Don't Foster Children Deserve More?

I've been meaning to keep up on my blog more frequently but time and writer's block has been an issue.  I have been struggling with what I want to write about because sometimes it either seems too boring or too political.  I don't really want this blog to be either of those things.

However, I came across something today and though it is political I just couldn't help but to say something about it.  A plan suggested by State Sen Bruce Caswell would give foster parents an $80 gift card allowance to be used for clothing that are only redeemable at thrift stores such as Salvation Army or Goodwill.  To me, this is wrong on a number of levels. 

First of all, foster care has been something I have been passionate about since high school when I first became aware of what foster care really was.  Then in my first year of college I saw author Jennifer Toth of the book Orphans of the Living: Stories of America's Children in Foster Care  appeared on the Rosie O'Donnell show.  She spoke of how corrupt and damaging the foster care system is in the United States.  I purchased the book, and I admit, I stopped halfway through because it was just too depressing.  Many (of course not all) are foster parents for the money.  They are paid to care for the child, not paid to love them.  Many children actually end up in just as bad of homes or worse in the foster care system than what it would have been like to stay with their biological parents.  These children are dealing with feeling rejected/abandoned from their own parents and 40% of foster children either end up on welfare or prison themselves.  The children are obviously not getting what they need: whether it's enough love, attention, resources, and/or simple guidance.  Something needs to be done to fix this.

So the state is looking to save money and I realize budget cuts need to be made and not all of them are going to be pretty.  But Senator Caswell's plan to only allow children to receive their clothing from thrift stores, from the money the state provides, is only making the system even worse.  He admittedly doesn't even know how much money this would even save the state.  He justifies it by saying that his father shopped for him from Salvation Army and that his father once told him "once you're out of the store and you walk down the street, nobody knows where you bought your clothes."  Well my opinion is that his father must have been telling him that for a reason... and the reason, if I had to guess, is because Caswell was complaining to his dad about having to wear clothes from Salvation Army!  And, again if I had to guess, he was complaining because it made him feel like he was less than everyone else.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that Salvation Army and Goodwill are bad places.  But to restrict them from shopping anywhere but thrift stores just isn't right.  Part of Caswell's point is that this way they can better ensure that the money a foster parent is given for the clothing allowance actually goes towards the child and not spent on the parent themselves.  I just don't think that punishing a child for the actions of their foster parent is right.  How about do a better job screening the parents?  Do more check ups to make sure the child has everything they need.  Why should foster children have less than any other child?  Why is the system further punishing the child.  If 40% of foster children eventually end up on the welfare system or in prison, we would save an enormous amount of tax payer money if we invested in these children when they are young so they are not soaking up tax payer money in their adult years.  Newsflash... children are only kids for 18 years, but they are adults for 40-60 years on average.  Caswell should consider that.  Potentially 40-60 years on welfare.

The cliche goes that children are our future, but it's the truth.  Invest in our children and it will save so much money in the future.  If these children become hard working, contributors to society, then they will be earning more money (pay more income tax), live in larger homes (pay more property tax), will stay out of prison (tax payers' money), and won't have the need for any government assistance.  Put the focus on that 40% decreasing to under 5% and then we will save money while keeping the children's dignity intact.