Placing Kids Without PostAdoption Support

Before I discuss the latest tragic nightmare involving an adopted child’s alleged crime, it is important to understand the uphill battle and gaps in the US foster care system. More and more, children in state care are coming from homes where there is substance abuse. Often, social workers do not honestly represent the challenges of the children. Postplacement and postadoption services are hard to find and waiting lists are often encountered when they are found. Children are overmedicated. Even when they need medication, there is not enough support during the weeks in which it takes to stabilize a child on that current medication. There really are no safety nets in our mental health system today.

Hope Networks gives some eye-opening statistics of the challenges. These challenges have not been adequately addressed by the US foster care system.(Extensive references to these facts can be found at the link). We have pasted the first seven of the ten points below. The parts highlighted in red relate to the case below:

“CHILDREN OF ADDICTED PARENTS: Important Facts
National Association for Children of Alcoholics

Alcoholism and other drug addiction have genetic and environmental causes. Both have serious consequences for children who live in homes where parents are involved. More than 28 million Americans are children of alcoholics; nearly 11 million are under the age of 18. This figure is magnified by the countless number of others who are affected by parents who are impaired by other psychoactive drugs.

1. Alcoholism and other drug addiction tend to run in families. Children of addicted parents are more at risk for alcoholism and other drug abuse than are other children.

• Children of addicted parents are the highest risk group of children to become alcohol and drug abusers due to both genetic and family environment factors.1

• Biological children of alcohol dependent parents who have been adopted continue to have an increased risk (2-9 fold) of developing alcoholism.2

• Recent studies suggest a strong genetic component, particularly for early onset of alcoholism in males. Sons of alcoholic fathers are at fourfold risk compared with the male offspring of non-alcoholic fathers.3

• Use of substances by parents and their adolescent children is strongly correlated; generally, if parents take drugs, sooner or later their children will also.4 Adolescents who use drugs are more likely to have one or more parents who also use drugs.5

• The influence of parental attitudes on a child’s drug taking behaviors may be as important as actual drug abuse by the parents.6 An adolescent who perceives that a parent is permissive about the use of drugs is more likely to use drugs.7

2. Family interaction is defined by substance abuse or addiction in a family.

• Families affected by alcoholism report higher levels of conflict than do families with no alcoholism. Drinking is the primary factor in family disruption. The environment of children of alcoholics has been characterized by lack of parenting, poor home management, and lack of family communication skills, thereby effectively robbing children of alcoholic parents of modeling or training on parenting skills or family effectiveness.8

• The following family problems have been frequently associated with families affected by alcoholism: increased family conflict; emotional or physical violence; decreased family cohesion; decreased family organization; increased family isolation; increased family stress including work problems, illness, marital strain and financial problems; and frequent family moves.9

• Addicted parents often lack the ability to provide structure or discipline in family life, but simultaneously expect their children to be competent at a wide variety of tasks earlier than do non-substance-abusing parents.10

• Sons of addicted fathers are the recipients of more detrimental discipline practices from their parents.11

3. A relationship between parental addiction and child abuse has been documented in a large proportion of child abuse and neglect cases.

• Three of four (71.6%) child welfare professionals cite substance abuse as the top cause for the dramatic rise in child maltreatment since 1986.12

• Most welfare professionals (79.6%) report that substance abuse causes or contributes to at least half of all cases of child maltreatment; 39.7% say it is a factor in over 75% of the cases. 13

• In a sample of parents who significantly maltreat their children, alcohol abuse is specifically associated with physical maltreatment, while cocaine exhibits a specific relationship to sexual maltreatment.14

• Children exposed prenatally to illicit drugs are 2 to 3 times more likely to be abused or neglected. 15

4. Children of drug addicted parents are at higher risk for placement outside the home.


• Three of four child welfare professionals (75.7%) say that children of addicted parents are more likely to enter foster care, and 73% say that children of alcoholics stay longer in foster care than do other children.16

• In one study, 79% of adolescent runaways and homeless youth reported alcohol use in the home, 53% reported problem drinking in the home, and 54% reported drug use in the home.17

• Each year, approximately 1 1,900 infants are abandoned at birth or are kept at hospitals, 78% of whom are drug-exposed, the average daily cost for each of these babies is $460.18

5. Children of addicted parents exhibit symptoms of depression and anxiety more than do children from non-addicted families.


