the case loads are too much for the workers. However, it isn’t about them. It is about the kids and if the reform needs to start with retaining more case workers, then do so. Because for every caseworker that they do not add, they lose that same number in foster parents.

They complain that they can’t keep good foster parents and I am sure the same can be said for not keeping good social service workers.

Teachers and social workers, neither one, are given the respect and pay they deserve. When they do, things will start to reform. Til then, it isn’t going to happen.

Kim

]]> By: Julia Fuller http://fost-adopt.adoptionblogs.com/weblogs/independent-study-on-michigan-foster-car/comment-page-1#comment-875 Julia Fuller Sun, 10 Feb 2008 03:19:24 +0000 http://foster-adopt.www.adoptionblogs.com/2008/02/08/independent-study-on-michigan-foster-car#comment-875 It took our worker 4 months to photo copy our daughters file and take it across the hall to the adoption unit. I finally called the supervisor and volunteered my services. It was done the following week. As far as the face to face, workers here in Michigan have an average case load of 35 children. If you did face to face each month, that is 35 hours, plus driving to and from, so one week is gone in a month. Then there is supervising visits for an hour each week per child. Court hearings every 3 months per child averaging 2 hours per court hearing with an additional 4 hours of paperwork per child, per court hearing. Enter payments and medicaid. Contact for each child includes a mother and father, a foster mom and dad, a guardian ad lidem for the child, attorneys for both parents, and the school. As you can see, with large caseloads there just are not enough hours in a month to do it all as it should be done and it is getting worse as they continue to cut budgets and employees and increase caseloads. <br /> It took our worker 4 months to photo copy our daughters file and take it across the hall to the adoption unit. I finally called the supervisor and volunteered my services. It was done the following week. As far as the face to face, workers here in Michigan have an average case load of 35 children. If you did face to face each month, that is 35 hours, plus driving to and from, so one week is gone in a month. Then there is supervising visits for an hour each week per child. Court hearings every 3 months per child averaging 2 hours per court hearing with an additional 4 hours of paperwork per child, per court hearing. Enter payments and medicaid. Contact for each child includes a mother and father, a foster mom and dad, a guardian ad lidem for the child, attorneys for both parents, and the school. As you can see, with large caseloads there just are not enough hours in a month to do it all as it should be done and it is getting worse as they continue to cut budgets and employees and increase caseloads.

]]> By: condo-mom http://fost-adopt.adoptionblogs.com/weblogs/independent-study-on-michigan-foster-car/comment-page-1#comment-874 condo-mom Sun, 10 Feb 2008 00:05:14 +0000 http://foster-adopt.www.adoptionblogs.com/2008/02/08/independent-study-on-michigan-foster-car#comment-874 There is no good or decent reason why adoption in this country should take the same length of time as it takes to get a family if you are an orphan in Guatemala, China, or the far side of the moon. Just utterly unacceptable. -- Rachel<br /> There is no good or decent reason why adoption in this country should take the same length of time as it takes to get a family if you are an orphan in Guatemala, China, or the far side of the moon. Just utterly unacceptable. — Rachel

]]> By: lmg1567 http://fost-adopt.adoptionblogs.com/weblogs/independent-study-on-michigan-foster-car/comment-page-1#comment-873 lmg1567 Sat, 09 Feb 2008 03:04:00 +0000 http://foster-adopt.www.adoptionblogs.com/2008/02/08/independent-study-on-michigan-foster-car#comment-873 I do live in MI. I think it really depends on the worker. I've had workers drop everything to check on a child for no other reason than I had reported they were having alot of issues at school. I've had other workers not return phone calls for days when something VERY SERIOUS was happening. There was an instance in the past year where a sibling should have been placed in my home and wasn't for no other reason that a bio-relative showed up at the office and they thought it would be easier to place the baby with them since they were already there. They are constantly losing adoption workers and many people I know have waited on average 15 mos. to complete an adoption (where there were no appeals). Our last adoption took 20 months, we went through 3 workers and they kept springing things on us right up until the last minute that they forgot we needed. It took over 6 mos. to get from TPR until the adoption worker initially came to our home (they were foster kids so they were already living with us, but still...). Yeah, there are many reforms that would benefit these kids, but that's pretty true everywhere. I do live in MI. I think it really depends on the worker. I’ve had workers drop everything to check on a child for no other reason than I had reported they were having alot of issues at school. I’ve had other workers not return phone calls for days when something VERY SERIOUS was happening. There was an instance in the past year where a sibling should have been placed in my home and wasn’t for no other reason that a bio-relative showed up at the office and they thought it would be easier to place the baby with them since they were already there. They are constantly losing adoption workers and many people I know have waited on average 15 mos. to complete an adoption (where there were no appeals). Our last adoption took 20 months, we went through 3 workers and they kept springing things on us right up until the last minute that they forgot we needed. It took over 6 mos. to get from TPR until the adoption worker initially came to our home (they were foster kids so they were already living with us, but still…). Yeah, there are many reforms that would benefit these kids, but that’s pretty true everywhere.

]]> By: jalice http://fost-adopt.adoptionblogs.com/weblogs/independent-study-on-michigan-foster-car/comment-page-1#comment-872 jalice Fri, 08 Feb 2008 22:39:20 +0000 http://foster-adopt.www.adoptionblogs.com/2008/02/08/independent-study-on-michigan-foster-car#comment-872 The lack of face to face contact with case worker does not surprise me. <br /> <br /> (I don't live in MI) I've had 2 children placed with me, stayed for 2 months, and moved to kinship placement all without ever meeting the case worker. It was frustrating! The lack of face to face contact with case worker does not surprise me.

(I don’t live in MI) I’ve had 2 children placed with me, stayed for 2 months, and moved to kinship placement all without ever meeting the case worker. It was frustrating!

]]> By: erin_1712 http://fost-adopt.adoptionblogs.com/weblogs/independent-study-on-michigan-foster-car/comment-page-1#comment-871 erin_1712 Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:34:51 +0000 http://foster-adopt.www.adoptionblogs.com/2008/02/08/independent-study-on-michigan-foster-car#comment-871 Our safety check was done an hour after our meeting to discuss the placement of the child. And I brought in a copy of my records check (I have one on hand because of work) and a verbal one was ran on my husband. We were thoroughly checked out before they moved him and they were in a hurry because of the situation he was in. But I really would not have had it any other way. I am disappointed to here that the social workers did not have face to face contact because you can say anything over the phone. Our safety check was done an hour after our meeting to discuss the placement of the child. And I brought in a copy of my records check (I have one on hand because of work) and a verbal one was ran on my husband. We were thoroughly checked out before they moved him and they were in a hurry because of the situation he was in. But I really would not have had it any other way. I am disappointed to here that the social workers did not have face to face contact because you can say anything over the phone.

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