The Case of Zahra Baker

The Case of Zahra Baker

Although she was not a child in foster care, I feel this blog would be remiss not to mention the case of Zahra Baker, since this case happened so close to home.

If you live in North Carolina, then I am guessing you have at least heard the name Zahra Baker, even if you are not completely sure why. She is a little girl from Hickory, North Carolina, who was reported missing in October. Earlier this week her remains were found. That story is sad enough, but what is disturbing in this case, and what pertains to this blog is the fact that DSS has been called out to the Baker home, for allegations of abuse, and yet, nothing  ever happened, and Zahra stayed in the home.

While doing research for this blog, I came across an article that highlighted the Zahra Baker case, as well as raised some eyebrows about potential issues at DSS. Although the article discussed many statistics involving child deaths, and many other issues at DSS, I do not want to discuss them here. If you are interested in my opinion on some of the issues at DSS, you can read my previous post about the Washington D.C. abuse scandal. What caught my attention in this article was the fact that it is often difficult for social workers to get information about a child from other counties that the child has lived in. I feel there has to be some way to streamline the process so that we can protect children. Does anyone out there know why it is difficult to gain access to such information from other counties? Why the file doesn’t just get automatically sent when asked for? It seems like such a simple thing to do, especially in the age of technology.

The case does highlight some of the issues that are being faced at DSS. The employees are overworked, paperwork is not streamlined, and many children can unfortunately fall through the cracks. Hopefully in the future we can begin to see changes in state agencies that will remedy some of these shortfalls. 

Washington D.C. Foster Care Abuse Scandal

As you are reading this post, and if you go on to read the original article, please think about what could have happened if this child had a Guardian ad Litem, and also, what changes need to be made in the child welfare system to ensure that tragedies like this do not happen again in the future.

Portions of this post, which are featured in italics, have been taken from The Washington Post article “D.C. settles for $10 million dollars in foster care abuse case” written by Henri E. Cauvin, Monday, November 8^th, 2010. 

The article is about a little boy named Rafael, who was just days old when he was removed from his mother’s care, after traces of cocaine were found in his system. He was then placed in foster care, where he was shaken and beaten by his foster mother, a woman who had previously returned a foster child, stating she had health problems and was unable to care for the child. According to the article, the foster mother agreed to take on Rafael, but stated that she did not have the money to care for him, but would still take him if the state rushed her assistance.

Once Rafael arrived, the stress mounted for Jenkins, according to the neighbor, who testified that Jenkins was complaining about never sleeping. Meanwhile, the city's long-troubled child welfare agency wasn't keeping tabs on Jenkins or the baby who had been entrusted to her. A social worker should have visited every week for the first eight weeks. The agency made one visit during the 43 days Rafael was in the home. It was another harrowing episode in the annals of the District's beleaguered child welfare system, and when they filed suit, Pearson's attorneys, Sidney Schupak and Michelle A. Parfitt of Ashcraft & Gerel, planned to put the entire system on trial. Instead, the District agreed to pay one of the largest settlements in its history, as well as $2 million in attorneys' fees. 

 

Rafael suffered severe brain damage and was on life support for several days. Now, five years later, he is still extremely disabled, with limited vision. He was not expected to survive his injuries, and will soon be moving into his grandmother’s home, which is being specially equipped in order to accommodate his disabilities. Although he will be out of the hospital, he will still require around the clock care. Washington D.C. has now agreed to pay a $10 million settlement, after the boy’s maternal grandmother filed charges.  The foster mother has been charged and is serving 12 years for child cruelty.

Now I know that many social workers and state agencies are extremely overworked, and I do not want to put down the work that they do. I know there are many great social workers out there. But why was this child visited once? Why was no one keeping tabs on this foster parent, who had already returned one child? Could things have been different if this child had been given a Guardian ad Litem, who could check up on the child and maybe notice some red flags that the social workers did not see? This Is such a great tragedy that unfortunately is not a unique story. We hear all the time about children in care who are not being properly watched over. Rafael was a baby, and will now be disabled for the rest of his life.

What could have been done differently? If you have any comments, please, let me hear them. This topic is too critical for is to sit back and not speak out. Rafael cannot speak for himself now, so it is upon is to do so.

