Thanks for highlighting the ASPE data on voluntary relinquishments. It was part of a concerted effort to better identify empirically who are the families coming to child welfare's door and what do they really need if you step back and think about it holistically, not just from child welfare's specific lens of assessment. Getting clear on the who and why helps us identify better and more upstream solutions (and partnerships needed and funding approaches) that get kids and families what they need in as humane and comprehensive way possible.
I’ve been screaming into the abyss for years that child welfare has become the provider of deep end behavioral health care. We serve two populations - one the younger children whose maltreatment is secondary to parental substance use disorder and/or mental health, and the other, largely older youth whose placement is triggered by behavioral health needs. We don’t remove these older youth; their parents effectively surrender them to us.
Instead of recognizing how different the needs of these two populations and their families are, we pretend they’re both the same.
Moreover the “all congregate care = evil” crowd have succeeded in largely eliminating 24/7 supervised therapeutic settings. As a result we are failing these youth, using office buildings, costly hotels, and overstay in psychiatric hospitals. Some youth literally “board” in the emergency room!! We ought to be ashamed.
It seems the wealthy philanthropic group who are among the loudest anti-congregate care voices are remarkably silent when it comes to “children without placement.”
Unfortunately, eliminating the placements doesn’t seem to have eliminated the need.
Thanks for highlighting the ASPE data on voluntary relinquishments. It was part of a concerted effort to better identify empirically who are the families coming to child welfare's door and what do they really need if you step back and think about it holistically, not just from child welfare's specific lens of assessment. Getting clear on the who and why helps us identify better and more upstream solutions (and partnerships needed and funding approaches) that get kids and families what they need in as humane and comprehensive way possible.
I’ve been screaming into the abyss for years that child welfare has become the provider of deep end behavioral health care. We serve two populations - one the younger children whose maltreatment is secondary to parental substance use disorder and/or mental health, and the other, largely older youth whose placement is triggered by behavioral health needs. We don’t remove these older youth; their parents effectively surrender them to us.
Instead of recognizing how different the needs of these two populations and their families are, we pretend they’re both the same.
Moreover the “all congregate care = evil” crowd have succeeded in largely eliminating 24/7 supervised therapeutic settings. As a result we are failing these youth, using office buildings, costly hotels, and overstay in psychiatric hospitals. Some youth literally “board” in the emergency room!! We ought to be ashamed.
It seems the wealthy philanthropic group who are among the loudest anti-congregate care voices are remarkably silent when it comes to “children without placement.”
Unfortunately, eliminating the placements doesn’t seem to have eliminated the need.