After recent tragedies involving foster care parents in both Perry and West Des Moines resulted in the deaths of two teenage girls who had been adopted, Iowa Department of Human Services director Jerry Foxhoven is ready to implement stricter screening processes that will write accountability into the contracts for the organizations that have been charged with screening foster families in Iowa. We, Kathleen and Robert Raskin, think it’s about time.

Making Sure They Get Good People
Democrat Senator Matt McCoy of Des Moines is concerned that agencies such as Lutheran Social Services are winning contracts and taking money to screen potential foster parents and to conduct initial home visits, and this represents a conflict of interests that could be leading to the acceptance of foster parents who should never have been admitted into the program. The fact that foster parents receive state subsidies can also lead to profit-based motives, leading people to become foster parents for a check rather than because they are truly concerned about the welfare of the children in their charge.

Senator McCoy said, “We need more transparency and we need to ensure they are the type of people we want to entrust these already damaged and abused children with,” and we, Kathleen and Robert Raskin, couldn’t agree more. Join us in our fight to hold these groups accountable and to finally put watchdog organizations into place that will help restore the rights of children and families who have been harmed by these corrupt organizations.