A Lawrence teen-ager shares her experiences in foster care system.
Janeece Jackson, 18, knows all about Kansas' now-privatized foster care system, having spent most of her life in foster homes, group homes and, as she calls it, "lockdown."
Now she's an adult, living with a Christian family and going to Free State High School. She says her years in foster care did far more harm than good.
So when she heard the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services was sponsoring a statewide teleconference Wednesday to hear what's right and wrong with foster care nowadays, Jackson parked herself in front of the speaker-phone at the Lawrence SRS office.
For two hours, she listened to others -- program directors, social workers, foster parents, and parents whose children are in foster care -- raise the usual, almost time-honored complaints: Not enough money, poor communication, way too many cracks in the system.
Then it was Jackson's turn.
"I have a few issues I want to have addressed on behalf of children who've been in the system, because I feel our voices are never heard," she said, not the least bit nervous.
Relying on three pages of notes and a firsthand perspective, she spent the next 10 minutes jabbing at the system's sore points. A sampling:
- "Kids in custody need positive influences, someone who'll spend time with them -- not just social workers or case managers.
"A lot of the children don't trust them (social workers and case managers). In the system, our motto is 'Love no one, trust no one.'"
- Too many times, she said, children are put on medications to correct behaviors that, in other environments, are considered normal.
"If they (children) are jumping and playing around, they (staff) say you're ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). If you're sad one day, they say, 'You have depression, better put you on meds for that.'"
- Children who leave foster care when they turn 18 need help.
"A lot of these kids have nothing," she said. "They're released from the system, they have nowhere to go, they have no money. So they stay on the streets and get into prostitution and drugs. Being in state custody didn't do them any good."
- Too often, siblings in foster care are separated. "You shouldn't do that because when you're split up from your loved ones, that's when you become unattached. It happens a lot: They split you up, then they return you home and you don't know how to act so you end up back in the system," Jackson said.
"When kids leave the system they don't say 'Goodbye,' they say 'See you later' because we all know we'll be coming back."
- Group homes often feel like mini-institutions rather than the temporary homes away from home that they're supposed to be.
"Kids react to their surroundings," she said. "If those surroundings are like a 'nut house,' then they're going to act like they're in a 'nut house.'"
Though harsh, Jackson's comments struck a chord with those at the Lawrence site.
"Janeece, you've given me hope," said Deborah Howard, who's struggling to raise her grandchildren.
"I wish we had more older kids like Janeece come forward to talk about their experiences," said Debi Hatfield, a children and family services supervisor at the Lawrence SRS office.
Maureen Mahoney, general counsel for Kaw Valley Center, the Kansas City-based program that has the foster care contract for Douglas County and much of eastern Kansas, said she agreed with many of Jackson's points.
"Yes, we don't want kids in institutional settings -- we'd much rather have them in homelike settings whenever possible," Mahoney said. "And, yes, we'd all like to see more cooperation and better communication."
Jackson has been out of the system for several months, Mahoney said, and many of the problems the teen cited have been addressed.
"I'll be the first to tell you that a year and a half ago, we had a lot of problems," Mahoney said. "I know what she (Jackson) is talking about, but things are better now."
A Lawrence-only hearing on successes and shortcomings of the foster care system is set for 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Lawrence Public Library.
Information culled from the comments will be used by SRS in writing specifications when it seeks bids for new foster care contracts.
-- Dave Ranney's phone message number is 832-7222. His e-mail is dranney@ljworld.com.
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