Support Kentucky Youth

Awareness and Advocacy

There’s a new, practical way you can help Sunrise find permanent homes for abused and neglected children. The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services has created a special license plate promoting adoption awareness. The license plate features the logo for CHFS Special Needs Adoption Program (SNAP) and the phrase “Be a forever family – adopt.” At least 900 people need to commit to the license plate by next Feb. 1 to begin production. For more details, check out the Kentucky Post’s story.

Also in the news is Sunrise board member Jimmie Lee. The Lexington Herald-Leader profiled him in a story titled “Lawmaker master of the deal,” highlighting his tireless efforts advocating for social services as a state representative. “Lee says, half-jokingly, that his transformation from car dealer to advocate was directed by the Lord. He is an usher at Severns Valley Baptist Church in Elizabethtown and a lifelong Southern Baptist. He says that the role he now plays in the legislature is his calling.” We’re grateful to have Rep. Lee in our corner, especially when state budget constraints are threatening private child care providers like Sunrise.

Please share your thoughts on these stories. It would be great to hear from you.

Still Standing Up for Faith-Based Values

Do you know what sets Sunrise Children’s Services apart from most other private child welfare agencies in Kentucky? While the abused and neglected children who have been removed from their homes by the state must have their physical, mental and emotional needs met, they must have their spiritual needs met, too. We take that final responsibility seriously, believing that the opportunity for spiritual growth can only help hurting kids. Secular child care providers don’t take the same approach.

Does that mean we force children in our care to attend Bible studies, get baptized, or become Baptists? No. It means our staff provides opportunities for children to explore their own faith. If they want to attend church, whatever denomination, we make every effort to get them there. Faith, hope and love are powerful healing tools.

We also believe that our employees and foster parents should be good role models of Judeo-Christian values. Therefore, we don’t allow a couple living together without being married to work for Sunrise or become foster parents.

Our standards open us up to criticism and cries of discrimination, but we will not waver. Why? First, because we will not push aside the convictions our faith demands to placate those who want Christianity out of our culture. Second, because we are a ministry that believes Judeo-Christian values show broken kids the best way to live – with honesty, integrity, personal responsibility, fidelity, service, sacrifice and hard work. Stronger kids grow up to be stronger adults who have the ability to break the cycle of abuse and neglect. That leads to stronger families and stronger communities.

We know most Kentucky Baptists support our approach to ministry. We also feel most Kentuckians support traditional family values. But we are at odds with our culture, and we need to HEAR your voices countering the hateful calls claiming that Sunrise is intolerant. Otherwise, the winners are those who scream the most for tolerance but demonstrate it the least. And the losers are the children God has given us to heal. Our mission is to be the best professional child care ministry possible.

Will you stand up for our common values with us?

A High Stakes Fight

If you look through our blog archives (January-March 2007), you will find that a year ago we successfully fought for an increase in the amount of reimbursement the state pays us to care for abused and neglected children. When I say “we,” I mean all the private child care providers across the state and our invaluable supporters. Our efforts prompted then-Gov. Ernie Fletcher to authorize funding that amounted to a 15 percent increase – but only for one year. It was the first raise in the reimbursement rate since 2000.

We knew when Gov. Steve Beshear was elected that we would have to fight all over again since he would be proposing a new two-year budget. We urged our supporters to write letters to the new governor, trying to convince him that the innocent children in our foster care system – the wards of the state – should be his top priority.

Although he received hundreds of letters, last week we found out what we were suspecting but dreading: that Beshear’s budget proposal not only included NO rate increase for child welfare agencies, it TOOK AWAY the one-year raise. The Courier-Journal in Louisville ran a front-page article on the terrible revelation – “Children’s advocates: Beshear failing campaign funding pledge.”

Rep. Jimmie Lee is an Elizabethtown Democrat who is chairman of the House budget review subcommittee on human resources. He’s also on Sunrise’s board of directors. He bluntly declared: “They are terrible cuts. It’s going to be a disaster.”

