Awareness key to addressing child welfare needs in Carson City

Imagine being awakened in the middle of the night by a stranger, escorted out into the chill of dark Nevada twilight, placed in a strange car, and driven to a strange house with more strangers who tell you everything is going to be all right.

To top it off, you are expected to go back to sleep in a strange bed.

Welcome to the world of a foster child, whose story is much the same whether it's told in Las Vegas or Battle Mountain, in Caliente or Carson City.

It's a story that Lori Nichols and Karla Navarro of the Nevada Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) hear all too often.

And it's one they never get used to, either.

"It's heartbreaking," said Navarro, a systems advocate for the Nevada DCFS. "You open your heart to these children and you can't not love any of them."

May is National Foster Care Month, a campaign designed to raise public awareness about children in foster care and the importance of having good foster homes available in the community for children in crisis.

It follows National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April.

In Carson City, hundreds of small pinwheels were planted earlier this month on the front lawn of the Legislature in statewide observance, and to raise awareness of the problem of child abuse within Nevada communities.

But Navarro points out that awareness of foster care and child abuse should not be limited to one month a year.

"It doesn't end with foster care month and child abuse prevention month," she said. "Every month is prevention month."

She said the pinwheel campaign is an effective visible reminder of the problem not only nationwide, but also statewide and within the local community.

"That's the great thing about the pinwheel campaign," she said. "It's one of those issues that people don't want to think happens in their own backyard."

Nichols, a licensed social worker and foster care recruiter for the Nevada DCFS Rural District Office in Carson City, said child neglect cases are far more common than child abuse in Carson City and rural Nevada counties.

Neglect is defined as the failure to provide for the basic needs of a child, Navarro said, and most cases are not purposeful or malicious.

"Sometimes they (parents) don't know where to turn for help," she said. "The goal is to stop the cycle."

The problems all too often have more to do with a lack of education, immaturity, generational practices, as well as difficulty with stress, she added.

Chris Bayer, director of the Carson City Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program, said child abuse and neglect offenses occur in the state capital just as they do elsewhere in Nevada.

"The number of child abuse and neglect cases in Carson City is proportionate to the area's population," he said.

Whether the product of abuse or neglect, foster children statewide face a lot of obstacles, not the least of which is community indifference toward them, Nichols said.

"There's a huge stigma attached to children in foster care," she said. "They're seen as troubled kids with behavior problems."

This tends to turn a lot of people away from a very real community problem: The displacement of children caused by neglect or abuse.

"It's not something you talk about, and it's not in our everyday language," Nichols said. "But it is everywhere."

As of March 31, Nevada Child Protective Services (CPS) took custody of 439 children throughout Nevada's 15 rural counties and including Carson City, Navarro reported.

There were also 2,700 calls to CPS reporting abuse or neglect across Nevada's rural regions at the end of February and 623 investigations, she said.

About 5,000 children are in foster care statewide at any one time, Navarro said, a number that stays pretty consistent month to month and year to year.

"It does tend to fluctuate a little, but it's an even number for us," she said.

Despite these numbers, Nichols stressed that DCFS makes every effort to place children within their own families first during a crisis.

Only when that is not possible are they placed in emergency foster care.

And yet, even when a child is placed in emergency foster care, Nichols said the state's first goal is always reunification with custodial parents whenever and however possible.

Bayer concurs.

"Child welfare makes every effort to keep children with their parents," he said. "It's the exception when a child has to be taken into the care of the state due to abuse or neglect."

Nichols said a large part of changing public perception about children in the foster care system is by understanding what they have gone through.

"These kids have been in horrible situations and they process information differently," she said. "We want foster parents to be supportive of reunification."

In fact, stigmata and a general lack of awareness have contributed to a chronic nationwide shortage of foster homes, an issue that is particularly problematic right here in Carson City, Nichols said.

Bayer said unawareness -- of children in crisis, the child welfare system and its process -- is the chief reason why there aren't enough foster homes to meet the need locally.

"If nobody knows we have a need, the need will never get filled," Navarro agreed.

This makes recruiting a sufficient number of foster homes a challenge, Bayer added, because not enough people apply to be foster parents.

"People need to know that there is a need," Bayer said, "and they need to understand that everyone working in child welfare does so with a desire to do good things."

There are only eight active foster care homes locally that are prepared to take in children on a moment's notice, Nichols said. And, within those homes, only two beds are currently available.

This presents a significant challenge for Nevada CPS, which tries to place local children in foster homes within the local community.

The federal government is pushing to keep kids in their own communities, Navarro said, but these efforts are undermined by a chronic shortage of foster homes and foster families.

In many cases, Nichols said, children have to be placed in foster homes outside of Carson City in another rural county.

This puts even more stress on the children, who are already traumatized from being removed from their homes and the circumstances surrounding their removal, Navarro said, because they are now further away from home.

"You don't want to add to the trauma kids are already experiencing," she said.

Especially troublesome for Nevada DCFS is trying to place sibling groups in the same home. With Carson City's current foster care shortage it is simply not possible to do so locally.

Nichols said it is far more common these days to have sibling groups of two or more children removed from a home than a single child.

