Act to help keep La. children in families

• By SARAH CHACKO
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Dec 1, 2008 - Page: 1A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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A new federal law is expected to make it easier for relatives to care for children taken into state custody because of abuse or neglect.

The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act gives children in the state’s foster care system another route to stability and permanency by providing relatives with greater incentives to be guardians, said Kaaren Hebert, interim assistant secretary of the state Department of Social Services’ Office of Community Services.

The office oversees the state’s foster and adoptive care programs.

Currently, relatives can become certified foster parents and receive a board rate, Hebert said. But that child would still be in the state foster care system.

The relative could also adopt the child and receive some financial assistance. But adoption requires terminating parental rights, and relatives are sometimes reluctant to break those ties with another family member, Hebert said.

“This kinship program allows us to avoid that,” she said. “Kids don’t have to stay in foster care anymore.”

Relative custody does not require the termination of parental rights. It could be given when return of the child to their parent’s home may not be possible or in the child’s best interest, or when adoption is not the most appropriate option after parental rights have been terminated.

Another program for relative placements provides assistance for one year. But in many cases, especially with young children, parents are responsible for many years of care, Hebert said.

“Many families, simply because of the economic situation they’re in, can’t assume full responsibility,” Hebert said. “So this is going to remove that barrier and really enable families to continue to take care of their own children.”

As of Nov. 21, 408 of the 4,807 Louisiana children in foster care were living with relatives who are certified foster parents.

Relatives would still have to go through the state certification process for foster and adoptive parents, which includes home evaluations and background checks. The child would also have to live with the relative for six months before they could qualify for the new federal assistance.

Stacy LeJeune of Denham Springs was awarded custody of her grandson, Dayton, last year, when he was two months old.

She is seeking adoption of Dayton to ensure he always has a stable home with her. She said she knows from her own family experiences what it is like to have a piece of the family tree missing.