Too Poor to Parent?
MS.
Spring 2008, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 42-45
Copyright © Liberty Media for Women Spring 2008. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
Too Poor to Parent?
By Gaylynn Burroughs
• Black children are twice as likely as white children to enter U.S. foster care. The culprit: Our inattention to poverty.
When a recurrent plumbing problem in an upstairs unit caused raw sewage to seep into her New York City apartment, 22-year-old Lisa (not her real name) called social services for help. She had repeatedly asked her landlord to fix the problem, but he had been unresponsive. Now the smell was unbearable, and Lisa feared for the health and safety of her two young children.
When the caseworker arrived, she observed that the apartment had no lights and that food was spoiling in the refrigerator. Lisa explained that she did not have the money to pay her electric bill that month, but would have the money in a few weeks. She asked whether the caseworker could help get them into a family shelter.The caseworker promised she would help--but left Lisa in the apartment and took the children, who were then placed in foster care.
Months later, the apartment is cleaned up. Lisa still does not have her children.
Troubled not only by the number of children in foster care but by their longer stays in the system, Congress passed the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) in 1997. Its purpose is to achieve a permanent family environment more quickly for children in foster care, but the legislation accomplishes that goal by placing time limits on family reunification--thus encouraging adoption instead of the return of children to their parents.
Gaylynn Burroughs is a staff attorney at the Bronx Defenders in New York City. She works in the family defense practice, representing parents facing allegations of child neglect.
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Summary:
"According to one researcher, poor families are up to 22 times more likely to be
Spring 2008, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 42-45
Copyright © Liberty Media for Women Spring 2008. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
Too Poor to Parent?
By Gaylynn Burroughs
• Black children are twice as likely as white children to enter U.S. foster care. The culprit: Our inattention to poverty.
When a recurrent plumbing problem in an upstairs unit caused raw sewage to seep into her New York City apartment, 22-year-old Lisa (not her real name) called social services for help. She had repeatedly asked her landlord to fix the problem, but he had been unresponsive. Now the smell was unbearable, and Lisa feared for the health and safety of her two young children.
When the caseworker arrived, she observed that the apartment had no lights and that food was spoiling in the refrigerator. Lisa explained that she did not have the money to pay her electric bill that month, but would have the money in a few weeks. She asked whether the caseworker could help get them into a family shelter.The caseworker promised she would help--but left Lisa in the apartment and took the children, who were then placed in foster care.
Months later, the apartment is cleaned up. Lisa still does not have her children.
Troubled not only by the number of children in foster care but by their longer stays in the system, Congress passed the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) in 1997. Its purpose is to achieve a permanent family environment more quickly for children in foster care, but the legislation accomplishes that goal by placing time limits on family reunification--thus encouraging adoption instead of the return of children to their parents.
Gaylynn Burroughs is a staff attorney at the Bronx Defenders in New York City. She works in the family defense practice, representing parents facing allegations of child neglect.
Back to top ^
Summary:
"According to one researcher, poor families are up to 22 times more likely to be