Parents criticize OCS procedures

• By SARAH CHACKO
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Oct 6, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Melissa Campbell, of Baton Rouge, said state officials were happy with her a decade ago when they needed a new home for an abused 5-year-old.

But an incident last year led the state to act as if Campbell was an unfit parent for the now troubled teen, whom Campbell adopted.

Officials with the state Department of Social Services’ Office of Community Services, which oversees the state’s child protection and foster and adoption programs, said they cannot comment on specific claims.

Officials say they make every attempt to keep families together after a disruption in the home.

Campbell, however, tells a story of adoptive families being torn apart when state caseworkers are called on to help with problems.

Four other adoptive parents related similar experiences involving their adopted teenage children.

Their stories include caseworkers expressing hostility and leaving parents out of decisions regarding how their children would be treated or where they might end up.

“There is policy for everything but obviously many people interpret policy differently,” said Margie Rogillio, president of the Louisiana Foster and Adoptive Parent Association.

Rogillio, a foster and adoptive parent, said she has been the subject of child protection investigations that resulted in nothing but headaches. She does not fault the state for doing their jobs and checking into allegations.

But the way some caseworkers handle situations can leave parents frustrated and further disrupt a family that has already been through a lot, Rogillio said.

“They tend to not pay attention to anything we say,” she said.

According to OCS policy, the decision to remove an adopted child from his or her family is “ideally” reached after all alternatives have been considered.

“It should be made when the negative features of an adoptive placement outweigh positive features and conflicts cannot be resolved within the foreseeable future,” OCS policy states. “In all cases the worker shall consider with the adoptive parent if there are any circumstances under which the child might remain in the home and attempt to meet the conditions where feasible.”