Good work is being done in the foster system, but we must devote more resources

As the former director of the Missouri Department of Social Services, my heart broke when I read “Throwaway Kids,” The Star’s recent series about problems in the foster care system.

While I extend my sincere appreciation to the reporters and editors who made these horrifying personal experiences known to the public — in the hope that something will be done to make improvements — I also want readers to know that many if not most foster parents, judges, social workers, juvenile officers and adoptive parents are positive contributors to the child welfare system.

My years of experience showed me that many foster children have wonderful and lasting outcomes, and their lives are changed for the better because of loving foster and adoptive parents. Nonetheless, the negative stories told in The Star are more common than we would like to acknowledge. It is absolutely unacceptable that we allow children in the custody of the state to be introduced to more trauma after they are placed in foster care.

What can we do? First, we should do much more to help educate parents on how to effectively parent so that abuse, neglect and trauma can be prevented. Many of us were blessed with parents who taught us how to raise children, but unfortunately a sizable number of parents did not have this training passed down from the previous generation. Too many children have trauma life experiences at an early age that can cause a young life to spin out of control.

Second, generational poverty can be a very difficult obstacle to responsible parenting — although many people who come from disadvantaged backgrounds are wildly successful and inspire the rest of us. In many cases, poverty is the root cause for undesirable health, educational and vocational outcomes, and those factors can affect children’s potential and parents’ abilities to provide adequate resources for their family. Expanding Medicaid benefits, increasing the minimum wage and implementing jobs programs and skill training for both adults and young people would provide a good start in significantly reducing poverty rates.

Third, we must hire professionally trained child welfare workers and pay them a living wage. Unfortunately, Missouri and most states come up short on this recommendation, and that accounts for the very high turnover rate in state child welfare workers. Without question, relationships and mutual trust between social workers and the children and families they serve really matter. When families must work with constantly-changing welfare workers, positive outcomes for their children become a moving target.

Fourth, we must provide more resources to recruit, train and support outstanding foster and adoptive parents, and also pay them adequately for their willingness to step into this important role. These public servants can provide the love and long-term support these children crave and deserve.

Finally, while money alone does not solve problems, we cannot bury our heads in the sand by thinking these enormous problems outlined in The Star’s series will go away without more adequate governmental resources and changes in public policy. As the stories documented, many research studies and reports document the problems and potential solutions.

But we do not necessarily need more studies. We need legislative action and long-term increases in funding starting now. This problem will not be fixed overnight. But with accountability, transparency and a continued focus on this issue, we can — and must — do more. Our most vulnerable children deserve better.

Steve Roling is the former publisher of The Kansas City Business Journal, former senior vice president of the Kauffman Foundation, former director of the Missouri Department of Social Services and former president and CEO of the Healthcare Foundation of Greater Kansas City, now Health Forward. He is retired.

This story was originally published January 12, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Good work is being done in the foster system, but we must devote more resources."