Abused herself, Love trying to reform foster care system

Posted 7/20/16

Susan Love by Sue Ann Rybak Susan Love, who lived in Chestnut Hill for several years before moving to Northeast Philadelphia, knows first hand what it's like to be a child in the Philadelphia Foster …

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Abused herself, Love trying to reform foster care system

Posted
Susan Love Susan Love

by Sue Ann Rybak

Susan Love, who lived in Chestnut Hill for several years before moving to Northeast Philadelphia, knows first hand what it's like to be a child in the Philadelphia Foster care system.

After being rescued from a fire when she was just 5, she was placed in the Philadelphia foster care system, where she was verbally abused for the remainder of her youth. She described her childhood as devastating. It's just one of the reasons, Love, a teacher at Patterson Elementary School, 7000 Buist Ave. in Southwest Philadelphia, is a passionate advocate for foster care reform.

Love, 47, said she was inspired to “take action” after watching the 2006 ABC-TV segment, “Calling All Angels,” with Diane Sawyer. In the report, Sawyer examined the crisis of the foster care system and what can be done to help children. “Sawyer was trying to find people willing to move forward in the recovery process,” Love said. “I decided then that I was going to be part of that recovery process.”

Several years ago, she hired a team of investigators to interview foster care alumni, collect research and help her write a proposal on comprehensive foster care reform.

“By the time the investigative services were finished, the cost was over $17,000,” said Love, who funded the investigation herself. “My investigation team interviewed 97 foster children alumni (who were under the care of the city's Department of Human Services). We interviewed foster care alumni from five, 10, 15 and 20 years ago. We were trying to see if the system is better now than it was 20 years ago. To be honest, in some respects, it is. I do feel there is more intervention with the biological families. They seem to be trying to get more help for the mother or father who cannot provide for them, rather than removing them from their care.”

She said despite these changes not much else has changed. In May, Pennsylvania downgraded Philadelphia's DHS license, citing serious violations of child-welfare laws including falsified visit reports, a lack of access to case records, including information about prior abuse, neglect and criminal information, nine records in which safety threats were not addressed, no documentation for FBI and state police clearances for caseworker and much more.

An article in the Philadelphia Inquirer entitled “A 10-year-old's wholly preventable death,” written by Mike Newall, an Inquirer columnist, is an another horrific example of why reforms are needed at DHS. Newall called Ethan Okula's death the result of a “wholesale, systemic failure.” A medical examiner ruled that Okula, who was intellectually impaired and had serious medical problems, died from a “bowel obstruction, a likely complication of his medical conditions.”

Love, who was placed in foster care because her mother was found to be unfit, said the city removed a child “from their parent or parents, because for some reason they are found to be unfit and then placed the child in foster care with a woman who has a criminal background. That is completely unacceptable but not surprising.

“The foster care system needs a much more thorough process to select foster parents. A child with the medical needs that this little boy had needed to be placed with a foster parent who had the proper knowledge of his illness and adequate professional training. It takes time and dedication to find the right foster parent for each child. Sloppy placement work only leads to a lot of deaths and abuse."

Okula's story and those of countless children who die while under the care of DHS only strengthen Love’s resolve to make changes to a failing foster care system. Earlier this year, she sat down with Shanee Garner, Councilwoman-at-Large Helen Gym's head of policies and legislation, to give her the 23-page proposal.

“In the proposal I cited legal requirements for the City of Philadelphia based on Commonwealth of Pennsylvania foster care mandate, provided reference to foster care abuse in the Greater Philadelphia area and suggested a remedial plan for comprehensive reform of the entire foster care system … My long-term goal is to implement changes suggested in the proposal with the support of media, city council, state officials and legal experts.”

Unfortunately, despite Garner's assurances that Councilwoman Gym would call her back after reviewing the proposal. Love has been unable to talk to Gym directly. When the Local contacted Gardner on the telephone, she said the city didn't have time to focus on comprehensive policy changes when they “had children sleeping at DHS headquarters.”

Love said one of her goals was to make sure the recommendations could be implemented relatively easily and at no additional cost to the city. One of her recommendations includes educating the children and foster parents together before they go into placement about abuse. “We want DHS to set up simple seminars with the foster parents and the child,” she said. “After the seminar, parents would answer questions such as 'What is appropriate punishment?' and 'What is not appropriate punishment?' and parents would have to give their answers in writing for liability purposes.”

The proposal also suggests that DHS create an outreach program that will allow youth to be in touch with other youth in foster care. “Foster children often feel like there is no one their age they can relate to,” she said. “In order for the program to be successful and low-cost, DHS would need volunteers who are retired school teachers, counselors, social workers and mental health workers to help run the program.

“What has been disconcerting to me the most since we started investigating is the sheer number of abuse cases in Philadelphia and the suburbs. It's staggering, and I am really appalled by it. I am shocked to see cases where the child is abused and then placed back in the foster home where the abuse took place. It will turn your stomach, and I don't think anybody wants this to happen.

“When a caseworker comes to the house to interview the foster parent, the foster parents do not behave authentically. They love to put on a show that everything is wonderful. I watched it for 12 years when I was in foster care. The stage show that the foster parent will put on.”

Love said that during the interview, the caseworker always asks to speak to the foster child alone. “When you are afraid of your foster parent, you are not going to tell the caseworker in your foster parent's home that you are being abused in some way. You are only thinking about the repercussions later on when the casework leaves. In my proposal, we strongly recommend unannounced visits. I am not recommending that caseworkers go barging in on the foster care parents at any time.”

Love added that there needs to be some kind of support system for the child outside of the home. “The social workers, school counselors and school nurses all need to know if a child is in foster care. If there is a problem, they should be able to pick up the phone and contact DHS if they suspect abuse or if there is a medical emergency.”

Love said she was blessed to have met Donna Waitz Cohn, her caseworker from Lutheran Children and Family Service. “The impact that she had on me was life-lasting. I was always very excited for her to come and see me. I think she sensed that I was not the happiest child. She always offered me so much encouragement.

“One of the questions people always ask me is, 'What do you regret? What would you like to go back and erase in your life?’ And I say the same thing to everybody. I would erase nothing if it leads me to help this program improve. If this is why I am here, I will take back nothing. If this is the task that has been given to me, I accept it … I am very determined to make positive changes to the current welfare system.”

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