Why do we need a children’s center in Douglas County?
Abuse and Neglect Cases
A typical scenario for children who are removed from their homes and placed in the State’s protective custody is as follows: Due to a critical shortage of local placements, the child is taken to an emergency shelter in Carson City, approximately ten miles away. While this is a good facility that administers excellent care, it is in another county. If the child needs to remain there because of a waiting list for foster homes, it may be necessary to change the child’s school district.
While the child is in the shelter, a search begins for an appropriate foster home. There are rarely Douglas County children in Douglas County foster homes. That means the child is moved from his/her home, community, school, extended family, support system (teachers, counselors), etc.. Occasionally, the shelter is filled to capacity, which means putting the child anywhere available until an appropriate home is available. Children enter our program as victims of abuseor neglect and then proceed to be victimized over and over again by multiple placements, school and school counselor changes, loss of friends, etc..
When CASA children are placed great distances from Douglas County, it becomes extremely difficult for us to monitor the placement and how the child is adjusting to his/her new surroundings. We recently had a sibling group placed eight hours away and it was necessary for the CASA to take a two-day trip to visit the children.
The State makes every effort to keep sibling groups together, but occasionally it is necessary to separate brothers and sisters due to a critical shortage of placement possibilities.
While the problems within the family are being addressed, it is important for children to maintain contact with their parents, siblings and other relatives. As our primary goal is to reunify the family if that is at all possible, it is important that the bond between the parents and children is not broken. Many time, the court orders that these visits are supervised for the child’s protection. The State facilitates these visits, but they usually take place Monday through Friday. Many parents are only able to visit on the weekends, so the CASA program established a visitation program that enables parents to meet their children at the park, swim center, or in our kid-friendly visitation room after business hours and on weekends. We have had difficulty facilitating these visits because sometimes foster parents cannot transport children long distances as they have other children to watch, other appointments to keep, etc..
Other Potential Uses
The potential uses for a facility devoted to helping children are endless and new opportunities will present themselves once the center is completed. These are a few of the immediate needs we have and services we will implement to meet those needs.
Custody cases are a large part of our caseload. Children, through no fault of their own, can find themselves in situations bordering on abuse when they are caught between two parents who cannot agree on the time of day. We will provide services for the parents, as well as the child, to assist them with the issues that arise when a family is going through crisis. Each parent often has their own attorney and the child can get “caught in the middle.”
Douglas County Social Services reports that occasionally they work with families who are on the verge of homelessness and are unable to care properly for their children, but do not want to see them in foster care. We would like to explore the possibility of working with these families who need to know their children are in a safe place while they are getting back on their feet.
Counseling services are almost always required for children whose home lives are in turmoil and the children’s center would be a place where such services could be provided, eliminating the need to transport children sometimes as far as Reno. We will seek the services of a therapist who will work under a contract and seek grant funds for this purpose.
In order to develop more foster homes in Douglas County, our center will be open to the State of Nevada for their foster parent training classes. Currently, the classes are held in Carson City or Reno and, as they are held in the evenings, recruits not only have to drive long distances, but also have to arrange for babysitting. We would like to be able to offer local classes and furnish babysitting for them.
Literacy is an issue for many children in our community and we would like to see an after-school program established at the center utilizing trained literacy volunteers.
The number of guardianship cases we are assigned is increasing steadily, in large part due to grandparents who are taking over the care of grandchildren and even great-grandchildren. There is no support for them in Douglas County to assist them with the countless problems that arise with raising a new generation of children which requires learning new trends, computers, new methods of discipline, etc.. Even attempting to help with new generation homework can be challenging. The center will provide a central meeting place for them.
We also have situations where parents are willing to seek the residential treatment they need for problems with addiction, but there is no one to care for their children. If they know there is a safe place available for their children in their own community, the chances of helping families stay together greatly increase.
We are fortunate to have a large population of retired professionals in Douglas County who we intend to recruit for mentoring, assisting with homework and arts and crafts, science projects, gardening, etc.. Many are displaced grandparents who will welcome an opportunity to work with young people.
