Families Should Stick Together, Report Reminds

"International Fountain" by Seattlest Flickr Pool contributor Nivad.

Surely there are few hardships worse than being unfairly separated from your own flesh and blood. It sounds like plenty of families in Washington State have suffered that fate; a report [pdf] from the Office of the Family and Children's Ombudsman indicates that the local government authorities have too often given custody of children to the foster care system rather than to the kids' relatives without good reason. The office is in charge of investigating complaints about government agencies' actions involving children at risk for abuse or people involved with child protection and child welfare services.

According to a 1999 state guideline, kids should be with their blood kin "whenever possible and appropriate." According to the Ombudsman's analysis of their case studies and the patterns of complaints over the past few years, relatives have not been receiving their fair share of priority over foster care. The Ombudsman report recommends [pdf], among other improvements, tightening adherence to the rules about placement of children with family, strengthening paths of communication between relatives and the Department of Social and Health Services, and expanding certain programs such as the Kinship Navigator Program.