Foster Homes and Government. Where do you stand on this?

Question

I feel that as a young voter and as a product of the "system"that I should ask a few things. I want my vote to count. I was wondering a few things. First, Do you believe that Child Protective Services is affective. Second, Why doesn't any political candidate talk about it and what they can do to further the protection of children.? and Third why is it everytime I ask this to someonje they automatically say that the kids are a "bad apples to begin with?" WHere do you stand?

Answer 1

WOW, you are asking a lot here..let me see what I can do tohelp answer some of these.

Is child protective services effective.....definately not. They get involved where they should not be. I have seen it over an dover again...something goes wrong domestically and automatically the kids are removed from the parents - even if the parents are not at fault - and it takes several months to a year to get them backtogether again.

Since you say you have first hand experience then you aught to be able to answer the question yourself...were you happy with the outcome. If you are then you are one of the lucky ones. 99 Percent of the people I know that were victims of HRS (home recking society) are not happy campers.

Why dont politians say anything about it...becuase there is not a big enough outcry from the general populist to make this an issue. The politician running for your vote will only speak on the subjects of what the majority of people want to hear. Most are not interested in HRS. They are interested in their wallet and how to keep from going under or staying out of bankruptcy.Too mant taxes etc cost them most of what they earn and they arent left with enough to survive on.

Why do they say the kids are "bad apples"...that is usually from ignorance. Education can help here. Maybe you can help enlighten those who dont know...maybe even start yoru own org to help bring those kids out of foster care into a loving home where they can be nutured like a real human being.

Where do I stand....I believe that families and friends shoudl take care of their own....not the government..I believe that everything the government touches gets screwed up and the best thing to happen to government is to have it disappear or become as small as posisble so that they stay out of our private lives.

If you want to vote your conscience then thats a good first step for you. The only political party that has any principles to live by is the libertarian party. They want to shrink government down to nothing, they want people to keep what they earn and they want peopl eto be responsible for thier own actions...what a concept huh?

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

As a foster parent, I couldn't agree with you more that Child Protective Services is often ineffective. There are several reasons for this, but the biggest one does start with government funding and attention. The reason government doesn't bother to talk about it is because the kids cannot vote. Therefore, they are not high on the priority list at speaking engagements. I do not believe that kids are bad apples to begin with. The funding has to be addressed. Oversight also needs to be seriously addressed. I do not know of any two agencies that abide by the same set of rules. The system is a mess. It will never get better unless lobbyists see a reason to tackle the problem with congress. And that won't happen if there isn't money to be made from the venture.

Answer 3

In every election cycle there are many many topics that could be important ... gas prices, the war, jobs moving out of the country, immigration, terrorism, mental health.

It has been a while since I have noticed topics of children rising to importance in any but the most local of elections.

Winston Churchill is often quoted as saying our form of government is the worst in the world, ecept for all the others. There's a lot of truth in that, in that we have much to be dissatisfied with, but the challenge of improving sometimes seems almost insurmountable.

This is particularly true in the area of how best to protect children in trouble, families in trouble, and how to make sure the system does a good job.

Here is a mind experiment. Let's suppose there is a solution out there far superior to what we now have, and we just have not dreamed it up. What are the odds that someone will stumble over the solution, and get it implemented, when the result will be to cause the unemployment of all the social workers, police offices, juvenile judges, etc. whose job it now is to fight the problem? The reality is that those people want to keep their jobs, and may be incapable of thinking outside the box.

There have been any number of investigations. I suggest you familiarize yourslef with the reports of GAO and IGs, and also what the outcome of those reports were ... how long does it take between the government being told of a problem, and that problem getting fixed?

Answer 4

1. It depends on where you are. Some are pretty effective and some are horrible. Unfortunately it's usually the poor areas of the country that have bad systems.

2. Political candidates on the national level don't talk much about it because it's more of a local issue and maybe because children can't vote. But if you ask them about it maybe they'll talk about it more.

3. People who say the kids are bad apples are just trolls and jerks.

Answer 5

If you want your vote to count, make sure that you make it to the polls on election day.

1. Whether or not CPS is effective, depends on where you are located, what your personal experience has been with it, and who you had as foster parents.

2. Political candidates want to talk about something that affects a whole lot of people. In the larger context, foster children are a small number of people.

3. Because they are ignorant. btw --- I've never heard anyone make that comment.

Answer 6

I believe that foster homes are a severe detriment to the children in them. Mostly because a lot of those kids are moved around and have to get used to new parents, new kids, new schools, new neighborhoods and new rules all of the time. I say bring back the orphanage. My mom was in one as a child. The kids live in the same place, have the same friends, have the same schools, have the same house parents, have the same meal times and play times, the same routines, they have structure. They can keep their stuff in one place. Please don't give the old argument that an orphanage is a stigma, being a foster child is too, in fact it's a lot worse when you think about it. Look at Children's Home Society's. Most are very successful.

Answer 7

1. Yes when you have caring foster parents( like mine were)

2. Money and the people that get hired as child reps. Some see it as a stepping stone to better government jobs.

3. Some people don't take the time to educate themselves and just blurt the first thing they have heard about a subject.

Politics- not truth in information but trust my information.

Answer 8

No politician seems to want to tackle issues that matter.They would rather advocate gay marriage and other decadent social behavior than protect children.For what ever reason,that is not popular among political circles.Look how long it is taking Megan's law to become law in some states.
Child protective services is ineffective at best.My wife and i have been calling them on my sister-in -law for many years for neglecting her children and they are just getting around to removing them after they have become disciplinary problems.

Answer 9

No, they are NOT EFFECTIVE, BEAUROCRACIES SELDOM ARE!!! The less government the better! You don't want sociol workers in your PRIVATE life, I mean NOBODY does! Check us out ON LINE... Vote for representative Ron Paul & support YOUR Libertarian party to take back YOUR country & freedom! The "authorities" can not better the protection of children for the children are just a means for a "job" to them. Betterment for our children comes from "loving, truly concerned" parents/family. Check us out ON LINE & vote responsibly!

Answer 10

The CPS idea is good. The problem lies with the budget, and the people that run it. Most of these kids come from troubled or broken homes, but with a lot of help, can turn out to be good people.