skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Report Recommends Greater Input for Foster Parents

play audio
Play

Friday, November 18, 2016   

SACRAMENTO, Calif - California's foster-care system looks after 60,000 children a year, and a new study points out ways to make improvements, by giving foster parents more of a voice.

Researchers at The Annie E. Casey Foundation suggest that state agencies make their treatment plans with the observations of the foster parents, treating them as partners, not just service providers.

Denise Goodman, a child welfare consultant, said foster parents are typically closest to the child, so their perspective is especially valuable.

"Foster parents want to be involved in the child's case planning, in the treatment planning for the child, in their school, in their health and mental-health processes," Dr. Goodman explained. "But oftentimes, those systems push foster parents out."

The study said some foster parents have been hamstrung by regulations in the past, and need legal protections that empower them to make everyday decisions for the kids in their care, from sleepovers to after-school activities and even haircuts.

Jennifer Rodriguez, executive director of the Youth Law Center said her organization has launched the "Quality Parenting Initiative" in nine states, including California. The program pushes state agencies to prioritize high-quality foster parenting.

"Up to this point, we have thought of foster parents as primarily 'the beds' in the system, and that all of the professionals on the team do the healing work for young people, and that perspective is backwards," she said.

Roberto Favela, vice president of foster care and adoption for Uplift Family Services in Campbell, California, said the State Department of Social Services launched a reform of the entire system last year with an emphasis on supporting families so they can keep children in the home, and foster parents are key to its success.

"They're getting out of residential institution settings into family community placements and decrease the time to achieve permanency, meaning that child is returned to his family, or is adopted," he said.

The state has already revamped its foster-care regulations and is now moving toward raising payments to foster parents.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021