[New post] Children In Harm’s Way Should Garner Attention
donforrester1947 posted: " The statuary of a wolf and her pup located in a busy downtown section of Washington, DC garnered my interest. When I stopped to look more carefully, I noticed an identical statuary on the other side of a very architecturally interesting buildin" Carpe Diem
The statuary of a wolf and her pup located in a busy downtown section of Washington, DC garnered my interest. When I stopped to look more carefully, I noticed an identical statuary on the other side of a very architecturally interesting building. It was then that I noticed the name of the building: "Defenders of Wildlife."
The thought then hit me like a ton of bricks, in many respects wildlife conservation issues are valued more in this country by the populace and legislators than the plight of children in harm's way.
That lack of available appropriate foster homes across the nation finds children sleeping in children's protective services offices or make-shift emergency shelters or in unlicensed settings. Of course, in Texas, the legislature solved the problem by passing a law that children could not stay overnight in CPS offices.
In July 2023, the Dallas Morning News highlighted that Texas spent $30 million over the last 18 months paying for off-duty law enforcement officers to provide security for children.
I've been in D.C. this week requesting support for H.R. 3852 – Create Accountable Respectful Environments (CARE) for Children Act. In 2018, the Family First Prevention Services Act moved the use of IV-E money to prevention services rather than direct residential support for children in harm's way.
Applauded as the 21st Century Child Welfare approach, providing support for families in crisis by providing support services while leaving children in their homes resonated with folks on Capitol Hill. That being said, research indicates that parents with alcohol or drug addiction issues are three times more likely to physically, emotionally or sexually abuse their children. In terms of neglect, they are four times more likely.
Often the risk of imminent harm makes it necessary to remove children for their safety. Under Federal law, IV-E funds can only be used in a foster family home for children not needing treatment services for severe behavioral or mental health issues.
In terms of IV-E funding, children's homes are not considered as a resource for children not needing treatment services.
To make matters worse, many children's homes are faith-based operations that don't want State or Federal money. They have donor dollars to cover the cost of their care. It may have been an unintended consequence, but when children's homes were removed from the continuum of care for which IV-E dollars could be used, they were then seen as having no value. After all, you only get what you pay for. Consequently, the capacity crisis in foster care continues to escalate children's homes are not being considered as a resource.
By the way, "Wolves are an interesting animal species; they are not only intelligent but are also highly social animals. They live closely together in a pack, form relationships, and express emotions. A she-wolf gives birth to 4–6 babies in a litter; when she does, the whole pack members help care for the young."
The plight of children in harm's way doesn't appear to be a high priority in Washington. I find that very sad.
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