by Jerry Milner and David Kelly – November 6, 2006
Far too often the wrong examples drive child welfare policy and practice in the United States.
We
see it time and time again in jurisdictions where there is a child
fatality; a formulaic response. Negative stories run, resignations are
sought, blue ribbon commissions or task forces assembled,
recommendations made.
Perhaps a new policy is created or law
passed to hold folks more accountable—often based on the facts of the
most recently publicized tragedy as opposed to data and what we know
children and families need. Commonly, there are corresponding spikes in
the number of kids removed from their homes, everyone becomes scared
and that fear is reflected in social work and legal decision making.
Attention
then turns to recruiting more foster homes to place the increasing
numbers of kids coming into foster care and we create a demand for which
supply will never be adequate. Dockets and caseloads swell, workforce
stress and turnover become endemic, and children and parents often do
not receive services or supports to meet their needs. Such reactions
bring tragic consequences and affect tens of thousands of lives
annually—the unnecessary separation of children from their parents and
ensuing trauma. The child welfare system often becomes stuck in this
cycle, and it comes at enormous human and financial cost. Yet, we
continue to respond in the same damaging and costly way, over and over
again.
As a field we know the trauma children experience when
separated from their parents is considered a powerful adverse childhood
experience that can lead to long-term health, relational, and
self-sufficiency challenges. It is also highly traumatic for parents and
can trigger relapse or decompensation for those that may be in recovery
or struggling with substance abuse or mental health issues. In other
words, fear of making a wrong decision can lead to over removal. Over
removal is a near guarantee of harm to a much larger population and
perpetuates intergenerational cycles of disruption and maltreatment.
This is a quieter, more far-reaching tragedy.
| Child Law Practice (CLP) Today, published by the ABA Center on Children and the Law, is a free online resource for child law practitioners. Practical articles tied to the ABA Center on Children and the Law’s primary areas of work, and the work of our partners in the field, will be shared as they are published and may be accessed at www.childlawpractice.org. Past articles from the parent publication, Child Law Practice, are also freely accessible. |