Here is the link to the full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/08/AR2010110805565.html?sid=ST2010110806347

Some Adoption Facts

I found these facts from the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

• “Children often wait three years or more to be adopted, move three or more times in foster care and often are separated from siblings. The average age of waiting children is 8 years old.”  Imagine being an 8-year-old child moving from house to house, wondering where your siblings are, what your birth parents are doing, and why you are getting shuffled back and forth between homes.
• “Last year, 29,471 children turned 18 and left the foster care system without an adoptive family.”  This is one of the greatest tragedies of the foster care system, in my opinion. When children reach the age of 18 and have not yet been adopted, they are left to languish on their own. Often these children have not seen a stable home and may not be prepared for the difficulties of life on their own. Having not had the experience of a stable home, they may not know about some things others take for granted such as filling out a rent application, saving for a security deposit, etc. Also, many first time renters need a co-signer. If an 18-year-old has never had a permanent home, and lacks close family members, who co-signs for them? And if they cannot find a place of their own, who’s home do they return to?
• “Every child is adoptable. Many children in foster care have special needs. All of them deserve the chance to grow up in a safe, loving, permanent home. Support and other post-adoption resources are available.”  Although most children in the foster care system are not juvenile delinquents, and many are perfectly healthy, there are numerous children in the foster care system with special needs. They may not have a diagnosed illness or disability but having been removed from their home is cause enough to need some special attention. Although it may be difficult to care for some of these children, they are still lovable children who need a home just as much as any other child. They deserve a home and a loving family. And there are resources out there for adoptive parents who feel they need a little support.
• “There are 423,773 children in the U.S. foster care system; 114,556 of these children are available for adoption. Their birth parent's legal rights have been permanently terminated and children are left without a family.” Enough said. 423,773 children. 114,556 available for adoption and in need of a loving home.

Proposed Closure of CMS Schools

This post is from a colleague at the Guardian ad Litem Advocacy Foundation, Anamita Gall.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Commission motions to close down E.E. Waddell High School, and make significant changes to many other schools and Charlotte Mecklenburg School system programs. What does this mean for children in foster care, another move? Another loss? It is estimated that every time a child is moved they fall behind 6 months in school. On average, children in the Mecklenburg county foster system move between 2-3 times per year. The Guardian ad Litem Advocacy (GALA) Foundation urges the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community to take notice and strive to improve the social structures that we all rely on.

The heated protests, the public demonstrations by concerned students, officials and parents, and debates throughout Charlotte, clearly reflect this community’s concern for the future of its children. The NAACP involvement in this situation points to issues of race involved. The Charlotte Observer reports some interesting facts “Most speakers were critical of the plans crafted by Superintendent Peter Gorman and hashed out after five months of board meetings and public forums. Many noted that closings and other major changes would land disproportionately on schools serving minority and low-income students. Only about 5% of students in the schools slated to close are white, compared with a third district-wide.” Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/11/09/1824769/more-than-100-will-address-cms.html#ixzz14u1kjyw2

There is a disproportionate number of minority children in the Mecklenburg County foster care system who may be affected by these decisions. We may not be able to influence the number or backgrounds of children in care, but we can effect their experience in the system. The GALA Foundation challenges you to also consider the effect this has on children who have no one to be their voice in these systems.

National Adoption Day

November 20^th is National Adoption Day, a day to celebrate and finalize the adoptions of hundreds of children from the foster care system. This day brings together all of the different agencies, professionals and advocates that play a part in the child’s well-being and placement. This is a day to celebrate a child’s welcome into a new home and also draw awareness to the thousands of children that are yet to find a safe and permanent home.  It is also a chance for all of the different agencies to collaborate and come together for a celebratory event.  According to the website for National Adoption Day, it is expected that 4,500 children currently in foster care will have their adoptions finalized on November 20^th.

This is a national event and here in Mecklenburg County we will be celebrating at the court house in Uptown beginning at 8am. The Guardian ad Litem program, the Mecklenburg Guardian ad Litem Advocacy Foundation, the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services and other agencies are sponsoring this event. We are all excited to celebrate this momentous day in children’s lives. For more information about national adoption day:  http://www.nationaladoptionday.org

 

 

Look for us on Twitter and Facebook!

The Mecklenburg Guardian ad Litem Advocacy Foundation is now on Facebook and Twitter (MeckGALA). Look out for updates about the Foundation, the Program, and interesting news articles about foster care, foster children and adoption issues.

So what in the world is the Mecklenburg Guardian ad Litem Advocacy Foundation???

If you have read my previous post (So what in the world is a Guardian ad Litem?) , I spent some time describing the Guardian ad Litem program, and would now like to spend some time on the Mecklenburg Guardian ad Litem Advocacy Foundation (which will be called GALA Foundation for the rest of this post). Although most of my efforts pertain to promoting the Guardian ad Litem program, I do work for the GALA Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Charlotte, NC.

The mission of the GALA Foundation is to: raise community awareness about the issue of child abuse and neglect in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region, by way of, promoting the Guardian ad Litem Program, assisting with volunteer recruitment, and supporting the work of the Guardian ad Litem volunteers.

In 2004, a group of Guardian ad Litem (GAL) volunteers realized there was a need for more community awareness and resources for children in the foster care and court system. Thus the group took the initiative to form a foundation which would serve to bridge some of the gaps in the children’s care through supporting the GAL volunteers. Consequently, the GALA Foundation was established in April of 2005.  Currently, the GALA Foundation is comprised of a five-member, volunteer Board of Directors, and three AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer staff members.