• Children of addicted parents exhibit depression and depressive symptoms more frequently than do children from non-addicted families.19


• Children of addicted parents are more likely to have anxiety disorders or to show anxiety symptoms.20


• Children of addicted parents are at high risk for elevated rates of psychiatric and psychosocial dysfunction, as well as for alcoholism.21

6. Children of addicted parents experience greater physical and mental health problems and higher health and welfare costs than do children from non-addicted families.


• Inpatient admission rates and average length of stay for children of alcoholics were 24% and 29% greater than for children of non-alcoholic parents. Substance abuse and other mental disorders were the most notable conditions among children of addicted parents. 22

• It is estimated that parental substance abuse and addiction are the chief cause in at least 70-90% of all child welfare spending. Using the more conservative 70 percent assessment, in 1998 substance abuse and addiction accounted for approximately $10 billion in federal, state and local government spending simply to maintain child welfare systems.23

• The economic costs associated with Fetal Alcohol
Syndrome were estimated at $1.9 billion for ! 992.24

• A sample of children hospitalized for psychiatric disorders demonstrated that more than 50% were children of addicted parents.25


7. Children of addicted parents have a high rate of behavior problems.


• One study comparing children of alcoholics (aged 6-1 7 years) with children of psychiatrically healthy medical patients found that children of alcoholics had elevated rates of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder) measured against the control group of children.26

• Research on behavioral problems demonstrated by children of alcoholics has revealed some of the following traits: lack of empathy for other persons; decreased social adequacy and interpersonal adaptability; low self-esteem; and lack of control over the environment.27


• Research has shown that children of addicted parents demonstrate behavioral characteristics and a temperament style that predispose them to future maladjustment.28″

El Cajon Case

On Monday, January 16, 2012 at about 1:30 PM and after a two-day sleepover at the foster-to-adopted son’s home, the 10-year-old adopted child allegedly stabbed his 12-year-old friend, Ryan Carter, in the chest with a kitchen knife in the presence of other neighborhood boys on a neighbor’s driveway. Ryan died of his injuries two hours later.

10 News says “Neighbor Wayne King walked out of his house minutes after the stabbing, and he told 10News, “I walked up the street a little bit and they were loading a young person into an ambulance, doing chest compressions.”

King said he then heard uncontrollable screams coming from the 10-year-old boy’s home.

“He didn’t mean to do it,” King recounted hearing the scream say. “I mean, I heard that clearly. Then I heard them try to console him and took him back in the house.”

Sheriff’s investigators said the 10-year-old’s mother was home at the time of the stabbing. ”

“Neighbors and family friends said the 10-year-old boy was known for violent outbursts. They told 10News the child was in therapy and on medication for anger issues.

“It’s really terrifying. I don’t know what to say, but I’m thankful to have my son here today because it could’ve been Brendan,” said Dawn Zidlicky.

Zidlicky’s son, Brendan, was playing with both boys moments before the fatal stabbing. He said the younger boy became angry when he wanted to leave.

“He wanted me to stay and I didn’t want to because he was hitting me so hard with a foam sword,” said Brendan.

“They had just changed his medication 2 or 3 weeks ago and prior to dialing it in, the doctor went on vacation,” said family friend Brian Richeson.

Maria Marmolejo said her son suffered a black eye when she said the 10-year-old boy attacked him last week. She said she called police, but was told there was little they could do.

“The mother told me he was under medication and the medication doesn’t work at that moment and I was scared because the kid was really aggressive,” said Maria Marmolejo.

Neighbors said the boy was born to a drug-addicted mother, but adopted as a toddler. They said his adoptive mother was doing the best she could to handle his temper. “

UT San Diego says, “The 10-year-old boy was taken into custody by sheriff’s deputies, although it remained unknown if he would be booked into Juvenile Hall due to his young age.

Neighbors described the boys as part of a group of about eight friends who often played at various homes on the street. Many said the 10-year-old suspect’s emotional issues were well-known in the neighborhood.

Neighbor Derek Gorton, 18, who lives in the mobile home park, said that something as small as tapping the boy on the shoulder the wrong way or losing at a video game could set him off.

“Even though he threw temper tantrums, we never thought he’d do anything like this,” said Gorton, a senior at Santana High School in Santee.

Gorton’s father, Brian Richeson, a retiree who often had the boys at his home, said the suspect would usually express his anger verbally, not through violent acts such as throwing items or hitting people.
He said the boy’s mother was proactive in dealing with the problems.