Beshear claims he is ordering cuts across state government because of an anticipated $600 million budget shortfall. Currently, the state pays about 70 percent of what it actually costs private providers like Sunrise to care for children – the remaining money is up to donors to give. “If we turned all the kids back to the state that we take care of, it would really be a budget crisis,” said Vern Rickert, executive director of Boys’ Haven.

Our chief operating officer, Karen Hamilton, attended the meeting. “Sunrise has always managed to keep the lights on and the children cared for,” she said. “This is our priority and will remain so. However, the tighter the budget, the harder this will become. It is the law and ethical obligation of our elected officials to take care of Kentucky’s at-risk youth. These young people are tomorrow’s work force and citizens.”

If Beshear’s budget is approved, some child-welfare agencies WILL have to cut back services. Some may even shut their doors. That would be a tragedy for all of us, especially the children.

What do we need you to do? Write to the governor: 700 Capitol Ave., Suite 100, Frankfort, KY 40601. Write to your state lawmakers (you can find them at http://www.lrc.ky.gov. Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper or The Courier-Journal: Readers’ Forum, The Courier-Journal, P.O. Box 740031, Louisville, KY 40201-7431 (cjletter@courier-journal.com).

If you truly care about all of God’s children, you will support us in this high-stakes fight.

Early Intervention Is Key

U.S. researchers headed to Romania to answer an important question: do orphanages hinder the cognitive development of young children? Their answer was a resounding “yes.”

The study, featured in an Associated Press story, concluded that toddlers placed in quality foster homes scored much higher on IQ tests years later than those left in institutions. Children removed from the orphanages before age 2 benefited the most.

For example, children in foster care at age 4 1/2 scored almost 10 points higher than children who stayed in orphanages. If the children left the orphanages before age 2, there was an almost 15-point increase in IQ scores. Children raised with their biological parents still did best, with average IQ scores 10-20 points higher than the children in foster care.

“The interesting part about this is the one-on-one caring of a young child impacts … cognitive and intellectual development,” a UNICEF child protection specialist remarked. For some of the children, the difference came down to having borderline retardation or average intelligence.

The study had a profound impact on Romania, which had no foster care system in 2000 when the research began. Now, it is illegal to instutionalize children under age 2 unless they have serious disabilities.

For us, this research reinforces our belief that early intervention is key. The sooner an abused or neglected child gets into a good foster home, the better off they’ll be in the long run. We must not be too hasty in removing children from their homes. But in the case of clear and serious abuse, change needs to happen early and quickly – not only for the child’s safety but for his or her future development. What are your thoughts?

A Surefire New Year’s Resolution

You and your family members have probably made New Year’s resolutions. Maybe you’re keeping them a secret so no one knows when you fall short. Or maybe you’ve told at least one person so you can be held accountable.

Have you given up on setting lofty goals and expecting big changes from yourself? Are you tired of getting to the end of every year, looking back and wondering if you made much of a positive impact on others?

The employees at Zappos.com Shoe Outlet in Shepherdsville, located about 12 miles from our headquarters in Mount Washington, don’t have to wonder about that. They arrived in a Penske truck on Dec. 21 and unloaded more than 60 boxes of donated clothing, bedding, toys, books and toiletries. They also threw in a stack of gift cards. Workers started the charity drive a month earlier because they told me “Christmas is about kids.” We feel very blessed by the donations, which will go to children and teens in our residential centers and foster homes across the state.

One of the employees helping with the delivery shared that she had watched as our Ministry Support Center administrative building and Spring Meadows Center for adolescent boys were being constructed. Sometimes, she said, she would drive up the hill to check out what was going on in her community. Then when the time to give came, she took the initiative to call us and see if we could use what she and her co-workers had collected.

She didn’t hear about Sunrise’s needs by reading our newsletter or visiting our Web site. She simply paid attention and asked. It’s grass-roots efforts like these that transform communities. And all it takes is one person pausing not to think about her own life but about whether someone else needs something, then caring enough to take action.

