About Foster Care in West Virginia
Foster/Adoptive and Kinship Parents: Read here the letter Commisioner Najmulski sent concerning the right to be heard in court proceedings and MDT meetings.
Click here for the revised Youth Transitioning Policy.
May is National Foster Care Month. Read the Presidential Proclamation here. For more information, visit the foster care month website.
...it is the intention of the Legislature to provide for removing the child from the custody of parents only when the child's welfare or the safety and protection of the public cannot be adequately safeguarded without removal; and, when the child has to be removed from his or her family, to secure for the child custody, care and discipline consistent with the child's best interest and other goals herein set out. WV State Code, Chapter 49-1-1
The Department of Health and Human Resources is the administrative agency legally mandated to provide for the care and well-being of children removed from their homes in West Virginia. Children come into the custody of the state from several different avenues. They may be the victims of abuse and/or neglect, have multiple needs that cannot be managed by their families, or enter the system through juvenile justice proceedings.
Out-of-home care or foster care includes a number of different placement and service options, such as emergency shelters, foster family care, specialized or therapeutic foster family care, group or residential treatment facilities, psychiatric hospitalization, placement with relatives, transitional living arrangements, adoption, and detention. The situation and needs of the individual child and his or her family must dictate placement decisions. For children in custody for a brief period, involvement with the Department of Health and Human Resources gives families the time and support necessary to create safe, stable environments so families can be reunited at a later date. For children who cannot return home for a variety of reasons, the Department provides continued custody with permanency plans that reflect the individual needs of each child. For example, while adoption is often appropriate for children whose parental rights have been terminated, plans to return home or placement with a relative may be the appropriate option for children who have significant ties to their biological family.
Foster care for children has been evolving for centuries. By the mid 1800s, family foster care emerged as an effort to rescue children whose parents were "inadequate" or unable to care for them. Due to the first White House Conference on Children, held at the turn of the century, foster care was redefined as a temporary service whose purpose became to reunite children with their families or, if necessary, place them with another family. During this time, a complex child welfare system of governmental and voluntary agencies began to emerge with an emphasis on family counseling and psychoanalysis.
By the 1960s, landmark research studies revealed several important findings in regards to foster care, including:
- Foster care placements were often permanent rather than temporary;
- Frequent moves to new placements left many children with little sense of stability or continuity in their lives;
- Children were often inappropriately removed from their homes;
- Children from poor and minority families were disproportionately represented in foster care;
- A growing concern developed over the negative impact separation from their families had on children.
With the enactment of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (PL 96-272), states were mandated to promote permanency planning for all children in out-of-home care and for children at-risk of removal from their homes. States were also required to make reasonable efforts to prevent the out-of-home placement of a child and to reunify children already removed from their home.
The Adoption and Safe Families Act became law in 1997 (PL 105-89). This broad-based child welfare reform legislation seeks to provide states with the necessary tools and incentives to achieve the goals of safety, permanency and well-being. To learn more about this legislation go to: www.cwla.org/
Since the early 1980s, there has been a dramatic national increase in the number of children placed in foster care including those placed in family foster care, adoptive placements, and residential treatment programs. This increase is often linked to current economic and social problems that further complicate the lives of troubled families and children. These problems include:
- Continued high unemployment in some areas;
- Chronic poverty, especially in inner cities and very rural communities;
- Increased substance abuse and homelessness;
- Escalating number of children with mental and physical disabilities;
- Increased number of people who are HIV positive and suffering from AIDS;
- Rising number of youth in the juvenile delinquency system; and
- Decreases in services available to families in crisis, with a dramatic increase in the costs of such services.
The characteristics of the children in the foster care system have also changed. Overall, children who are now in foster care are generally more difficult to place and treat. During the past twenty years, the dramatic increase in the mental and physical health problems of foster children have significantly impacted the amount and type of services needed. Most children in foster care have moderate to severe mental health problems, and many have physical health problems.
In addition, children are increasing entering the foster care system through juvenile delinquency proceedings. These children require different services and placement options from children who enter the system through abuse and neglect. Today's foster children also tend to stay in the system longer.
These national trends reflect events that are occurring in West Virginia. West Virginia has experienced rising incidents of child abuse and neglect, growing numbers of adjudicated delinquents, increases in the number of children who are mentally or physically disabled. These factors have caused the number of children removed from their homes and placed into foster care to increase sharply.
All children who enter foster care are entitled by law to have a safe, permanent living situation that promotes their safety and well-being. Permanency options include family reunification, placement with a relative, adoption, permanent foster care or legal guardianship.
Reunification is the most common goal identified for children in care. When children cannot return home, adoption is often an appropriate permanency plan. For other children with significant families ties and for those who enter foster care through the juvenile justice system, placement with a relative, permanent foster care or legal guardianship are appropriate permanency options.
