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ONE VOICE
Notifies You of Upcoming
Training Events and Information
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E-mail From ONE VOICE to the New Oregon DHS Director
Dear Ms. Thorne,
I very much regret missing your address, as the new DHS Director, at the OFPA conference in Eugene last week. I had hoped to introduce myself to you in person. I hope I will have another opportunity to hear and meet you, in the near future!
My name is Nancy B. Webb. I am the President's Council representative on the OFPA Board of Directors, a member of the NFPA and the Greater Metropolitan Foster Parent Association (GMFPA) of Multnomah County. I did foster care for many years and have adopted 3 special needs children. Although I no longer do foster care, I am committed to improving the foster care system in Oregon and assisting both foster parents and the agency in their efforts to develop relationships of trust, communication, respect and safety for children! In this effort I coordinate "ONE VOICE," which was created to serve and inform foster, adoptive and relative care providers. I ask that you take a few minutes to check out our web site and the links to our mission statement, previous communications with Bobby Mink and other interesting material. I am providing this link for your convenience ONE VOICE if you are unable to access our site using the link please cut and paste the following address into your internet browser. http://hometown.aol.com/webbhouse/myhomepage/business.html
ONE VOICE has over 500 members statewide. Our communication is generally done through e-mail and our web site, however we also work closely with the OFPA and individual foster parents as needed. We communicate with state and local elected government officials as well as DHS administration, at all levels. Our hope is to influence foster care in Oregon, to benefit children and providers, and create an atmosphere of partnership and respect between the agency [DHS] and it's foster parent resources in the community.
I look forward to meeting you and working with you in the future! As always, any and all communications will be shared with our ONE VOICE members in an effort to keep them informed and active!
Sincerely,
Nancy B. Webb, Coordinator for ONE VOICE
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Jean Thorne's Response to ONE VOICE E-mail
Dear Nancy:
I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to meet in Eugene. I did just briefly browse
through your website. I can see from your correspondence with Bobby Mink that
you have significant concerns about the reductions in assistance to foster and
adoptive parents. I understand those concerns. Unfortunately, we've been
faced with enormous reductions throughout the Department over the last several
months ($140m over the last five months of the biennium). This has placed
huge strains on many (or all) parts of the social service system. You may
want to take a look at our DHS website if you're interested in seeing the cuts
throughout DHS.
Having said that, I appreciate the willingness of foster and adoptive parents
to hang in there with us. These are extremely difficult times, and the
commitment and support of people like yourself are critically important.
I do hope we have the opportunity to meet in the near future.
Thanks for contacting me.
Jean Thorne
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Mr. Mink's Comments About Reduction in Foster/Adoptive Payments
Dear Ms. Webb:
Thank you for your October 30, 2002 email.
I appreciate your concern regarding the difficult economic times Oregon is facing and, in particular, your concern regarding the proposed budget cuts 'in the Department of Human Services' (DHS) foster care program. I certainly recognize that foster parents provide an invaluable resource to Oregon's abused and neglected children.
Let me take this opportunity to clarify a few issues. In Oregon, we provide three separate rate structures for foster care reimbursement based on the age of the child: 0-5 year olds receive $378.00 per month; 6-12 year olds, $393.00 per month; and youth age 13 years or over, $485.00 per month. In addition to this base rate, our foster care program provides health coverage through the Oregon Health Plan for eligible foster children. Based on the average daily population and age groups of the children in care, the average is $412.00 per month.
The foster care reimbursement structure also provides additional assistance for special needs children, and this payment assists the foster parents with the additional supervision necessary to care for certain children. The average special rate of foster care in Oregon is $580.75 per child per month. It should be noted that approximately 56% (or 3,000) of the foster children in foster care receive reimbursement through the special rate program. These payments are in addition to the base rates noted above.