When you’re driving through your community this year, look around and try to notice the needs. You can’t help everyone, but you could help just one – maybe a church, maybe an after-school program, maybe a food bank, maybe a homeless shelter or maybe a Sunrise location near you.
If you don’t know where to find Sunrise, give us a call at (800) 456-1386, e-mail info@sunrise.org or visit our Web site. I’m sure one of our locations isn’t far from you at all.

      

      

The Essential Grandparent

Some readers of our latest Messenger saw the article “Male Role Models: Essential to Child Development” and asked a very good question: what about grandfathers? The story focused on the important role fathers have in raising their children and, in the absence of a father, the responsibility mothers have in finding strong male mentors for their children. And yes, we neglected to suggest grandfathers (and grandmothers) as mentors for children!

Proverbs 17:6 tells us that “children’s children are a crown to the aged.” In addition to what children learn from adults of different genders, they need to learn from people of all ages. Grandparents should never think they’re “too old” to meaningfully influence their grandchildren. A Focus on the Family article puts it this way: Children “need to know that they are loved, accepted and wanted. They need verbal and physical affection. They need loving authorities in their life, people to give them counsel, set boundaries and hold them accountable. They need someone to share God’s love with them. Age is no stumbling block for meeting these basic needs.”

Those in the older generation should be role models since they carry with them their family’s history and values. But the AARP is honest about the fact that grandparenting can be tricky. Some grandparents don’t live close to their grandchildren, while the “other” grandparents do. Often, grandparents disagree with the way their children are parenting. Dr. Lillian Carson is the author of “The Essential Grandparent,” and she cautions that “We must earn the right to voice our opinion … by establishing a supportive relationship with praise, encouragement and assistance.”

The AARP also points out that “boundary conflicts” can easily happen, especially regarding how much involvement parents want grandparents to have in their children’s lives. Sometimes, parents get so busy that they leave grandparents out. Other times, parents assume grandparents have unlimited time to jump in as babysitters. Grandparents, in such instances, should try to resolve the conflict as quickly as possible. Because most of the time, grandparents “can be caring companions, thrilled and honored to spend time with our grandchildren. And we can tighten the bonds of our families by sharing, with our own children, the joy we take in their children.”

Let’s not forget that grandparents, for various reasons, are increasingly raising their grandchildren. According to the most recent Kids Count, 5 percent of Kentucky children –
50,000 – are being raised by their grandparents. We at Sunrise are grateful for all the ways grandparents enhance the lives of their grandchildren. What you do helps keep kids in safe homes – where they should be.

If you’re a grandparent, share with us your experiences as a mentor. And if you’re a grandchild, let us know how your grandparents have impacted your life.

 

Children are Safest Living with a Married Father and Mother

An in-depth Associated Press story brought to the nation’s attention last week a fact we’ve known at Sunrise for some time: that the risk of child abuse is markedly higher in nontraditional families. “This is the dark underbelly of cohabitation,” University of Virginia sociologist Brad Wilcox told the AP. “Cohabitation has become quite common, and most people think , ‘What’s the harm?’ The harm is we’re increasing a pattern of relationships that’s not good for children.”

I echo his assessment. Sunrise is unapologetic about believing children have the greatest chance to be safe and happy in the family structure God designed – a married father and mother. Certainly, there are exceptions. We see children every day who have been abused and neglected by their biological parents. And many single parents do a great job of keeping their kids safe. But as the AP story clearly documents, the “abusive-boyfriend syndrome” is very real.

The AP listed a dozen recent fatal child-abuse cases in which the convicted or alleged perpetrator was the unmarried companion of the slain child’s mother. Among the most serious is the case of 25-year-old Derek Chappell, who was sentenced to death this month for drowning a 2-year-old boy in 2004. Prosecutors say his motive in murdering the boy in an apartment complex swimming pool was that he saw the child as an obstable to his relationship with the mother.

