Virginia legal advocates are partnering on a program to keep families together.
The Family Preservation Project is a collaboration between the Virginia Poverty Law Center and the Virginia Legal Aid Justice Center. The goal is to create a better approach to family separation cases with improvements to the whole system.
An Annie E. Casey Foundation report found neglect is a growing reason Virginia kids are placed in foster care.
Valerie L'Herrou, deputy director of the Center for Family Advocacy at the Virginia Poverty Law Center, said sometimes, it is a different story.
"Something like an eviction, or some other legal matter, can precipitate children going into foster care when their families have done nothing wrong," L'Herrou pointed out.
The two organizations say they are bringing a holistic approach to legal work, providing wraparound legal services for evictions and family separation, along with parent advocates who've been through the system guiding others through separations.
Virginia's Promoting Safe and Stable Families program also helps connect families and children to necessary services to get through a crisis.
One sticking point L'Herrou and others want to change is the price attorneys are paid for taking on family separation cases. The flat rate of $120 per case has turned into a deterrent for those who charge much higher rates for hourly services. She said this creates a lack of proper legal representation for families.
"Attorneys are just not accepting the cases because basically, they can't afford to," L'Herrou acknowledged. "Even when they do, they're not doing anything -- they're not putting any time into it -- because in their minds simply, showing up to court is enough. So, one of the recommendations is to raise that $120 flat fee to $445."
For the first time in 20 years, the Virginia State Bar Association will be advocating at the Virginia General Assembly on the matter, seeking methods to improve the quality of legal services for certain child dependency cases. The association's request will go before the state Supreme Court for approval.
Disclosure: The Virginia Poverty Law Center contributes to our fund for reporting on Civil Rights, Housing/Homelessness, Poverty Issues, Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
click here.
get more stories like this via email
New data show many Connecticut residents can't afford daily life. This year's ALICE update shows the number of asset-limited, income-constrained employed families grew 13% in 2022. This is the largest increase in a decade.
The report says a family with two adults and two children in the state need an income of $114,000 per year just to afford the basics - not including emergency expenses.
Daniel Fitzmaurice, director of advocacy for the United Way of Connecticut, said some of what people do to make ends meet falls outside the data's scope.
"It's a little hard sometimes to quantify, for example, the compromises families make to maybe put their child in only a couple days a week of childcare rather than full-time childcare, or live with many people in their household rather than have the type of housing they want," he explained.
Three priority affordability issues for Connecticut residents are childcare, housing and food. Fitzmaurice and other advocates feel implementing a state child tax credit can be the best way to help ailing families. The state's proposed credit would provide an additional $600 for a family's biggest expenses.
One challenge for families to receive the child tax credit is ensuring they file their income taxes. Fitzmaurice noted those eligible people might not know about it or other programs. Another issue could be they either earn too much or too little to qualify for some state programs. He offered Connecticut's childcare subsidy as one example.
"Families at that income bracket actually work outside of the traditional economy; say hair braiding or driving an Uber or delivery services," he continued. "And so, they struggle to qualify for the childcare subsidy that would enable them to work, because they don't have enough documented work."
Beyond the benefits cliff, there is a mismatch between everyday costs and the jobs of ALICE families. Half of the most common jobs in the state in 2022 all paid under $20 an hour. But Fitzmaurice said most of these jobs - like cashiers, truck drivers, and personal care aides - are essential to the economy.
"These most common jobs are also some of our most essential jobs, but they have just traditionally had very low wages for what it costs to live," he said.
Disclosure: United Way of Connecticut contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy & Priorities, Children's Issues, Housing/Homelessness, Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
click here.
get more stories like this via email
The Public Children's Services Association of Ohio has launched a groundbreaking new initiative called Practice in Action Together, aimed at revolutionizing child welfare practices across the state.
The program is designed to strengthen relationships between caseworkers and families.
Lara LaRoche, practice adviser for the association, emphasized the approach is key to improving outcomes for children. She noted she has been in the field for 30 years and has not been more excited about a practice model or a new implementation.
"It's all about the family and elevating the family's voice," LaRoche explained. "It's about relationships and really understanding the importance of how we're connected to one another, how we in the community support one another."
The new model is the first in the country codeveloped by families, workers and child welfare leaders. It focuses on building relationships to keep children in their homes and reunify them with their families when needed. Although relationship-building alone may not fully address systemic issues in child welfare, the approach offers a piece of the puzzle.
In addition to the new approach, the association is debuting a new podcast titled "3000 Good Things, Porch Time with Mike and Ashley," which aims to highlight positive stories within the child welfare system.
Mike Kenny, director of strategic initiatives for the association and co-host of the podcast, said the podcast's mission is centered on the belief the stories told truly matter.
"This podcast is really focused on once a week, on Friday morning, specifically for those working in child welfare, to hear one good thing that's happening," Kenny outlined.
The podcast will not only share uplifting stories but also tie them back to the Practice in Action Together initiative by highlighting behaviors from the model in action. With its first episode airing today, the association hopes to shift the narrative around child welfare in Ohio, offering a weekly reminder positive change is happening within the system.
Disclosure: The Public Children Services Association of Ohio contributes to our fund for reporting on Children's Issues, Family/Father Issues, Livable Wages/Working Families, and Mental Health. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
click here.
get more stories like this via email
An interim North Dakota legislative committee this week got an update from state leaders on potential moves to reconnect kids in foster care with their biological parents if a court order is at play.
The North Dakota Department of Human Services presented findings to the interim Juvenile Justice Committee about this option, based on the views of legal minds around the state, including the North Dakota Supreme Court.
Cory Pederson, the department's director of children and family services, noted that about one in four kids in the foster-care system has no legal connection to his or her biological parents because a court determined it wasn't in the child's best interest to be in their custody.
"These are children that their parent rights are terminated, there's no adoption pending, there's no family that's come forward and said, 'We would like to adopt this child,'" he said. "They are basically the North Dakota orphans of the state."
Twenty-two other states have laws that create pathways to restore these rights, and Pederson said they reviewed some of them in gathering findings. Study leaders recommend North Dakota pursue a statute that would include waiting at least 12 months after a final termination order for a petition to proceed. Foster family shortages are cited as a driving factor for these laws.
One committee member questioned if the local state's attorney in the initial case would still be involved if there was reason to oppose the petition for reinstatement. Pederson assured the panel that would be the standard approach.
"A judge will make that determination at the hearing," he said, "but the state's attorney is going to be paramount in that process."
In the suggested framework for a North Dakota bill, another provision would block rights from being restored if sexual abuse had occurred or the parent in question has been convicted of conduct that resulted in the substantial bodily injury or death of a minor.
get more stories like this via email