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Foster parent shortage could become tighter if children from Eldorado dispersed throughout state
by Kathleen Thurber
Midland Reporter-Telegram
By Kathleen Thurber
Staff Writer
With some abused and neglected children in Midland already being sent outside the region for foster care, officials say if children from Eldorado need refuge in Midland it's going to amplify an already strained situation.
"We just have a shortage of foster parents in the Permian Basin, period," said Kay Wright, foster home developer with Midland's Buckner Foster Care and Adoption Network.
Buckner Foster Care has told the Department of Family and Protective Services it could accommodate 100 children statewide, Wright said, but the department has not started moving any of the 416 children removed from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints compound near Eldorado and will likely not do so soon.
The children were removed because the state believed they were in danger of physical, emotional and sexual abuse. A hearing will be held Thursday to determine if the children will be turned over to state custody or returned to the compound, according to Associated Press reports.
If the children are placed in homes throughout the state though, she said, it will be one of the biggest challenges the foster care system has faced in Texas, especially since regions like Midland have already had to send its own children elsewhere because of an ongoing shortage of available parents.
While foster parents are difficult to find for any children, said Ginger Fisher, director of adoptions at Hope for Tomorrow, it's even more challenging to place sibling groups, teens or children with any special behavioral or medical needs -- categories most from the FLDS compound are expected to fall into.
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services reports say the children are being given health screenings and that most seem to be in good mental and physical health, though about a dozen have chicken pox they contracted before being removed. The organization has not made any announcements about what will happen with the children long-term.
Still, officials said, if they're placed in situations outside of the environment they've been raised in, they'll essentially have to be completely acculturated.
"For however long they've been in Eldorado they've been in this one culture and not anything like the world that we live in," said Jim Palmer, with High Sky Ranch. "There's going to be some challenges that are there where people are going to have to be understanding and nurturing."
Many of the children have been taught to think and live in a way counter to what mainstream culture views as right, Fisher said, and re-teaching those life skills will be a challenge, especially since most children have a loyalty to their parents, even if the parents allowed or participated in the abuse.
It's always difficult to take care of someone else's children as they adapt to new rules and routines, Wright said. Children in foster care have often never been taught socially acceptable behaviors or simple routines such as brushing their teeth and bathing daily, she said.
Many children also have attachment issues and suffer from a degree of post traumatic stress disorder from the abuse or neglect they've experienced in the past, Palmer said.
For those in Midland and surrounding areas needing placement, some are transferred to emergency shelters at High Sky Children's Ranch where children can stay for up to 90 days while placement is found, said Jalynn Hogan, High Sky Ranch's therapeutic director.
The facility also has on-campus foster homes where parents care for between eight and 12 children, including their own. But, when it comes to community homes, Palmer said, they currently have only one family caring for children.
Wright said they have six children placed in community homes, with several others waiting for placement.
Part of the issue, she said, is foster parents often choose to adopt and then can no longer take additional children. And though that's a positive for children whose parents no longer have rights, it helps perpetuate the local parent shortage.
Hogan said some area parents will care for different foster children for six to seven years and some parents are new to the process and will offer care for a shorter time period.
The application process to become a foster family can take three to six months, officials said, and some parents withdraw after realizing what a commitment they'd be accepting.
"They didn't have the right idea of what it really meant to be a foster parent," Fisher said.
Wright said their organization requires a lengthy process so they can become acquainted with the family and know what kind of children they'd work best with.
Most organizations require adults be 21 years or older, pass a criminal screening and application, have a drivers license and insured vehicle and have a safe home that passes fire and health inspections.
Some organizations, like Buckner Foster Care and Adoption Network and High Sky Children's Ranch, also require adults be married or be active in a Christian church.
"This is not an easy decision, not something you just decide one day," Wright said. "Give it a lot of thought and prayer. It's a totally different lifestyle."
Many organizations provide training for foster parents and through the placement entity or CPS also provide counseling and other services for the children.
Currently 25 mental health professionals, four doctors and 10 nurses are on hand to care for the children removed from the FLDS compound.
Department of Family and Protective Services' reports say it is currently not looking for foster or adoptive families for these children, though interested parents are being asked to consider accepting local children in need of homes. Anyone formerly involved with FLDS interested in helping have been asked to leave contact information in case they are needed in the future, according to the department.
"I have a hard time imagining what they're going to do with all of those kids," Fisher said.
However, despite the challenges that parents can expect to face with local children or any that may be displaced from Eldorado, Fisher said, if families make the commitment for the right reasons it's a satisfying experience that will impact all parties involved.
Kathleen Thurber can be reached at kthurber@mrt.com.
Midland's Department of Family and Protective Services office holds periodic information meetings for those interested in foster parenting. The next meeting will be held May 20, at 7 p.m. at the DFPS office, 901 West Wall Street.
For other information regarding foster parenting contact:
High Sky Children's Ranch, 694-7728
Buckner Foster Care and Adoption Network, 520-5588
Hope for Tomorrow, 683-4673
Staff Writer
With some abused and neglected children in Midland already being sent outside the region for foster care, officials say if children from Eldorado need refuge in Midland it's going to amplify an already strained situation.
"We just have a shortage of foster parents in the Permian Basin, period," said Kay Wright, foster home developer with Midland's Buckner Foster Care and Adoption Network.