“She was the best mom I’ve ever met,” Richeson said. “She knew how to take care of him if he was yelling and screaming.”

Richeson said all of the children in the neighborhood were like siblings — they would fight one hour and then be back to being best friends the next.”

Mother of the Victim Speaks

UT San Diego says “Sobbing at times, the mother of a 12-year-old boy who was stabbed to death mourned the loss of her son but said the 10-year-old friend accused of killing him was “not some monster.”

“Please don’t make it out that he was this terrible human being,” Lisa Carter said Tuesday about the 10-year-old in custody in connection with her son Ryan’s death.

Carter said the younger boy was known for having anger issues and that his mother has been helping him with medical issues stemming from his birth.”

“Carter and her husband, Glen, described their hazel-eyed boy as a straight-A student who loved talking about politics, learning the guitar and taking care of his pet tortoise, Tut.

“He was our only child,” said Lisa Carter, a stay-at-home mom. “I tried for 10 years to conceive him.”

The family has lived in the Knoll’s mobile home park on Royal Road, next to the scene of the incident, since Ryan was an infant. The couple said they sold their La Mesa house when he was born so they could have enough money to send him to private school and to start a college fund.

“I wanted him to have the best of everything,” his mother said. “I wanted him to be the best that he could be.”

Ryan’s parents said he scored exceptionally high in his most recent standardized tests at school and liked to build rockets and other objects. They said he was interested in current affairs and had studied up on politics and religion in India.”

“The Carters and others in the neighborhood said they had known the boy was quick to anger, but that his friends had learned to step back when his temper began to spiral out of control.

Several residents said the boy’s mother, a special education teacher at a San Diego public high school, has been working with doctors to address a “chemical imbalance” in the child, whom she adopted. The boy’s medical issues go back to his birth.”

“The 10-year-old had been enrolled in boxing classes at Undisputed, a gym in El Cajon, as a way to channel his energy into something positive, said an employee, who declined to give his name.
“He was a good kid,” the employee said. “We did our best to discipline him. We gave him that tough love and weren’t babying his needs. We tried to show him how to control his emotions.”

Ultimately, the program didn’t work out for the boy, and he stopped coming a few months ago, the employee said.”

Charges?

UT San Diego reported on Tuesday “Sheriff’s deputies took him into custody Monday and later booked him into Juvenile Hall.

After weighing all the options, authorities decided that the close supervision provided in Juvenile Hall was the best way to guarantee the boy’s safety, sheriff’s homicide Lt. Larry Nesbit said Tuesday.”

Huffington Post says “A child was charged with murder and felony assault in the fatal stabbing of a 12-year-old boy, authorities said Wednesday.”  “A detention hearing was scheduled for Thursday in juvenile court.”

Neighbor’s Reactions

“Vales, 16, said the 10-year-old appeared calmer since he began taking a new medication about three weeks ago, becoming “a new kid.” He said the younger boy wasn’t one to pick a fight but exploded when he felt provoked.

Vales said the boy once punched him in the face for accidentally bumping his pelvis when they were jumping on a trampoline. The boy threw a tantrum when he spilled a cup of water inside his house and was asked to clean up.

“If you pushed his buttons and cussed him out, he’d just lose it on you,” Vales said.

The 10-year-old liked to play football and practice Muay Thai boxing and jujitsu, Vales said. He was muscular and a little short for his age.

The 10-year-old’s adoptive mother, who lived with the boy and her father, was the only person who knew how to calm him, Vales said. She hugged him and reassured him that everything would be all right.
“The nicest woman you’d ever meet,” Vales said. “If it was anybody else, they wouldn’t be able to put up with (him).”

The victim’s mother told U-T San Diego that she knew the 10-year-old and his mother well.”

Sources:
Boy, 10, held in friend’s stabbing death
[UT San Diego 1/16/12 by Kristina Davis and Jen Lebron Kuhney]

Parents of slain boy speak out
[UT San Diego 1/17/12 by Steve Schmidt]

Boy, 10, Accused Of Fatally Stabbing Friend, 12
[10 News 1/16/12]

Family Of Ryan Carter, Killed San Diego-Area Boy, Defends 10-Year-Old Suspect
[Huffington Post 1/18/12 by Elliot Spagat]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

 

There are a lot of questions about placement, monitoring and resources that still need answers in this case. Our thoughts go out to the victim’s family, community and to the adoptee and adoptive family.