Why does a tragedy have to happen to make something go forward that should be common sense? And now that background checks are happening why is it taking so long to get the system right? I support background checks into people who want to be foster parents, these are kids for heaven sakes. However, some of the "crimes" that some are being flagged with have nothing to do with raising a child, and should have no impact on their being foster parents. We need to protect the children, but not at the point that someone can file an unreasonable complaint against someone.
Publicity about criminal checks hurting recruitment; Parents complain about bad image
A group of Hamilton County foster parents complained Wednesday that publicity surrounding the county's background checks has painted them as criminals, hurt recruitment and spawned fear in foster children.
"We're asking that the media be given the entire truth," said Joan Gallardo, 58, of North College Hill, who has been a foster mother to 30 children. She was among seven who spoke on the issue at the Hamilton County commissioners meeting Wednesday.
"We don't wish to incite panic with families and with kids who need us."
Background checks were initiated of all foster parents and adults living in their homes in March following the death last August of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel in a Clermont County foster home at the hands of his foster parents, David and Liz Carroll. Checks on 924 people revealed that 114 - or 12 percent - had arrest records. Of those, 87 people were convicted, according to the Clerk of Courts Office.
The Department of Job and Family Services is petitioning for the removal of 13 children from seven foster homes because of charges revealed in those checks, according to Brian Gregg, department spokesman.
But the "entire truth," as Gallardo put it, is that very few of the 311 crimes unearthed by the background checks would prevent people from being good foster parents.
Yet the media attention has tarnished the reputation of even the good ones, she said.
The number of Hamilton County foster homes has declined by 17 percent since Marcus died, shrinking from 329 in August to 273, according to Job and Family Services.
"We do hear from people anecdotally that the negativity out there has impacted their decision," Gregg said. "I have an anonymous letter that says, 'We're not all like the Carrolls but you're treating us like we all killed Marcus.' "
The number of foster-parent trainees is half the size of groups in the past, according to the Ohio Family Care Affiliate.
Pat McCollum, president of the organization's Southwest Ohio office, said a recent training class she led had only eight participants, when previous classes have had 30 to 35.
At Job and Family Services, inquiries about becoming a foster parent steadily declined each month, from 161 in August 2006 to just two last December, Gregg said. Information from private agencies, which typically handle the more hard-to-place children, was not available Wednesday.
"The negative image of foster parents being created by the distorted, misleading information disseminated by Clerk of Courts Greg Hartmann will cause a crisis in the Hamilton County foster-care system," said Sherrie Mathis, president of the Ohio Family Care Association, a state organization that supports and trains foster families. "Prospective foster parents don't want to be identified with David and Liz Carroll."
The foster parents didn't make any specific requests. But they did ask county commissioners, and Hartmann, who released the arrest information to the news media, to be mindful of the impact it has when all the details aren't known.
Hartmann was not at the meeting, but said later he thinks publicity has been critical to reforming Job and Family Services. "I think the reforms in place are good and are going to ensure these children are safe," he said.
At the same time, he said, "the last thing we want to do is hurt recruitment," and he hopes to encourage more people to become foster parents.
Commissioner Pat DeWine, who initiated the background checks, said he, too, is concerned about the decline in foster parents, but believes the checks have made the system better.
McCollum said a police record does not necessarily mean someone is a bad foster parent.
Foster mother LaVada Jo Caldwell, 60, of White Oak, is one example. She has been a foster mother to 75 children in 28 years, including "crack babies" and children with special needs - ones that are hard to place. She also adopted four children.
Yet her name was flagged during the background checks. Caldwell said an inoperable car was parked in her driveway for a month in 2004 while she took her family vacationing in Florida and someone filed a complaint. She never received notice of a hearing and returned from her trip to find out that a warrant had been issued for abandoning a car, a minor misdemeanor. The charge was dismissed, but the arrest remains on her record.
None of the foster parents said they oppose background checks. They just object to the way the results have been characterized in the press.
Commissioners Todd Portune and David Pepper agreed.
"How it is handled is critical," Portune said Wednesday. "It must not exploit the system or imply guilt on a broad group of people who are caring for children."
The county has hired an independent consultant to review the situations of foster parents who have arrest records. The consultant will recommend whether the foster child or children should remain in the homes.
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