Without sufficient local foster homes, more children will end up either being placed in other counties or in separate homes apart from siblings.

While Bayer agrees that there is a shortage of foster homes locally, he is also quick to point out that the existing homes are high quality.

"Of those we have, there are some great foster homes in Carson City, just great," he said. "They work very hard."

He said the shortage of foster homes in Carson City does not equate to high turn-over, either.

"We actually do a pretty good job of retaining foster parents, and they do a very good job," he said. "But we just need more of them."

Bayer said having a sufficient number of foster homes in the community is vital to the child welfare system, so that children have some place to call home during the process; be it reunification, adoption, or some other outcome.

But foster parenting isn't for everyone.

And for those who seek to contribute in other ways, Bayer recommends becoming a CASA volunteer.

"There are resources that are needed," he said. "There is a need for CASA volunteers as well as foster homes."

CASA volunteers -- or court-appointed special advocates -- fill a much-needed slot in the child welfare process as guardians ad litem, or advocates for the child's best interests, he said.

"As a CASA volunteer you are trained to become a guardian ad litem," Bayer said. "Having that is very helpful to the process and to the child."

Bayer said state law requires every child ages 0-18 taken into state care shall have a guardian ad litem appointed for them.

Because of that, there's always a need for CASA volunteers in the community.

In Carson City, Bayer said his office may advocate for as many as over one hundred children in child welfare cases throughout the year.

"We've always had just enough people come forward in Carson City," he said. "But we always need people."

Because of the individuals in their care, guardians ad litem, like foster parents, carry a lot of responsibility on their shoulders.

"We use the word commitment a lot, because these cases take a while," he said. "They can take a year or two. People need to speak up, advocate, and hang in there for their clients."

CASA candidates must complete an application, attend an interview, submit to a background check, and complete 30 hours of classroom training, Bayer said.

Trainees also observe court proceedings, meet children, their custodial parents and families, as well as foster parents.

While CASA does have its needs, too, Bayer does not want to take away from the community's shortage of and important need for foster homes.

"The situation is more dire for foster homes," he said. "It is very important for children to stay in foster homes in their own community."

Nichols and Navarro said there can be a host of reasons why people do not open their homes to foster care, not the least of which is the personal commitment of time and resources required to raise any child.

In short, foster parenting is not for the faint of heart.

"Fostering is not easy," Nichols said.

Both parents work in many households today, Navarro said, so the time people feel they can devote to foster care is limited.

Foster parenting can be demanding, she admits, because of the many different appointments that children in crisis are subject to.

From visitations to court hearings, Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings to medical and/or mental health appointments, the daily life of a foster child is anything but relaxed.

"The commitment is what's hard for people," Nichols said.

In addition to the physical and mental investments in foster children, she said, there is an emotional component that can be hard on foster parents, too.

"It's easy to get attached to these children," she said.

Other reasons why people may avoid becoming foster parents are some of the negative stereotypes surrounding foster homes, Nichols said.

For instance, there are perceptions that foster parents are invested in the system for the money, a monthly stipend that DCFS pays to provide for the needs of each child in care.

But Nichols said that's why one key qualifier to becoming a licensed foster parent is to show an income which covers the household expenses.

She said the division doesn't want people to use the stipends as a primary means of income.

Then there is the misconception that the state becomes an antagonist when children are removed from the home.

Nichols said the state's purpose is not to take children away from their families, but to help restore families with their children after a crisis.

"When children come into state care, they are getting services and their parents are getting services," Bayer said. "It's not all doom and gloom."

Moreover, there are public perceptions that only certain people and lifestyles can qualify as foster parents.

Nichols said DCFS is very open to diversity in the community.

"We need homes that can meet the cultural needs of children," said Navarro.

Homes sensitive to the cultural needs of African and Native Americans, Spanish speakers, and LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gender questioning) children are areas that DCFS sees an increasing demand for, Nichols and Navarro agreed.

Nichols said a foster parent can be married or single. But a person must be at least 21 years of age, and have a secured residence.

Applicants will also need to submit to a federal background check, fingerprinting, and attend 27 hours of PRIDE (Parent Resources for Information, Development and Education) training.

As the process goes along, there will be a detailed home study and a home inspection before a license is granted.

Nichols said that while the division puts forth a lot of effort to try and recruit new foster families, getting the message out there -- and getting it to stick -- continues to be a challenge.

"You have to keep that message moving," she said.

Despite active recruiting events held throughout the year, she said the agency's best recruiting tools are current foster parents themselves.

"We need to support our current foster families and improve our communication," she said. "Our foster families are our best recruiters."

Bayer thinks so, too, adding that Carson City's foster parents are credits to the work they are tasked with on behalf of children in crisis.

"All the foster parents I know are true heroes," Bayer said. "For someone to come forward and want to be a foster parent, I think it would be very rewarding."

If you are interested in becoming a foster parent, or would like more information, please telephone Nichols at 775-684-1967 or toll-free 1-888-423-2659. She can also be reached by email at lnichols@dcfs.nv.gov.

If you are interested in becoming a CASA volunteer, or would like more information, please telephone Bayer at 775-882-6776. He can be reached via email, too, at casaofcc@earthlink.net.