There is a lot to celebrate when families step up to provide a safe and loving home for children who have been placed in foster care. But putting kids in foster care is no reason for joy.
Many Virginia families struggle to access safe and stable housing, physical and mental health care, childcare, even food. When families struggle while working hard to ensure children have what they need, they may be at risk of entering the foster care system.
According to Casey Family Programs, established 60 years ago to promote child safety and support families, “safety… can be described as feeling safe, having a permanent family and a connection to one’s community and culture.”
When a child is placed in foster care, it means we have failed, and a child is no longer safe. Our communities, our social safety net, and our child protection systems have failed the child and their family. A call to Child Protective Services (CPS), often from a “mandated reporter” — perhaps a teacher or health care worker — who is required to call CPS if they even suspect a child may be unsafe or going without.
When families struggle while working hard to ensure children have what they need, they may be at risk of entering the foster care system.
Bias, outdated assumptions, or mistaking poverty for neglect, can play a role in reports to CPS. Some states, such as Colorado, New York, and California, are revisiting their CPS reporting laws. Researchers at Casey Family Programs note that mandated reporting is often overused. And anonymous reporting laws, like Virginia’s, may lead to false or malicious reports. Lack of housing plays a big role in children’s entry into care.
With over-reporting, the majority of reports to CPS are invalid. In Virginia, only 40% of calls are valid. That’s better than some other states, where fewer than a third of calls are valid. Among valid calls, nearly 70% are for “neglect,” often due to lack of resources. Most investigations find no abuse or neglect. But this flood of calls overwhelms the system, leaving some vulnerable children at risk.
Harms of Foster Care to Children
Foster care must be reserved for those rare situations where children are truly unsafe. Being separated from family is traumatic; brain scans of children separated from parents show damage decades later. A recent analysis from Rutgers University found that putting more children in care did not reduce child mortality. That study recommended improving public health and family well-being instead. Another, international, study even found that a child placed in foster care has a higher risk of dying before turning 20 than a similar child who is stays at home with supports and services in place.
Once a child enters the system in Virginia, they are at risk of never getting out: Virginia has the highest rate for children “aging out” of foster care—that is, spending their entire childhood in foster care, never returning home, nor finding another permanent family. While more children are now placed in care with relatives, which is an improvement, our aging-out rate has not budged.
Children who age out of care have more difficulty in life, many with worse life outcomes than those who remain with their families. We must do better.
What Can We Learn from Innovative Approaches Elsewhere?
As more states recognize that lack of resources is often mistaken for neglect, and seek to reduce the harm of separating children from their families, some have pivoted from mandated reporting to “mandated supporting:” connecting a family to community help, only referring to CPS if a child is in immediate danger, or the family needs more help to keep their child safe.
In California, several counties, including Los Angeles County (with a larger population than the entire Commonwealth of Virginia), have adopted “mandated supporting.” Decision trees help professionals decide when they must report, versus connecting families to supports in the community.
When New York City moved to the mandated supporting model, CPS reports decreased by 2600 in the first year; referrals to supports increased by 3500. More families received what they needed without unnecessary intrusion.
Some [states] have pivoted from mandated reporting to “mandated supporting”… only referring to CPS if a child is in immediate danger, or the family needs more help to keep their child safe.
Maine recently clarified laws so poverty is not confused with neglect; and helps keep children safe by building supportive communities to provide services for families. When family needs are met, CPS can focus on truly dangerous situations.
In Virginia, a network of five local Family Resource Centers was established to provide family supports in local communities. But though these centers showed good outcomes, funds to keep them in place are diminishing—even though keeping children out of the system saves money: Virginia spends hundreds of millions annually on foster care.
What Can Virginia do to Keep Kids Safe and Out of Foster Care?
Virginia Poverty Law Center advocates for better family supports – including legal representation and services for child wellbeing. We work to change laws so Virginia families have safe and stable housing, and access to health care, food, childcare, and financial supports – including time off so parents can care for a new baby or a sick child – so children can thrive.
When all families have access to what they need to be nurturing and safe, the Commonwealth will truly be a place where all children can flourish and grow.
