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Alaska in Need of Foster Care Parents60 percent of the 1,600 children in state care are Alaska NativeRelated Content
ALASKA - There are currently 1,600 children in out-of-home care in Alaska. When family members aren't available, unrelated foster parents are needed. The primary mission of the Office of Children’s Services (OCS) is to get kids back with their parents, but during this process foster parents are essential. "We try and work with the family while the child, or children, stay in their home by providing services and sort of wrapping a safety net around them. The last option is to remove them from their family, but in many cases that is what is necessary," said Christy Lawton, Director for OCS. Unfortunately 60 percent of the 1,600 children in state care are Alaska Native. Federal law requires the state of Alaska to go above and beyond to find an appropriate foster family for Alaska Native children. "If they have to be removed, then they have to be placed with a relative, and if not a relative then an Alaska Native foster home that the tribe approves,” said Lawton. OCS said 50 percent of the children it serves will ultimately be reunified and returned home. The other 50 percent might be adopted or helped to transition to independent living. According to OCS, the number of children in foster care has slowly declined over the past five years. New methods of keeping kids with their parents while problems are sorted out have helped to reduce the figure from around 2,000 children at any one time to 1,600. |
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Anonymous said on Thursday, May 3 at 9:44 PM
yeah lets put em in foster care so they can chain them to a car in the Valley...the OCS office does racial profiling - removing children because they are native and poor...no white picket fence...so they remove the kids...give them to sociopaths...
89698645Anonymous said on Thursday, May 3 at 10:25 PM
Well I would contact the BIA in the lower 48. they have offices up here. get the feds involved in that specific targeting by OCS. They are clanish and think that all kids in native families are abused!
89700223Bessie Herman Meyer said on Friday, May 4 at 12:12 AM
OCS needs to be abolished. I live at 13200 E. Soapstone Rd in Palmer and I have stories that are very damaging going back into 1980. My # is 745-5185. Alaska natives need help in this area and not from OCS
89703093Abused in SE said on Friday, May 4 at 4:12 AM
There are elements within OCS and the court system that are trying to social engineer Alaskan society in their ideology.They are not just prejudice on race, But religion and rural life, and political affiliation.They have no respect for the common citizen, and no respect for the law or constitution.If You disagree with them, they will find an"Expert" to deem you "Insane" they do the same with children, threaten them with a mental institution, IF they do not support claims of abuse, or give up their religious beliefs.In favor of the New State Religion of blending all spiritual beliefs into one common State endorsed religion. OCS ignores state laws and rules of procedure, and does as they like.I know two teen boys, held by OCS in detention for 3 months, taken from a good home, when they had committed no crime, denied a lawyer, denied all contact with family. They were not delinquent and had done nothing, EXCEPT report an abusive mother.In stead of believing them, they are called insane
89712534Anonymous said on Friday, May 4 at 7:20 AM
my case is 1977-1979 but it's in Alcatraz...API...at the young age of 11...I nicknamed it cuz of Al on AU Like being around Con Air...anyways...Got Governor Frank Murkowski to Reverse the Statute of Limitaions. He is a big sweetie, he didn't have to do that...
89732043Anonymous said on Friday, May 4 at 7:23 AM
the reason for API? Money money money...when I am worth a lot of money - people will do anything to keep it...and did...until I found out about it... Now Washington DC and Alaska are duking it out... I will bring charges into FEDERAL court...
89732404Anonymous said on Friday, May 4 at 7:28 AM
yeah Alaska don't steal the government hates thieves!
89732953Anonymous said on Friday, May 4 at 7:31 AM
Led Zepplin - When the Levee Breaks...hey Sean how's that "vulnerable adult" scheme working out for ya? How's that federal protologist going...I will send free ointment, rub it on the hole that hurts the most Captain Zero...I say do a group lawsuit folks!
89733206coldnak said on Friday, May 4 at 7:41 AM
If there's such a need, then this story should explain more about how people become foster parents and not so much about statistics.
89734344Anonymous said on Friday, May 4 at 8:02 AM
class action lawsuits the way to go. 9072715071
89736774Anonymous said on Friday, May 4 at 8:04 AM
the feds need to require Alaska to hire natives in the system of OCS and serve as a legal advocate!!!
89736963Anonymous said on Friday, May 4 at 8:58 AM
Having lived out in the villages for a long time, I know there is a problem. But, instead of blaming OCS why doesn't the Native community STEP UP to the plate, get sober and raise their own kids? That would solve the whole problem, take responsibility for your actions so your kids can stay at home? No, you would rather sue someone for money, how is that helping THESE kids? It's not,just lining your own pockets.Same problem in the white families who would rather drink and drug then raise their own kids, quit blaming the system and take care of your own.
89742854Anonymous said on Friday, May 4 at 9:57 AM
yeah and they had something to do then...technology took the kids out of outdoors and coops them up like a hot house hen...so the BIA needs to overstock the villages with gas,oil,food,water,services. Elders will give the youngin's something to do then...
89749496patz said on Friday, May 4 at 10:21 AM
Stop blaming OCS for your families bad behavior. OCS doesn't go looking for children, the reports come in to them . No social worker looks forward to having more cases. OCS does not remove children because they are poor, or some other race then white. They remove children as a last resort. How do I know this? Because I was an OCS social worker for 10 years
89752285Anonymous said on Friday, May 4 at 11:51 AM
My parents were foster care parents for 11 years and they were denied to continue when an adaption fell through because one of the kids did not want to be adapted. they are need to work on not blaming foster parents who have not a had complaint about them in the 11 year.
