Disability Foster Care
- Justin Borses
- Apr 23, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: May 5, 2022
NORTHRIDGE, CA- The foster care system in California is trying to expand access and care to kids in the disabled community. A 2018 bill called ‘Foster youth trauma-informed system of care’ is finally being implemented this year. Its affects are important to families providing life-saving care.
Sheri Louie works at a group home for children who need medical care. One caught her eye, and the two created an instant connection. Her adopted daughter Kristina lives with Cerebral Palsy, Autism and Moebius disorder which results in facial paralysis.
She says “I had a connection with her. It was like how I felt with my daughter. I loved all the kids there, but I loved her different.”
Families that house these children don’t get enough medical supplies and have incomplete information with regards to their child’s health history. The kids are considered to be under state managed care. Racial justice plays a large role, as African American and Native American kids are far more likely to be in the system.
State officials are trying to improve supportive programs and give mental options a shot under new provisions. The Family Urgent Response System is a 24/7 hotline now in place and a mobile response team in each county can visit families in extreme distress.
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Susanna Kniffen is the senior manager of child welfare policy at Children’s Now, an advocacy organization. She says, “There are ways we are trying to support our foster parents either with specialized funding or with specialized services or wraparound care, but we never have enough,”
Although the California Department of Social Services doesn’t compile data specific to special needs, reforms include a 139-million-dollar stipend in the budget.
Audio: The Foster Care System Struggles to House People With Disabilities
By, Justin Borses
Contributions, Disability Scoop
Photo, Disability Scoop
Audio, Justin Borses
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