FOSTER CARE AND TRANSPARENCY

Indiana has had its issues with foster care. It seems that foster care adoption has been in the news with the recent deaths of two foster care adoptees. Everyone has heard the horror stories about Ms. Bowman. Michigan's foster care system has settled a lawsuit. Here are the terms of that agreement:
Create a specific children's services office to oversee foster care administration.

Create a 24-hour centralized hotline for calls about abuse and neglect.

Hire more foster care workers and caseworkers to reduce caseloads.

Reduce the amount of time between removing a child and either reunification or removing parental rights.

Reduce the amount of time between removing parental rights and adoption.

Register family members with DHS to receive support services for caring for a child.

Ensure better access to health care, including mental health; appoint a medical director for foster children; reduce the use of psychotropic medicines as discipline.

Recruit and retain more foster parents and adoptive families, and provide better oversight of foster homes.

The DC area is also facing heat and are itching to make changes in its system because of the Bowman case and another case where another child died. We are throwing money at the foster care system but there is no accountability for those funds or those children. Its time that we get that.

In Oklahoma, Children's Rights has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Human Services for the issues within their department. There is a recent case where DHS worker, Antiffany Daniels, walked into a Catholic Charities maternity home and took a newborn from the care of his mother and grandmother. This worker should not even be working for this organization due to financial issues of her own. Ms. Daniels Fears has several charges of theft by check in Oklahoma and Arkansas. She also has several bad debt issues as well. These companies have filed lawsuit against her. She was also fired from the Oklahoma's Attorney General's office. Its my understanding this case has now been added to the lawsuit. This was an unlawful seizure of the child. It is also my understanding that this woman is under investigation. Yet the child and mother continue to be separated. The DHS has accused the mother of drug addiction. When she was test by DHS, it was positive but when the mother was tested by an independent lab, those tests were negative. The tests were taken within a hour and half of each other.

Indiana too has had its share of problems with its foster care system. We as a society owe it to children in foster care to give them the best. The best might be adoption from foster care or best might be a reunion with their families. We must protect these children while they are in the care. They do not need to suffer even more so.