Buckner Foster Care has told the Department of Family and Protective Services it could accommodate 100 children statewide, Wright said, but the department has not started moving any of the 416 children removed from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints compound near Eldorado and will likely not do so soon.
The children were removed because the state believed they were in danger of physical, emotional and sexual abuse. A hearing will be held Thursday to determine if the children will be turned over to state custody or returned to the compound, according to Associated Press reports.
If the children are placed in homes throughout the state though, she said, it will be one of the biggest challenges the foster care system has faced in Texas, especially since regions like Midland have already had to send its own children elsewhere because of an ongoing shortage of available parents.
While foster parents are difficult to find for any children, said Ginger Fisher, director of adoptions at Hope for Tomorrow, it's even more challenging to place sibling groups, teens or children with any special behavioral or medical needs -- categories most from the FLDS compound are expected to fall into.
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services reports say the children are being given health screenings and that most seem to be in good mental and physical health, though about a dozen have chicken pox they contracted before being removed. The organization has not made any announcements about what will happen with the children long-term.
Still, officials said, if they're placed in situations outside of the environment they've been raised in, they'll essentially have to be completely acculturated.
"For however long they've been in Eldorado they've been in this one culture and not anything like the world that we live in," said Jim Palmer, with High Sky Ranch. "There's going to be some challenges that are there where people are going to have to be understanding and nurturing."
Many of the children have been taught to think and live in a way counter to what mainstream culture views as right, Fisher said, and re-teaching those life skills will be a challenge, especially since most children have a loyalty to their parents, even if the parents allowed or participated in the abuse.
It's always difficult to take care of someone else's children as they adapt to new rules and routines, Wright said. Children in foster care have often never been taught socially acceptable behaviors or simple routines such as brushing their teeth and bathing daily, she said.
Many children also have attachment issues and suffer from a degree of post traumatic stress disorder from the abuse or neglect they've experienced in the past, Palmer said.
For those in Midland and surrounding areas needing placement, some are transferred to emergency shelters at High Sky Children's Ranch where children can stay for up to 90 days while placement is found, said Jalynn Hogan, High Sky Ranch's therapeutic director.
The facility also has on-campus foster homes where parents care for between eight and 12 children, including their own. But, when it comes to community homes, Palmer said, they currently have only one family caring for children.
Wright said they have six children placed in community homes, with several others waiting for placement.
Part of the issue, she said, is foster parents often choose to adopt and then can no longer take additional children. And though that's a positive for children whose parents no longer have rights, it helps perpetuate the local parent shortage.
Hogan said some area parents will care for different foster children for six to seven years and some parents are new to the process and will offer care for a shorter time period.
The application process to become a foster family can take three to six months, officials said, and some parents withdraw after realizing what a commitment they'd be accepting.
"They didn't have the right idea of what it really meant to be a foster parent," Fisher said.
Wright said their organization requires a lengthy process so they can become acquainted with the family and know what kind of children they'd work best with.
Most organizations require adults be 21 years or older, pass a criminal screening and application, have a drivers license and insured vehicle and have a safe home that passes fire and health inspections.
Some organizations, like Buckner Foster Care and Adoption Network and High Sky Children's Ranch, also require adults be married or be active in a Christian church.
"This is not an easy decision, not something you just decide one day," Wright said. "Give it a lot of thought and prayer. It's a totally different lifestyle."
Many organizations provide training for foster parents and through the placement entity or CPS also provide counseling and other services for the children.
Currently 25 mental health professionals, four doctors and 10 nurses are on hand to care for the children removed from the FLDS compound.
Department of Family and Protective Services' reports say it is currently not looking for foster or adoptive families for these children, though interested parents are being asked to consider accepting local children in need of homes. Anyone formerly involved with FLDS interested in helping have been asked to leave contact information in case they are needed in the future, according to the department.
"I have a hard time imagining what they're going to do with all of those kids," Fisher said.
However, despite the challenges that parents can expect to face with local children or any that may be displaced from Eldorado, Fisher said, if families make the commitment for the right reasons it's a satisfying experience that will impact all parties involved.
Kathleen Thurber can be reached at kthurber@mrt.com.
Midland's Department of Family and Protective Services office holds periodic information meetings for those interested in foster parenting. The next meeting will be held May 20, at 7 p.m. at the DFPS office, 901 West Wall Street.
For other information regarding foster parenting contact:
High Sky Children's Ranch, 694-7728
Buckner Foster Care and Adoption Network, 520-5588
Hope for Tomorrow, 683-4673
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The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of mywesttexas.com.
I hate this place!!! wrote on Apr 13, 2008 8:07 PM:
" A requirement is to be active in a Christian church before you can be a foster parent??? What kind of nonsense is THAT??? The FLDS is certainly a "Christian church" as are many weird cults. Being Christian does NOT mean being decent. And Jews, Muslims, atheistis, pagans, and Hindus and Buddhists would be JUST AS GOOD if not better foster parents than all these so-called Christians. Good grief, Midland is SUCH a STUPID PIT. "
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Jay Beswick wrote on Apr 13, 2008 10:51 AM:
Then there are activist not living in Texas that in a heart beat would take in 2 or more. Best to keep siblings in pairs.
Here is the teachings given to children by Warren Jeffs the groups now jailed leader;
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fbudqrmFSDs&feature=related "