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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 01201987 - S.3 NW . 3 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Contra FROM: Supervisor Nancy Fanden Costa DATE: January 13 , 1987 County SUBJECT: ADOPTION THROUGH THE SOCIAL SERVICES DEPT. OF SPECIAL CHILDREN SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION More that 10.0,000 special children in America have never felt the love, warmth and security of a permanent family. They' re up for adoption but they haven' t been adopted. And it' s all because they are children with mental, physical or emotional problems. In Contra Costa County we have 430 children waiting for a call that never comes - one that may never come - because while many people are sympathetic to the needs of these very special children, few are comfortable about opening their homes and hearts to strangers; children, whose only crime is having been born. Therefore, I propose in "concept" a twofold program to assist in the adoption of these children: 1) An intense county wide promotional program to advise the public that there are children available for adoption through the Social Services Department. a) A quarterly publication (in all the county papers) containing the picture of a child with a brief background article attached. b) Contact groups and organizations to help in the promotion of foster and adoptive homes. 2) Establish a scholarship fund, held in trust by the County, for the benefit of these special children. a) Allow those who can't adopt dor don't want to) the opportunity to turn a child's life around by contributing perhaps $10 or $15 a month. Such - programs are available in other countries, why not here at home? b) Contribute .to a scholarship fund in the name of a particular child - on a one time basis - if that' s their choice. CONTINUED ON.ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S) ACTION OF BOARD ON January 20 , 1987 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER X— IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that this matter is REFERRED to the Social Services Department for a report on February 24 , 1987 on the proposed establishment of a promotional program and scholarship trust fund to benefit special children available for adoption. VOTE OF SUPERVISORS X _ UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ) I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AYES: NOES: AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN ABSENT: ABSTAIN: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. CC: Social Service Department ATTESTED January 20 , 1987 County Administrator Phil Batchelor, Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and Caunty_Administrator_ Q M382/7-as BY _ DEPUTY CONSIDERATIONS FOR CONCEPT PAPER by Barbara Chase The Problem There are many children within the Child Welfare Services system whose needs, either in part or in whole, are not being met. Particularly pressing are the needs of those children, currently numbering 1, 363 , who cannot continue to live with their parents and must temporarily or permanently be placed outside the home into a system that cannot begin to meet all of these children' s needs. The Needs These needs are on several levels: 1. For some children, there is a need for homes and loving families to care for them while they await reunifica- tion with their families, long-term planning, or adoption. 2. For other children, whose families are on Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) , the basic needs are inadequately met. 3 . For still other children, who have been in the system a while and who are rapidly reaching an age ( 18 years) when they must assume responsibility for themselves, help is needed with their plans for the future. Possible Solutions (Pros and Cons Concerned people generally like to know that their involvement will produce the desired results. Many efforts to help children overseas focus on an "adopt-a-child" approach. Adopt in this sense is relative, not literal. With this in mind, 1. One way to meet a need would be an adopt-a-child scholarship fund. This type of fund could be personal- ized and would go a long way in meeting the needs of those children who are in permanent placement outside their homes and who are planning for education or training beyond high school and need the funds to do SO. As of October, 1980 , there were 587 children in } such placement, with approximately one-third ( 1/3 ) who were nearing the age of emancipation--18 years. a ' Scholarships set up in irrevocable funds for individual children would meet this need. This type of fund would not impact on current grants in aid received, for the donated monies would not be available to the children until they are ready to use as designated. 2. Adopting a child to meet his or her particular needs is more complex. Donations of food or clothing are not counted against the grant unless the donations meet the full need as established by AFDC guidelines. Adopting a child in the literal sense presents other barriers for consideration. These barriers really are present when the agency attempts to advertise children who are available for adoption. A discussion with the adoption supervisor revealed that we are getting more children for adoption who are severely emotionally disturbed. These children come from parents who are mentally ill, or on drugs, or both. These children are not easy to place. However, most of the 430 children currently on adoption caseloads are free for adoption and in placement with relatives or foster parents who plan on adopting them. Because those potentially adoptive families already have the children, they are not motivated to legalize the relationship quickly. Currently, there are only 3 children ( 2 boys, 10- and 11-years- old, and 1 girl, 10-years-old) who have been freed for adoption and are not in placement with a potentially adoptive family. As for advertising in local papers the plight of such children who are in need of adoptive families, there are some legal constraints, mostly centering on the fact that when the natural parents see their children being advertised for adoption, there have been lawsuits to stop the process. Contra Costa County usually advertises, when necessary, in other counties, such as Santa Rosa or Sacramento. The idea of having a local newspaper column to advertise the plight of some of these children could best be used to advertise for foster parents for children who are awaiting placement, either in temporary foster care or permanent foster placement. (A:PAPER.1/87)