Utah HB139 Updated

“HB139, sponsored by Rep. Brad Daw, R-Orem, would increase the maximum number of children who could be placed in a single licensed foster home to five, up from four, under certain circumstances.

Charri Brummer, deputy director of the Division of Child and Family Services, said the change would give the division more options when caseworkers are assisting sibling groups.

“We really don’t want those kids to be separated out if we don’t have to,” Brummer said, addressing the House Health and Human Services Committee, which considered the bill on Monday.

Christine Watson, a foster parent, told the committee that she and her husband have cared for more than 100 foster children over the past eight years and have adopted six of them. The family has 12 children total.

“We feel increasing the number of placements in foster homes, we can support specifically teens and youth with more opportunities for permanency through adoption and guardianship, as well as to save a lot of money,” by placing youth with licensed foster families instead of more expensive placements such as highly structured proctor homes.

One of the foster children presently living with the Watsons has a brother who lives with another family across town.

“We’d very much like him to live in our home, but we’re not allowed to because we’re licensed for three so we’re splitting up families. We have visits when we can. We need to be able to offer more, more permanent options,” Watson told lawmakers.

The Watsons’ eldest daughter is 21. She was adopted at age 17.

“She had a lot of problems. We knew that and we chose to adopt her,” Watson said.

She left home at 18, “thought she knew it all,” and returned home at 19 pregnant, alone and with no health insurance. “She was broke. She was in debt. She had nobody.”

Watson said their family pulled together to support her emotionally through her pregnancy and placing her child for adoption.

“It was a very difficult time for her and our family. Even though, DCFS offers many after-care services and things like that, it’s permanent families that these kids need to come back to as adults and we want to be able to offer more of that,” Watson said.

Placing teens in licensed foster families increases the likelihood the that they will be adopted before they age out of foster care, she said.

The House Health and Human Services Committee voted to send the bill to the full House for its consideration.

The Utah Foster Care Foundation has taken no official position on HB139 but spokeswoman Deborah Lindner said policy changes that encourage more people to become licensed foster parents create more options for placements and possible adoptions of children in care.

Another change in licensing requirements will allow families with smaller, older homes to become foster families, which may aid recruitment of new foster families, Lindner said.

Training for prospective foster parents now includes instruction on how trauma affects children and how parents can help them. The foundation hopes the improved training will result in fewer disrupted placements for foster children, she said.”

Proposal to keep siblings in foster care together would help traumatized children, adoptive mom says[Deseret News 2/2/15 by Marjorie Cortez]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

 

Update:”The maximum number of foster children permitted to be in one foster home in the State of Utah had been three; however, HB139 calls for that number to rise to four and, in the case of sibling groups, five.

Bill sponsor Rep. Brad Daw, R-Orem, was approached by foster parents about increasing the number of children one family may take in. Many of these foster parents had the capacity to take on more children, said Daw, but restrictions wouldn’t allow it. One of the reasons for the change is the necessity that sibling groups be broken up to comply with current standards.

Daw said he believes the bill will help eliminate concerns over siblings being split up. “I would say I’d rather take a small step than a big one. Let’s see how that works.”

This change would also save taxpayers money by reducing the number of foster families in need of funding. Still, while the bill allows for more children in a household, the priority of not putting too many children in a single home remains. The state wants to preserve a family setting for foster children and avoid a group home atmosphere.

This concern was raised by Senator Allen Christensen, R-Ogden, who said people may be concerned the change could “[open] the doors for people trying to stuff their doors with foster kids to make money.” Daw responded that not only does DCFS closely monitor families to prevent this from happening, foster parents normally lose money rather than profit.

“For the amount that we pay foster parents for taking care of these kids, I can guarantee there is no money-making operations going on out there,” Christensen said. “Unless they don’t clothe them, or feed them, or send them to school, or don’t do anything with them but lock them in their bedroom.”

Crissy Watson is one of Daw’s constituent foster parents. In her eight years of foster parenting, she has taken in 138 kids. Her concern is for the teenagers in foster care — according to Watson, only about 20 percent of foster parents prefer to take in teenagers. This bill should offer more options for older foster children who have younger siblings.

Residential facilities and private group homes cost the state significantly more than foster care placements with families.

”It saves the state a lot of money,” said Watson. “I feel really strongly that kids should be in a family environment whenever possible, and if we’ve got families that are willing, that are able, that are capable, then why not just one more?””

Bill would increase number of children allowed in foster homes[Herald Extra 2/21/15 by Hailey Soleto]