There are about 1,500 child abuse deaths in the United States each year. Statistics don’t reveal how many happened because of abusive boyfriends or stepfathers who don’t have a biological connection with their partners’ children. But in such living situations, there is more potential for mistreatment of the children.

“The risk (of abuse) to children outside a two-parent household is greater,” according to Susan Orr, a child-welfare specialist in the federal Department of Health and Human Services. “Does that mean all single parents abuse their children? Of course not. But the risk is certainly there.”

The federal government currently is conducting a comprehensive survey on child abuse. A similar 1996 study showed that children of single parents had a 77 percent greater risk of being harmed by physical abuse than children living with both parents.

The story of Oscar Jimenez Jr. tragically illustrates the worst of what can happen. He was 6 years old when he allegedly was beaten to death by his mother’s live-in boyfriend in California. His body was discovered buried beneath concrete bags and fertilizer in Phoenix. Oscar’s mother has pleaded guilty to assisting her boyfriend with hiding her son’s remains and keeping quiet about the killing for months. At the funeral, a family friend made a plea that I know is important for everyone to hear: “To all the mothers in this world who may find themselves in a difficult situation or harmful relationship: know that there is always, always someone willing to help if you would just reach out.”

Sunrise ministers to more than 2,000 children and families every year. We help hurting kids who’ve survived in abusive households. Many times, we help reunite them with at least one of their parents who has made significant changes in his or her life in order to provide a healthy home.

If you’re a single parent, what has your experience been? How have you kept your child safe?

The Neglected Children Behind the Headlines

Much of the country watched in surprise as Funny Cide captured the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in 2003. One of his upstate New York owners, Jack Knowlton, has pretty much been on top of the world since.

Until earlier this month, when a surprise that wasn’t funny at all came his way. He and his wife Dorothy were given custody of their 5-year-old granddaughter while their 8-week-old grandson was placed in foster care.

How did this happen to a successful businessman and his family? The same way children often are referred to Sunrise Children’s Services – parental neglect. It’s something that can happen in almost any family, regardless of class, race, education or religion. It’s a problem we as a society can’t seem to fix.

The neglect, in this particular case, was severe. Jack and Dorothy’s daughter, Wendy Cook, had struggled with drug addiction since high school. Recently, Wendy had been doing well in a local drug court program that kept her out of jail by participating in substance abuse treatment and submitting frequent drug tests. She had been clean for almost a year, her parents believe. They speculate about reasons for her recent relapse: the suicide of her husband in the fall of 2003, the painkillers she was given after her son’s birth by caesarean section, and her best friend’s unexpected death from an aneurism last month.

But they may never know exactly what led Wendy, 37, to allegedly smoke cocaine in front of her children and engage in prostitution while they were in her car. She faces a felony charge of reckless endangerment and several misdemeanors.

Wendy’s boyfriend gets to visit his son in foster care. Meanwhile, a judge has ordered Wendy to have no contact with her children.

“She put the children in danger,” Jack Knowlton told The Saratogian. “There is never, ever any excuse for that … Society has very strong consequences for that. She’ll be suffering those consequences now and in the future.”

Stories such as this are all too common all over the country. That’s why Sunrise exists – to be there for kids in Kentucky when their parents or relatives can’t give them a safe, caring home.

Please never forget that behind the headlines of drug busts, prostitution sweeps and other crimes, there frequently are hurting children who have lost their homes and everything they’ve ever known.

Are State Governments Reimbursing Foster Parents Enough?

An eye-opening story appeared in Wednesday’s newspapers that begs the question of whether state governments are adequately reimbursing foster parents to care for children. The nationwide study is the first to calculate for each state what researchers are calling the Minimum Adequate Rates for Children (the Foster Care “MARC”).

The study produced by the University of Maryland School of Social Work, the National Foster Parent Association (NFPA) and the advocacy group Children’s Rights showed that Kentucky was ahead of most states in the country when it comes to adequately reimbursing foster parents. That’s great news for our foster parents and the children in their care!

