Toolsview all

David Stanley Ford

Foster parents seeking support
Foster parents seeking support

By Randy Ellis    Comments Comment on this article13
Published: October 31, 2007

Oklahoma foster care parents are stressed out and struggling because of low reimbursement rates and poor support and communication from state Department of Human Services workers, members of the state House Human Services Committee were told on Tuesday.

Advertisement

"I've had some wonderful social workers, but I've had some who wouldn't return calls,” said Kay Hawkins, a Shawnee foster parent. "For three days I had a sick child and my social worker wouldn't return calls. ... I've had times when I didn't know who my social worker was.”

Hawkins said the situation is stressful because foster parents are told to call their social worker when a child falls ill.

Foster parent Leslie Owens said there were times when she called both her social worker and the worker's supervisor, only to discover that the voicemail for both was full — making it impossible to even leave a message.

The agency does a poor job of communicating about various forms of assistance that are available, several foster parents complained.

Hawkins said when she first got her foster children, she wasn't told they qualified for the free lunch program, so she ended up paying. Special subsidies are available to foster parents who take in siblings and children with special needs.

Hawkins said it typically costs more to take care of an older child than a younger child, but she wasn't told that the subsidies she receives could be increased because her foster children had gotten older until she specifically asked. Hawkins said a DHS worker told her the worker wasn't allowed to tell her about the availability of an increased subsidy unless she asked.

Karen Poteet, a DHS programs manager, told lawmakers the subsidies are "negotiable” based on changes in a child's or family's circumstances.

Hawkins also complained that the state doesn't provide liability insurance coverage for foster parents.

Actually, the state does provide liability coverage, Joani Webster, a programs administrator in DHS's children and family services division, told lawmakers. Hawkins just hadn't been told about it.

Foster children qualify for Medicaid assistance when they receive medical and dental care, but many doctors and dentists refuse to take Medicaid patients, several foster parents complained.

"Finding a doctor who will accept Medicaid is a problem,” said foster parent Lana Freeman. "Finding a dentist is a bigger problem.”

DHS could save foster parents a great deal of frustration if they would simply provide them with a list of doctors and dentists in their area who will accept Medicaid, they said.

State Rep. Scott BigHorse, D-Pawhuska, said there have been communication problems between DHS workers and foster parents for years and asked DHS officials why they hadn't acted to fix the problem.

"This can't be the first time you've heard this,” BigHorse said. "Why in the past 10 years hasn't it been addressed?”

DHS officials blamed staff turnover and said they are constantly trying to do better.

Costs add up
Foster parents are paid a basic rate of $365 to $498 a month for each child, depending on the child's age. That's not enough, the foster parents said.

Freeman said two foster children cost her $1,000 this week. One tore up a digital camera and another broke a Tiffany lamp.

Hawkins said a foster child dropped her husband's $300 cell phone in the toilet.

Freeman, who has cared for about 200 children in her home over the years, said children coming into foster care are younger and more disturbed than they used to be, which places more demands on foster parents. She said many of the children placed in her home had been sexually abused.

To prepare foster parents for dealing with sexually abused children, DHS provides "three whole minutes of film training,” she said.

Oklahoma has 3,800 foster homes, and that's not nearly enough to take care of all the children who need help, she said.

Several foster parents complained about the lack of a respite program to assist foster parents when they run into special difficulties.

Freeman said she asked for temporary respite assistance last year because her husband had cancer and she had to attend an important conference. She was told Oklahoma had no such program, so her husband had to watch five children even though he had a catheter at the time.

Webster said DHS does now have a pilot respite program in McCurtain County and there is a proposal to expand that to six counties — one in each of six areas of the state. Funding is an obstacle, she indicated.

Freeman said happy foster parents are the best foster parent recruiting tool a state can have and unhappy foster parents "kill recruitment.”

It's a difficult job, she said, adding that on average, an allegation is made against a foster parent every two years that could destroy that family.

"It's like playing leapfrog with a unicorn,” she quoted a friend as saying.

Toolsview all

David Stanley Ford


Related Topics: Culture and Lifestyle, Health and Fitness, Medicine, Politics, Family, Foster Care, Social Work, Health Care Costs, Health Care Issues


Refinance Now at 4.25% Fixed
No hidden fees-4.4% APR! No obligation. Get 4 free quotes. No SSN req.
MortgageRefinance.LendGo.com
Obama Wants You to Return to School
Get Your Degree Now. Financial Aid & Scholarships are available.
www.classesusa.com

Leave a Comment

Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online

Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.


Log in below or sign up (it's free).





