Legislation says reduce number in foster care

A bill passed the General Assembly calling for a plan to reduce the number of children in foster care. House bill 718 passed the Senate unanimously after passing the House of Delegates almost as easily with a 91-3 vote.



RICHMOND - The governor and department of social services need to put their thinking caps on now that a bill calling for a plan to reduce the number of children in foster care has passed the General Assembly

House bill 718 passed the Senate unanimously after passing the House of Delegates almost as easily with a 91-3 vote.

“It would be doing what we’ve already been doing. Expanding it and enhancing it and continue to move those practices and philosophical changes along in Virginia,” said Raymond Ratke, special advisor for children’s services

This bill requires the governor, department of social services and other appropriate agencies to develop a plan that will decrease the number of children in foster care 25 percent by 2020.

“In February there were 6,024 kids in foster care in Virginia,” said Ratke, special advisor for children’s services. Ratke said the current number is down 20 percent from December 2007.

The department of social services has not had a system in place targeted specifically at reducing the number of children in foster care. The department has focused more on seeking better outcomes for families who are involved in the foster care system.

The plan, developed by the governor and department of social services, would build on these programs already in place to not only promote good outcomes, but reduce the number of those in the foster care system altogether.

“A big part of what the plan would include would be increasing the number of adoptions and decreasing the amount of time it takes to find adoptive parents,” said Ratke.

Ratke said that much of the success of this kind of plan would come from placing emphasis on family engagement and kinship.

“We need to do a better job of finding and locating blood relatives, and placing kids safely with blood relatives,” Ratke said.

“We don’t have a great track record of that so far,” he added. “About 5 percent are with blood relatives.”

Ratke said that many children in foster care could actually stay with their families if a support system were in place.

“Research says when you are able to do that, those kids have much better outcomes than those placed in foster care.”

By implementing these ideas and building on programs already in place, the department of social services can reach the goal set forth in the bill, Ratke said.

“It’s a large number but, again, we’ve reduced it already by 20 percent in the last two years, he said. “We feel like it’s very doable and reasonable.”

Ratke is encouraged to see the state take a stance on the foster care issue by passing this bill.
“It’s really nice to have a bill that says, ‘This is the goal: to have fewer kids in foster care.’”

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For more information and data from the department of social services, visit http://www.vafamilyconnections.org/

‘Pothole Blitz’ seeks to repair Virginia’s roads

RICHMOND – A gap in the state budget isn’t the only hole Virginia officials are trying to fill. They’re also trying to plug potholes that harsh winter weather has left on roads throughout the commonwealth.

This article was published on the Gainsville Times Web site: ‘Pothole Blitz’ seeks to repair Virginia’s roads