LETTER TO EDITOR: Victory for children

OPINION:

Cheryl Wetzstein discusses the merits of recent federal legislation aimed at foster care and adoption but raises questions about possible unintended consequences of providing financial support for children cared for by relative guardians (“Concerns remain with adoption act,” Family, Sunday). We agree the act is a victory for children and families, and recent research should allay Mrs. Wetzstein’s concerns.

A comprehensive evaluation of one of the largest subsidized guardianship programs, in Illinois, showed that the availability of subsidized guardianship did not inadvertently attract families into the child welfare system, as Mrs. Wetzstein fears, but instead significantly reduced the number of children in long-term foster care.

Though relatives often want to care for a child and feel morally obliged to do so, a sense of responsibility and love are not always enough. In most cases, relative caregivers didn’t plan on or budget for raising their relative’s child. Research indicates that providing these caregivers with assistance to meet the children’s needs is a sound investment. Living with relative foster parents not only provides children with safety and stability but also is associated with better outcomes than those of children placed with nonrelative foster parents.

Mrs. Wetzstein rightly points to the critical focus on preventative approaches to child welfare but fails to acknowledge that effective prevention is more than teaching children not to get pregnant, join gangs or do drugs. It also must provide children and families the opportunities they need to avoid these outcomes by ensuring critical services are available. The new act takes important steps toward developing prevention capacity through the provision of Family Connection Grants. However, this is just the beginning. As Congress returns, lawmakers must recognize that the box has not been checked on child welfare reform.

The new act will help children exit foster care into safe, stable, loving homes. It also will improve the experience of foster care for many children. Now we must invest as much effort in preventing abuse and neglect from occurring as we do in treating it after the fact.

DONNA BUTTS

Executive director

Generations United

Washington

RUTLEDGE Q. HUTSON

Director of child welfare policy

Center for Law and Social Policy

Washington