All of us agree that no amount of money can adequately reimburse families who dedicate their lives to fostering abused and neglected children. In previous contacts
with you, I have committed my field staff to working closely with the Oregon Foster Parent Association in general practice and policy areas and to working with the One Voice organization on case-specific foster parent issues. I believe this is a strong foundation for all of us through difficult economic times.
Sincerely,
(signed Bobby S. Mink)
c:The Honorable Janet Carlson,The Honorable Jeff Kruse,The Honorable Kathy Lowe, The Honorable Jeff Merkley,Donnie Griffin,Ramona Foley,Bill Fink,Shirley Iverson,
Kevin George,Mickey Serice
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Reply to Bobby Mink's letter
However, I believe there may be some disparity around Special Rate payments. In your letter you state, "The average special rate of foster care in Oregon is $580.75 per child per month. It should be noted that approximately 56% (or 3,000) of the foster children in foster care receive reimbursement through the special rate program. These payments are in addition to the base rates noted above". I do not disagree with the statement as such. I do, however, disagree with the inference of that statement.
While it may be true that 56% (or 3,000) foster children in Oregon receive special rates, and the average special rate payment equals $580.75, it is not necessarily true that 56% of foster parents receive special rate payments in addition to their base rate! I would like to make the following five observations:
1) Although 56% of the children in foster care may receive special rate, that does not correlate to 56% of foster parents receiving special rate payments. I would be very interested in seeing the actual percentage of overall foster providers receiving special rate payments. 2) In my experience, foster parents who care for special needs children often care for more than one special needs child. This leads to certain families receiving extremely high overall payments, while new or inexperienced foster parents, unaware of the special rate system, often care for special needs children without receiving any special rate.
3) The special rate, although designated in policy as monies associated with the child's "special" needs, it is actually payment ($4.61/Hr.) to the foster parent for care above and beyond that necessary for a "normal" child. It is a payment for extra time, skill and services provided to the foster child by the foster parent.
4) Should a child require this high level of care [medical or behavioral] in any other setting, for example a hospital, rehabilitation center or residential facility, the cost would be substantially more than $1065.75/month, which represents the highest "base rate" plus the "average special rate" you quoted! The agency saves thousands of dollars by placing children in foster care rather than more restrictive environments.
5) There is a huge disparity in the amount of special rate payment made to individual foster parents! Although policy directs the hours, services and payment provided to the foster parent/child, experienced, skilled, knowledgeable and savvy foster parents are able to "demand" much higher amounts to care for specific children! This is often the case for children awaiting placement in residential or group home facilities. The other extreme is also apparent. As mentioned previously, "new" and/or "relative" placements often receive little or no special rate for special needs children simply because they do not know it may be available. Therefore the scale varies significantly. On one end of the scale you have the infant [with undiagnosed special needs] placed with an inexperienced or unknowing foster parent who receives only $378.00 per month. On the other end of the scale you have the experienced savvy foster provider who is capable of negotiating with the agency and demands $2000 [or more] per month for the care of a child.
It appears that the special rate system is flawed and in desperate need of change, however that is not the point of this communication. The point of this communication is that your letter seems misleading. It seems to imply that over half of all foster parents receive a substantial special rate payment in addition to their base rate payment. I do not believe that to be factual.
I believe that a significant number of foster care providers receive payments far below the estimated average monthly cost of approximately $700 [OR] for raising a child. That means the foster family absorbs much of the cost of raising these children. DHS recognizes the dedication and commitment of foster and adoptive parents! Those parents will not stop providing care for needy children simply because of pay cuts! Knowing this fact makes it exceedingly "easy" to recommend 7.5% and 10% cuts to foster and adoptive maintenance payments and special rates! It does not make it RIGHT, FAIR, REASONABLE, PRUDENT or NECESSARY!
I ask again that you find some other way to make up for budget shortfalls, advocate for legislative change that will keep us from being in this position again, and recognize the true value and importance of supporting those people directly serving Oregon's children and youth - a service which DHS is mandated to provide.
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