A recent report by Saskatchewan's Children's Advocate concluded that children in Saskatchewan's foster care system are being subjected to many abuses. The report cites abuse is happening because of non-compliance with policy among staff at the Ministry of Social Service. It also cites how children have suffered because of overcrowding in foster homes.
Foster parents have trust in the child welfare system when children are placed in their home. They know the importance of matching an incoming child with everyone who resides in the home. It doesn't take long for some foster families to realize, the system doesn't care about appropriate matching. It's about filling “available” beds and for private agencies – filling beds is profit.
Speaking Out
“AAFG” is a former foster parent. She often caved under pressure in having children she felt were wrong for her home. Two days before AAFG was to attend her father's funeral, she was pressured into having an autistic boy placed in her home with the promise it was only a brief emergency placement. AAFG recalls, “The days turned to weeks and the weeks turned to months.” She believes, “ If they looked at who was best suited for my home instead of profits, there would have been much more success in helping the children.” AAFG no longer fosters as her frustration with a failing system was more stress than she could manage.
Marvin Bernstein who authored the Saskatchewan report says that ministry staff would use “manipulative methods” to coerce foster parents into taking another child into their care.
A former case manager in Ontario, Anne W., worked for a privately-run foster care agency. She said her boss would tell her to lie and “pressure” the foster parents into taking a child even though she felt it was setting everyone up for disaster. Anne W. says, “My boss rarely cared about anyone's welfare. If there was an empty bed, he complained about lost profits.”
What about the Foster Children?
When a child, regardless of age, is apprehended from a parent, anger and betrayal can only begin to explain how that child feels. If the child has mental health issues, (many of these children do), this experience will heighten his or her issues. Compound this with being placed into a “stranger's home”, having to attend a new school and making new friends can result in a manifestation of negative behavioral issues.
When these behavioral issues becomes too much, Anne W. claims the biological parent were often the scape goat. The child's access to the parent becomes limited, supervised and in some cases, removed. Naturally, the child's behaviors escalate and in some situations, other foster children and sometimes biological children will physically lash out in frustration. In more severe cases, foster parents have physically abused foster children in their care.
Abuse in foster homes is a serious problem. Adam Orlow, Esq., is a New York City attorney who has almost five years of experience helping former foster children seek compensation. He passionately believes that when children are placed into care, they need a foster home that is adequate and safe. He says that the screening process for foster parents must be tighter.
Adam Orlow further stated, “Case workers need greater supervision, preferably by an independent body.” He also recommends that in addition to closely monitoring the case workers, having the workers conduct unscheduled visits to foster homes is essential. Orlow adds, “Too many times there is a lack of supervision.”
The child welfare system in Canada and the United States needs a massive overhaul that includes professional accountability. Sadly, due to the lack of accountability, if there is suspected abuse, contacting the local child welfare agency is not always enough.