Did that foster parent really say that the reimbursement per child is not enough and provide an example of her foster children costing her over $1,000 dollars that week...and the reason being they broke a camara and a Tiffany lamp????? (Oh yeah, she's hurting for money) The state does not pay me money for my kids and they have broke expensive things of mine. This happens when you have children...foster or not! I was expecting an example of these expenses being daycare, food, clothing or physicians visits. But no...they are claiming expense related to damaged property??? Where's the state money to help parents of ALL children??
Steph, Oklahoma City - Nov 27, 2007 at 1:56 am
The addition benefits are called Difficulty of Care payments and they are only for children to exhibit behavior problems or have medical difficulties. The reason why your worker does not inform you of this payment is that it is hard for the children to qualify and the majority of children DO NOT qualify. You should feel blessed that your foster child is healthy and does not need this additional payment. The money is for the things the child needs, not for your belongings.
Tanya, Moore - Nov 11, 2007 at 6:10 pm
Dear Mr. Randy Ellis, you are harder to contact than any DHS worker I ever had to deal with. I was a foster parent for my grandchild and very proactive. These foster parents who spoke at the House Human Services Committee in October should know how to contact a DHS worker if their foster child is sick, I found out because I asked. Every DHS worker has an e-mail and they have to read it everday, if you e-mail them they not only know what is going on it is a permenant record in the child's file. I never had a failure to communicate, because if I could not get a hold of anyone I went down to the local DHS office and told them I would not leave until I had an answer to my question.If you would like more information I will be glad to pass it on. Being an involved informed foster parent is the key to being successful. As for reimbursement I never had any problem with the amount, I was very frugal, I have since adopted my grandchild, and life is good. I relize that our DHS system is falable but it is what we have, and if you stand your ground they will and they have to assist you, they have a whole website of policies they have to follow. Need more information contact me. Your article is interesting but I do not agree with most of its content.
Teresa, Macomb - Nov 2, 2007 at 11:05 pm
Start at the root of the problem. Pass out birth control and keep your teens at home .. not out running the streets and getting pregnant. Educate your kids and be a parent now.. so your kids won't need Foster parents to raise their kids. Foster parents need help and shouldn't have to ask about needed money to raise someone elses children. Poor kids, they are the victims here.
K, Edmond - Nov 2, 2007 at 10:51 am
Report as inappropriate or
Ignore K
1) The foster care claims are done automatically each month by the computer. The rate is based on the child's age and would automatically be increased when the child is old enough to qualify for the next level of payment. It's not based on any special notification or request.
2)DHS does pay for daycare of foster children when the foster parents are working.
Glenda, Oklahoma City - Nov 2, 2007 at 10:17 am
Last I knew, DHS would not pay for daycare for foster children. Yet, they pay partial daycare fees for working parents who qualify. I think after school daycare for foster children should be paid. As for the lamp, camera & phone-I keep that type of thing away from my grandchildren; shouldn't the foster parents do the same? I don't understand the funding for foster care at all.....
Deann, Crescent - Oct 31, 2007 at 12:03 pm
A friend of mine started Extended Hands Foundation to assist foster parents with various needs. His name is Brian Hill and has been doing this for over 2 years. His heart is for the children and teens of this state without homes. Last year he assisted hundreds of families with Christmas presents and clothes.

His website is www.extendedhandsfoundation.org or his phone number is 405-600-8593.

They can help in a lot of ways!

It is worth looking into!

~Autumn in OKC
Jessica, Oklahoma City - Oct 31, 2007 at 11:45 am
I want to thank all of the foster parents out there. My friends are foster parents to 3 kids ages 3,2, and 1. There is definately an added cost, responsibility and time with all of the appointments and training, but for them it is all worth it. I don't expect DHS to pay for things that they children break in the foster parent's home though. Freeman said a digital camera and a tiffany lamp were broken, how is DHS going to afford to repay you for those things? Also, Hawkins said that her cell phone was dropped into a toilet. They should be talking about the cost of feeding these kids, taking time off to go to the doctor, and clothes expense not mentioning cell phone and tiffany lamps.
Dusty, Oklahoma City - Oct 31, 2007 at 8:58 am
I do make phone calls - and write letters, emails, etc. If there are funds to increase subsidies in special cases, would that not have been legislated? I truly do not know. I just want to know why the foster parent cannot be told about it unless they ask. These people have enough on their plates without having to seek out the extra financial help that is due them.
whyno, no - Oct 31, 2007 at 6:57 am
If you want to complain about funding for increased foster care rates, focus on your representatives in the State Legislature. Tell them to appropriate additional funds for a foster care rate increase. Making that phone call will do a whole lot more than complaining about it here.
John, Oklahoma City - Oct 31, 2007 at 6:41 am
Report as inappropriate or
Ignore John
Is it not weird how I can post on this board, but not on the immigration stories this website has?
Carol, Tuttle - Oct 31, 2007 at 3:36 am
testing.
Carol, Tuttle - Oct 31, 2007 at 3:36 am
I would like to know who came up with the policy of not notifying foster parents of additional benefits unless they ask. Is it the state lawmakers, or does DHS have its own secret policies on these matters. These are special people who are willing to sacrifice their own needs to make a difference in children's lives. I cannot believe the games DHS plays with the lives of people. I love children, and would love to be able to help. Due to this article, unless changes are made, I will forget about it.
whyno, no - Oct 31, 2007 at 12:58 am

    News Photo Galleriesview all