Reports of some states lowering their rates of foster children kept in motels are deceptively optimistic. Although it is true that fewer kids are being kept in motel rooms are lower, it is because many are being transported out of state due to a lack of available facilities. We, Kathleen and Robert Raskin of Las Vegas, find this completely unacceptable.
How being placed out of state harms foster children
The majority of the youths who are being placed out of state are those who require behavioral or psychiatric care, with many ending up confined to locked residential treatment facilities. This places vulnerable children far from their families, their support systems, and the communities child welfare agencies should be integrating them back into—not moving them farther away from.
The average length of stay a foster child can expect in an out-of-state placement or facility is 11 months. Although their family members generally have the right to visit, for many the financial hardship travel presents is more than they can overcome. Therapy sessions and other necessary communication with families often ends up taking place via Skype.
Democrat State Senator Sara Gelser admitted there could be consequences for this later on, including “pushing (foster youth) into a shelter program that isn’t particularly high quality or safe for kids or sending them out of state or leaving them in an unsafe situation.”
If states don’t have enough treatment beds and foster care available, they must prioritize this as well as taking a deeper look into what families need to deal with kids who have emotional and mental problems.
Many kids in the system are suffering from issues ranging from reactive attachment disorder to PTSD before they enter the system. Being torn away from everything you know can lead to mental issues, and often being removed from the home only exacerbates existing problems.
Our kids deserve better. Won’t you join our cause and help us fight for the rights of children?
Learn how one community transformed their foster care system.