Since there is no federal “minimum wage” for foster parents, it’s left up to the states to decide how much they are going to reimburse foster parents to care for kids in state custody. The MARC is based on the monthly cost estimate for providing food, shelter, school supplies, daily supervision, clothing, personal incidentals and liability insurance.

Only Arizona and the District of Columbia “hit the MARC.” That means, according to the researchers, they’re reimbursing foster parents enough. The study said Kentucky was paying above the MARC for children 0-4 years old ($569 per month) but needed to increase payments for those 5-13 years old by 9 percent (to $652 per month) and for those 14-18 years old by 8 percent (to $715 per month).

Kentucky’s amount of compensation, coupled with training and 24/7 support services that Sunrise offers foster parents leaves most of ours satisfied. But consider the children in Idaho, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin, which have reimbursement rates that must be more than doubled in order to hit their MARCs.

“The bottom line is that when these rates don’t reflect the real expenses that foster parents face, it’s the children who suffer,” the NFPA’s executive director, Karen Jorgenson, told The Associated Press for its story. And these are the children who already have suffered enough due to abuse, neglect and removal from their homes.

What can happen if foster parents aren’t adequately compensated? Without a large enough foster parent pool, children are more likely to go through multiple placements – decreasing their chances of ever having a permanent home and slowing their healing process.

The study urges federal and state lawmakers to adopt the MARC amounts for each state. You can view the entire report at http://www.nfpainc.org/uploads/MARCTechReport.pdf. What do you think? Give us your comments.

Political correctness from the Left...and Right?

I understand “political correctness” (PC) to generally mean the Judeo-Christian values of the West are harmful and that absolute truth does not exist making all things relative. I see PC coming from the Left. However, after receiving an email from a couple strongly supporting our Second Amendment rights to bear arms I wonder if the Right cannot be guilty of PC as well. The following is a brief article we ran in our Summer edition of The Children’s Messenger, our agency newsletter.

Is There A Gun Where Your Child Plays?
“Over 40% of homes with children have a gun, and many of those guns are left unlocked or loaded. Just talking to your child about the dangers of firearms is not enough. Children are naturally curious. If a gun is accessible in someone's home, there is a good chance a child will find it and play with it. So...ASK if there is a gun before sending your child over to play. If the answer is NO...that's one less thing you have to worry about.

If the answer is YES...You have to determine if your child's safety is at risk. Guns should be kept in a gun safe with the ammunition locked separately or they pose a real risk to your child. Hiding guns is not enough. There are countless tragic stories of kids finding guns that parents thought were well hidden or safely stored. If you have any doubts about the safety of someone's home, you should politely invite the children to play at your house instead.” Additional info – www.paxusa.org    (You can read The Messenger with the original article here.)

The following is an email we received from a couple on our mailing list asking we remove them from our mailing list.

As you have seen fit to include anti-second amendment web-sites and information in your newsletter we can no longer support your organization, nor do we wish to hear from you in the future. Do not try to claim ignorance or that they mis-represented themselves. The truth about their organization is easily accessible and available. Short of a front page retraction of support for "paxusa," a SINCERE apology, and a link to the NRA Eddie Eagle Program of gun safety, there is little you could do to regain my support (or of the other pro-2nd Amendment members of local churches) once the truth of your anti-2nd Amendment political views become well known.

We are truly saddened by this political turn in your public stance. We had hoped for better from your organization.  We hope you soon hear from the others who will no doubt be as disappointed in you as we are.

I think it is obvious the article in our newsletter was not about challenging anyone’s Second Amendment rights to own guns. I own guns. The website we reference is all about child safety and guns. Surely, the couple that wrote us would not disagree with the message we printed about gun safety and kids on the site and quoted in our publication.

Is this a form of political correctness from the right? Have we become so concerned from both sides of the political and cultural spectrum that we are willing to sacrifice the safety of children, the definition of marriage and even our national security on the alter of offending no one?