The life of a foster child can be one of being constantly uprooted: Never feeling at home with strangers, who may not quite be trusting, he or she never quite settles in and, often, moves on to the next temporary home in line.
But the best results are achieved, experts have found, when the child is placed within a family, as opposed to a more institutional group residence. According to a new report issued as part of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s ongoing Kids Count project, Hawaii fares well when evaluated by this important metric.
This suggests that the state can take satisfaction that it is on a good course for the delivery of emergency care of children in distressed families. However, the other component for successful care of foster children is persistent oversight of the caregivers and intervention to keep these complex family networks healthy and capable of providing the critical service.
In the "Every Kid Needs a Family" report from Kids Count, data show Hawaii with 92 percent of its foster children in family settings of all kinds. Four states — Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Maine — ranked higher, with 94 percent, the report stated. The national average for foster children placed in families, as opposed to group settings or miscellaneous "other" circumstances, is 84 percent.
Beyond the generic "family placement," Hawaii’s foster care system leans heavily on extended family placement. A 2011 Kids Count report indicated that this state has 45 percent of foster children with relatives, the highest rate in the country.
Surely, these children benefit from the deep network of family ties across the islands, and most of them adjust well to what are challenging circumstances, even in the best cases.
Government figures seem to bear that out. There’s been a reduction of children in foster care, according to state Department of Human Services data. And the federal Department of Health and Human Services issued a 2013 "Child Maltreatment" report, about the status of children taken into the government protective system, including foster care. It shows Hawaii with the second lowest rate of recurrence of child abuse within six months.
There is clearly potential for good care within the application of Hawaii’s "ohana" network. However, the best interest of the child is established in law as the basis for deciding where a child is placed, and that standard must remain paramount, regardless of the family connection of caregiver with that child.
Those who work within the system of social service providers say the licensing standards for foster-home placement are the same, whether or not there is a blood relative fostering the child. That is an essential criterion for safe placement, but it does not eliminate the need for continued vigilance by the state.
Some within the foster-care community are concerned. Foster parent Carl Campagna runs a nonprofit, Olomea, which helps older foster children who age out or opt out of the system get established on their own in the adult world.
The foster-care system is complex, with numerous pitfalls, he said. Campagna cited cases in which a foster child is given to a family member who, unknown to the social workers, turns around and brings the child back to the biological parent who had been judged unfit. And family reunification, which the state favors, is not always in the child’s interest, he added.
There is certainly reason to sound such a cautionary note. But there’s reason to celebrate, as well. The strength of family care for foster children, and the progress Hawaii has made along these lines, are encouraging.
And in January, Hawaii won approval to use federal foster-care funds not only for the children themselves but for intervention programs to support families and keep kids from falling into the foster-care system to begin with. Also eligible for funding are projects to expedite finding permanent families for these children, who need stability.
That is laudable, because this broadened view of foster care recognizes an essential truth: Foster children do better in families, as studies have shown repeatedly.
And if their own family can be strengthened to fulfill that function, that would be the best outcome possible.
