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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 02242004 - C102 THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY,CALIFORNIA Adopted this Order on February 24, 2004 by the following vote: AYES: RTMVIS4RS GI4IA,U.t13tJiM,Q02WG,DeSAIJI.I4M AM GL4VER NOES; ABSENT: ABSTAIN.NONE SUBJECT: Correspondence LETTER,dated February 4,2003 from Evelyn Tolbert requesting the Board of Supervisors consider adoption of a policy to obtain early childhood pictures of children in protective custody. IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that the above mentioned matter is REFERRED to the Employment and Human Services Department. I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. ATTESTED Fomw 24,24(74 Sohn Sweeten,Clerk ofthe Board of Supervisors and County Adminisotor ' �✓ � Deputy c.c.Correspondents (1) EHS County Administrator February 4,2004 Contra Costa County FEB Board of SupervisorsRK13C"I'-'-.. 651 'Pine Street 4106 -.:. Martinez, CA 94553 Attention: Ann Cervelli,Chief Clerk Could you please have the following item agendized with the County of Alameda Board of Supervisors for review and action? Please let me know what date it will be on the Board of Supervisors agenda. Thank you for your time. f r� vel Olbert 2814 edbridge Road Tracy, CA 95377 evelyn@a tolbertfortracy (209) 833-1840 TO: Board of Supervisors FROM: Evelyn M. Tolbert DATE: February 4, 2004 REQUEST: Adopt Policy To Obtain Early Childhood Pictures of Children in Protective Custody Children in foster care. Both a blessing and a bane. We are relieved that they are now in safe environments and we are grieved that their lives have been disrupted by danger and pain. And we wonder what their futures will bring. This proposal will not answer any of the big questions. It may not offer any solutions at all. But it will add a little humane gesture of caring to the life of a child who finds him/herself in and out, and back in foster care for long periods of time. I was talking to a friend who is a foster parent. She has successfully integrated two youngsters into her family. She said they were all sitting around one evening looking at pictures in a photo album. There were numerous pictures of her biological children. Many of the earlier pictures generated those humorous remarks that only another child can make. In the middle of the family fun, her two foster children asked her "Why are there no baby pictures of us". She replied honestly, "Because I did not get you Mary, until you were 10, and you were 8 when you came to us, Craig." Both my friend and I thought that this was sad. That it is sad that children, through no fault of their own, are cut off from their past and left without connection with their own past images. No one disputes that the removal from an unhealthy,many times even harmful and dangerous environment, is what is needed. But to become an adult and have no image to share with your own family must present one with an abiding sense of being disconnected. My son was recently looking at his four month old daughter. He told his wife "she looks just like me when I was that age". They could not find his baby picture, so they called me. I took over three different baby pictures of him. One of them looked exactly like his daughter. If you did not know,you would have thought it was the same baby! I spoke to a local Child Psychiatrist about any possible long-term effects of not having a sense of our previous images. He said: "Having a picture of their own selves... however insignificant it may seem, plays an indispensable part in establishing a healthy sense of"self' and maintaining connectedness." (Aykut Ozden, MD. His complete remarks are attached.) 4 TATE PROPOSAL: That a policy be adopted that when children are taken into protective custody to be placed in a foster home, that baby and early childhood pictures be obtained and placed in the child's file. That a copy of the pictures be made available to the child during the period of foster care. That the pictures be given to the child upon reaching adulthood. I have personally known parents whose children were removed by the County. Every one of these parents had baby and early childhood pictures of their children,just as all parents. Addicted parents, abusive parents, and negligent parents all have baby pictures of their children that they brag about. I know foster children who have gone from foster home to foster home, never owning anything that is "theirs". Never having a picture of their previous selves to give them a sense of abiding continuity. This proposal will surely, as most things do, end up being more complicated and costly than it appears on the surface. And I apologize for taking so long to state my proposal. But please give this your consideration. It is not a safety issue and it will take a little effort to acquire, document, copy, and file the pictures. But this "little thing" can demonstrate a caring that cannot be conveyed in any other manner to a child that now and in the future needs to know that even a "system" can care. Sincerety aTolbrt 2814 Redbridge Road Tracy, California evelyn@tolbertfortracy.com (209) 833-1840 STATEMENT AYKUT OZDEN, MD According to the Committee on Early Childhood, Adoption and Dependent Care's report in 2000, more than 500,000 children are in foster care in the United States and most of these children have been the victims of repeated abuse and prolonged neglect and have not experienced a nurturing, stable environment during the early years of life. Children in foster care have disproportionately high rates of physical, developmental, and mental health problems. Maintaining contact between children and their birth families is generally in the best interest of the child, and such efforts require adequate support services to improve the integrity of distressed families. Paramount in the lives of these children is their need for continuity with their primary attachment figures and a sense of permanence that is enhanced when placement is stable. Children are placed in foster care because of society's concern for their well-being. Any time spent by a child in temporary care should be therapeutic, but may be harmful to the child's growth, development, and well-being. Interruptions in the continuity of a child's caregiver are often detrimental. Every effort should be made to rapidly establish a permanent placement for the child. Tangible continuity in relationships with family and friends is essential for a child's healthy development. Stability in childcare and the school environment is important. Multiple moves while in foster care(with the attendant disruption and uncertainty)can be deleterious to the young child's brain growth, mental development, and psychological adjustment. Knowledge about and experiences with one's parents and extended family contribute greatly to the establishment of a sense of identity. Adolescents are curious about their own and their family's history. They have a powerful need to feel connected. On the other hand,younger children tend to solve the narcissistic injury of having been given up, or taken away by assuming that they were bad, ugly, dirty or unlovable. Both of these facts should be taken into consideration when helping these children and adolescents in dealing with this dramatic change in their lives. Having a picture of their own selves and/or original family, however insignificant it may seem,plays an indispensable part in establishing a healthy sense of self and maintaining connectedness. Therefore, I support this valuable drive to help foster children, of whom at least one third do not return to their homes before two years or more, have one or more personal and family pictures with them when they leave home. Aykut Ozden, MD Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist San,Joaquin County Mental Health Services 1212 N. California Street Stockton, CA February 1, 2004