Foster Care

This is one of the reasons the laws for foster care requirements must be amended. Although nothing is completely guaranteed, there needs to be more stringent requirements before one can qualify as a foster parent in addition to the ones already in place. All potential foster parents should be required to have a psychological evaluation, as well as a set amount of hours of anger management classes. This may seem extreme to many, but if you think about it, these children are not ordinary children with typically normal behaviors. According to a post on adoptionblogs.com in 2008, a foster parent had addressed her concerns regarding changes in licensing rules, which she felt could conceivably drive foster parents away. Her first complaint, I felt was valid, which requires foster parents to be fingerprinted prior to every license renewal. Your fingerprints do not change, so why require them annually or bi-annually? Although repeat fingerprinting doesn’t make sense, an arrest can change the status of a background check. Why not just conduct a background check prior to each renewal? Additionally, this parent had complained that the social worker would be making one unscheduled visit every quarter and require that both parents (if applicable) to be present for a scheduled visit. I do not find this unreasonable. Even a “Super Dad”, as she referred her husband, should be able to take one day off, or even half a day, for a scheduled visit once every 3 months. Lastly, her grievance of one unscheduled visit per quarter could put a damper on her private life and juggling of schedules. I do agree with that. However, I do consider what could have been the outcome had this rule of “unscheduled visits” been in place years ago with regards to children murdered in foster care and how many children’s lives could have been spared? Shameeka Davis lived in Antioch, CA, but the foster care home was under the supervision of the San Francisco Human Services Agency. Because Ms. Davis had had her nephew and niece, who were twins, since they were toddlers , San Francisco officials felt that after all that time the home was stable enough, and decided that a case worker was only required to visit the home once every six months. These visits were scheduled visits with some arranged two to three weeks in advance. According to the surviving sibling (the nephew) he knew when it was getting close to the bi-annual visits because Shameeka would feed them again and treat their scars and injuries (from the abuse) with medicines and bleaching creams. I am convinced that this would not have happened had San Francisco’s Human Services Agency required quarterly unscheduled visits in addition to the monthly visits, and not relied on the fact that since she was a relative placement for so long that everything had to be ok. The beginning process of foster parenting can be exhausting to say the least, but for the right individuals it can also be rewarding. Being a foster parent is not for everyone. If you don’t like the rules that are in place, then this may not be the right avenue for you. Three years ago we would not have chosen to be foster parents if we knew we had to engage in anger management classes, as well as a psych evaluation. “If I knew then what I know now”, I certainly would have understood why. I have seen children as young as 3 years old being re-placed in a different home because they are not potty trained! Some foster parents will be placed with a child today and tender their required 10 day notice the very next day due to the child’s behavior that they do not want to deal with. I would rather see that than a child beaten to death because a foster parent was stuck with a child they were not mentally equipped to handle. Shameeka and Renee decided to torture their children allowing them to die a slow painful death before killing them. In both cases involving these women they starved their children. Renee decided to place two of her children inside of a freezer after she killed them even taking the freezer with her when she moved!!!!! Shameeka was no better. She locked her children in a closet half clothed, with minimal food and water. Never mind the fact that if they urinated or defecated on themselves that resulted in punishment. Where did she expect them to use the bathroom if they were locked in a closet? This woman was obviously severely mentally disturbed. I think a psychological evaluation could have prevented these women from being allowed to foster, let alone adopt, their children.