Florida Must Face Reality That Prolonged Foster Care Hurts Kids

One cannot read about what happened to a boy dubbed "Jacob Peters" in the newest lawsuit against the state's social services system and not be angered at the raw deal this child has been handed - both by his biological parents and the Department of Children and Families.

Jacob's story was made public in the lawsuit filed last week by children's advocate Karen Gievers. Her lawsuits are known for brash demands, but they've prodded the system to make improvements.

The crux of her latest lawsuit is that Florida forces children to languish in foster care when they could be adopted or placed with appropriate relatives.

Gievers is right. For a child to overcome the trauma of abuse and neglect at the hands of their biological parents, they need to be placed in safe, loving and stable homes fast - before foster care causes more damages.

That is not to say that social workers should be hasty. But the system seems designed more to accommodate court dates and meetings than to quickly find loving relatives or an adoptive family.

True, some children have complicated emotional and physical problems. But foster care exacerbates those problems.

Jacob's case tragically illustrates. At 4 years old, he was removed from his mother's care because she was living with a sex offender.

Jacob's father was given custody of his children, but within days he returned them to the state because he was headed to prison.

State workers shuttled Jacob through 45 different foster homes in 13 years. Not provided adequate therapy to deal with his likely sexual abuse and the chaos of being a child without a family, Jacob's behavior grew increasingly dangerous until nobody wanted him.

Now he is within months of his 18th birthday, being held in a secure mental health treatment facility and being given psychotropic drugs to control his behavior, even though Gievers says he has never been diagnosed with a mental illness.

When he turns 18 he will either be permanently committed to a mental institution or released into society, where he likely will be a threat.

That's an unacceptable prognosis.

At Hillsborough Kids Inc., the private agency which handles foster care, 60 children have been in the system more than 10 years.

Gievers believes the state must be banned from taking any more children into foster care.

That isn't realistic. There have been too many Florida cases where children left with abusive parents ended up being killed.

Most foster parents aren't at fault for the system's failures. Those who can endure this tough task do it with minimal support from the state and are often overwhelmed by the number of children pushed on them.

But even under the best circumstances, foster care must be temporary.

Under the leadership of capable Bob Butterworth, the Department of Children and Families has a chance to make real progress toward that goal.

State leaders should resolve to never allow another case like Jacob's and work with Gievers on a plan to help this neglected child and the thousands of others like him.