89761936putz said on Friday, May 4 at 12:22 PM
I don't know where Christy Lawton is getting her stats. There are a whole lot more white people in The State of Alaska then any other race, and therefore more whites in OCS custody. If she is talking about disproportionality, then yes, there are a higher percentage rate in foster care that are native. I saw about 40 percent of all my cases that were native. I don't know where Christy is getting her stats about the percentage of cases that return children to their parents and case closed. In my experience and what I saw, the percentage of return of children after removal, was a lot less then 50%. If we had 50% success rate, then every social service agency in the country would be coming here to see how we did it. When we are talking about major lifestyle changes that need to happen, no therapist, no criminal justice system, no program anywhere has 50 % success rate. It all comes down to simple common sense
89765326kearbear said on Friday, May 4 at 12:47 PM
Are you saying that nearly 1000 of the 1600 kids in State care are Native Alaskan kids? Are you saying that you are looking for 1000 Native Alaskan Foster homes?
89768074FosterAdvocate said on Friday, May 4 at 1:22 PM
Just a HUGE thank you to all those people out there in Alaska who STEP UP, open their hearts, homes, to become the few, cherished foster homes. Foster parents are the ones who receive the calls 24/7, taking children in need into their homes and doing what most won't do-provide a real home for children who need temporary, and sometimes permanent families. Thank you so much. Without you the system would not work.
89770924Anonymous said on Friday, May 4 at 3:28 PM
hey here's a concept...pay elders of the village to be foster parents...have helpers there 24/7 and let the elders serve as a guide. the helpers can take care of the basics and let the elders focus on counseling and community...just a thought...
89780516Anonymous said on Friday, May 4 at 5:24 PM
hey concept - good idea...BIA should be able to cover that - hiring the helpers and sending supplies and whatever they need to be ready to counsel and teach community and culture! That would be awesome! They could teach kids to make things to sell online!
89787566Citizen Monitor said on Friday, May 4 at 5:58 PM
Currently OCS is a government agency given tremendous power and no effective oversight or checks and balances to the power. No light shines in this dark room- the cloak of secrecy allows them to abuse power every day. And without checks and balances, power will be abused-we all know that. Even the State Ombudsman's office says they can't investigate complaints against OCS, since all Child In Need of Aid actions have so many court hearings. Where the court is involved, they must stay out. Perhaps worst of all, neither the judges or the defense attorneys for low-income parents will question anything OCS does. The same public defenders that fight for criminal defendants will do nothing for a parent with a CINA case. Any young low-income parent, especially with a baby, is a target for the OCS adoption list, no matter what their director says about reunifying efforts. Judy Ringstad, supervisor at Fairbanks OCS, says 99% of Natives are alcoholics. Do you believe that? No wonder 60%.
89789793Anonymous said on Sunday, May 6 at 8:30 AM
citizen monitor - hit the nail on the head...I am the reason Palin resigned. She didn't want to follow Frank's orders of an investigation of a child rapist The bother was Todd's weed, women and coke dealer. That is going to court real soon...payback time!
89910644retired said on Sunday, May 6 at 9:26 AM
hey kiddos, just a note, a friend told me OCS is amping it up. I asked her what that meant, she said they are hiring a psychiatric nurse. I asked why? She wouldn't elaborate. In my days, we had a public nurse we sent families to, not tow one with us!
89914326retired said on Sunday, May 6 at 9:30 AM
oh and one more thing kiddos, stand up for yourself! As a retiree, I worked the fields 35 yrs, and a strong family is a long family. First rule is to help not hurt the families. Sounds like someone thru out the rule book. Turn anger into activism now!
89914466Anonymous said on Sunday, May 6 at 2:17 PM
wow. so the state of alaska is nitorious for throwing rich kids into programs to keep the trust? then they target the natives for their check too? throw in some laws changed for the better. followed by those in position of power broke the laws. and to top it all off with a cherry, get a OCS psychiatric nurse to prescribe a pill to shut them all up? Call Karen Loffeler folks. Report it!
89932576Anonymous said on Sunday, May 6 at 10:43 PM
sorry KTVA but KTUU is having a special on psychatric rights and Gottstein is a guest speaker. For those who were victimized by the system. Boy from what comments say alot of you were, even as young as 11? for what being a kid? oh $$$ gotcha!
89958956Joy said on Monday, May 7 at 7:18 AM
I am the mother of a child in OCS and they are strong arming me into signing my rights away my public loywer dosn't return my calls till the day before or even just ten minuts before a heiring. I am not the reason why child is in foster care, I let child go live with childs dad so that I could get onto my feet. Right when the ecconomy went south and I lost my job due to the company deciding to can 41 workers due to a decline in projected sales for the next year. Anyways suddenly two months ago made child made a choice not to see me anymore, or so they had my child read to me a statment that says this over the phone to witch I was not allowed to speak or ask any questions when I was told I would get to sit down and talk to my child to descuss why suddenly after two years of working with ocs and doing everything asked this is the best decision? How do you fight OCS when they say your child has decided they do not want to even see you or have contact at all.
89986206Anonymous said on Monday, May 7 at 1:44 PM
Call Karen Loffeler at 907-271-5071...leave her a message...the more cases the better for her to open a case against the State of Alaska...she is not a mind reader...makes reports what is wrong and what is lacking...short and to the point is the best!
90025256Anonymous said on Tuesday, Sep 25 at 9:41 AM
I believe Alaska is the biggest corrupt State there is. From top to bottom starting with our Government offices to the lower end of APD & OCS. This is sad when people are just outright corrupt and cover everything up while the so called criminals in our streets have more compassion then the leaders of this state.
102642282Ruth Marchetti said on Tuesday, May 14 at 5:00 PM
When they say that a child is Alaska Native, that means that they have at least 1/16th Native blood. Their parents may be mostly another race and have no connection to their distant Native culture, but it is only the "Native" part that counts and Native foster and adoptive parents must be found whenever possible. Any adoption must be approved by the tribe.
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