It can be a long road to finding permanent homes for kids in the New York State foster care system, but many find it worthwhile.

Megan Battista is a Wendy's Wonderful Kids recruiter who saw this in Merriah, a child in a temporary foster home that wasn't on the path to permanency.

Battista said she knew Merriah was longing to settle past traumas and knew finding her a mentor was the best thing to do. The hope was to have someone who could work with Merriah on her goals and guide her in navigating certain challenges.

She found a mentor in fellow Wendy's Wonderful Kids Recruiter, Emilie Kenneally. After awhile, Kenneally decided to adopt Merriah.

Battista said this wasn't always the plan, but she had an idea it might happen.

"I think that you can tell when a resource is ready to be permanency when they start to be, like, really concerned about wherever that kid is," said Battista. "So, I think there were some things that came up where she was like, 'I'm just really worried. I want to make sure that Merriah's getting the best', when she was not going to be a placement for them."

Kenneally went from mentor to mother. She and her husband John became certified foster parents to do respite for Merriah, and adopted her after a placement fell apart.

Battista said she feels that while Merriah is unique, her circumstances aren't. She said it can be easy to not want to rock the boat when placing an older kid, especially when they're not eager to be in a certain placement.

It was an interesting experience for Kenneally to be on a different end of the foster-care spectrum. Although she's worked in child welfare for many years, this was quite a different experience.

But, after getting to know - and later adopting her - Kenneally noted that Merriah has changed for the better since they first met.

"After being adopted, she can finally dream of the future," said Kenneally. "She knows that she has a safety net and people who care about her and that she can lean on, no matter what. And, so I think having that has really given her the opportunity to think of what her life could be and to have dreams, and not have to focus on just making it through the day."

One piece of advice Kenneally has for others is to manage your expectations. She said acknowledging what foster kids come from and have been through can be helpful to potential foster parents.

She's learned that things may not go the way a parent plans, but it still is likely to turn out all right.

A persistent child care worker shortage across New Hampshire is leaving families with few options.

The state is currently short more than 7,000 child care positions but low wages and burnout are driving workers from the field and forcing some centers to close.

Shannon Tremblay, director of the New Hampshire Child Care Advisory Council, said workers are struggling to care for their own families with wages barely above the federal poverty line.

"No one wants to come in for a low wage," Tremblay pointed out. "No one wants to come in making $15 an hour, working long hours in a stressful environment."

Tremblay argued greater state investment will create long-term benefits for both parents and children, some of whom may have disabilities or behavioral issues which could be identified earlier by trained child care staff.

Last year, state lawmakers invested more than $60 million in child care services, including $15 million for the creation of child care workforce grants and investments in the state's Family Resource Centers.

Tremblay emphasized the end of career and technical education programs in New Hampshire high schools broke the pipeline of workers entering the field, putting greater pressure on current staff to do it all.

"Our providers are the case manager, the cook, the plumber," Tremblay observed. "They want to provide that high-quality care and right now it's just, they can't do it."

Tremblay stressed pandemic-era funding to support the child care industry will run out in September, so state lawmakers need to act. She added the state could increase wages so the burden does not fall on New Hampshire families, who currently spend roughly $24,000 a year on care for two children under age five.

The child welfare system in Pennsylvania faces a staffing crisis affecting children and families throughout the system.

The Child Welfare Resource Center said about 30 counties report caseworker vacancy rates of 30% or higher

Terry Clark, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth and Family Services, at a state Senate hearing on child welfare, challenged the Departments of Education and Human Services to work together to develop a STEM-focused model for human services. It could offer young people opportunities for training, apprenticeships and careers in child welfare, juvenile justice and behavioral health.

"We spend a lot of time focusing on colleges and universities," Clark noted. "But we believe we might want to back this up a little bit, and start looking at middle schools and high schools. Try to reinvigorate, get younger students motivated and trying to come into this field."

Clark pointed out some agencies have asked supervisors and even people from other departments to take on casework responsibilities. A recent Philadelphia study found Community Umbrella Agencies had an average 45% turnover rate, with vacancies ranging from 21-60 positions.

Clark observed private providers face workforce challenges similar to the county child welfare agencies. He emphasized counties are beginning to explore more contractual relationships with private providers for needed work.

"Counties are starting to put out RFPs, calls for private providers to help supplement their workforce," Clark stressed. "That means they're asking private providers to take on roles and functions that, in the past, were primarily done by counties themselves."

Clark argued competitive wages are seen as crucial to attract and retain child welfare workers, and county funding often falls short. He added student loan forgiveness and fellowship programs may be promising ways to bring new people into the field, but lawmakers would have to agree.

"There have been House bills and different Senate bills that have been introduced, or at least in draft form over the years," Clark acknowledged. "We hope that there's continued discussion about those, because if we can get some movement on those, we think those will really help."

He told legislators the turnover trends will not change significantly without increased investment in workers.

Despite a recent policy victory, Wisconsin labor leaders still express concern about the current environment for shielding young teens from unsafe work environments.

Gov. Tony Evers this month vetoed a bill which would have expanded the elimination of required work permits for those younger than 18. The bill's language applied to 14- and 15-year-olds, several years after the state did away with parental permission for 16- and 17-year-olds.

Stephanie Bloomingdale, president of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, said the recent debates are policy fights advocates thought they won decades ago when minors often worked in dangerous conditions. She cautioned there is a strong push to chip away at protections.

"We are seeing a growing movement from different, unscrupulous employers that want to put kids back in the workplace, and not have the kind of oversight that is needed," Bloomingdale contended.

The Economic Policy Institute said rollbacks have been approved in a dozen states in the past few years. While current efforts are thwarted in Wisconsin, Bloomingdale worries about similar debates in future sessions.

Meanwhile, violations are trending upward, with the U.S. Labor Department reporting an 83% increase in financial penalties. Backers of the Wisconsin bill said the goal was to reduce red tape for families.

Bloomingdale countered taking away another layer of protection does more to trample on the rights of parents and guardians. And with higher consumer prices placing more pressure on household budgets, she added some kids might feel the need to bring in additional income.

She emphasized the current law helps the whole family make an informed decision.

"It's important for kids to get a good work ethic," Bloomingdale acknowledged. "But at the same time, these kids need to make sure that they are getting enough sleep, that they are able to participate in their school, and really making sure that balance is there."

The Economic Policy Institute report showed amid the push in many states to weaken laws, several other states have advanced bills to strengthen protections. There have been bipartisan bills in Congress which, among other things, would crack down on violators.


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