Edx0487|No contact periods|195.92.67.66|yes|yes|1089268668|

Has anybody worked at a home that had a policy of not allowing contact with home/parents for a period following admission of a new child?
What was the typical length of the no-contact period? Several months?

How did it work out overall?

Thanks,

CaringCouple|No contact periods|68.125.25.51|yes|yes|1089305399|

Every home we worked and most every Agency we talked to has a policy like this.

I would say that an average would be that for the first 30 days, while a child is settling in to her new surroundings and establishing a level of trust with the new houseparents and building relationships with her peers, being enrolled in school, learning the new program she needs to learn etc, that minimal or no contact or distractions are a necessary thing.

Many programs actually violate a child's rights however in enforcing a period like this.

Families fight it. Kids fight it.

But overall I think it works well for the purpose intended. There is no time harder on a child than the hours after a phone call or the day or two after a visit when in placement.

I think we all work hardest putting them back together and on track after those events and need a period of time to establish ourselves in our new role to them.

Writing should be allowed and encouraged from day one.

Anything MORE than 30 days in my opinion would be unwarrented and cruel in considering the programs needs.

There are some situations however where courts and caseworkers might deem longer periods of seclusion in the child's best interest.


(Edited by CaringCouple at 9:52 am on July 8, 2004)

webmaster|No contact periods|24.117.29.129|yes|yes|1089340181|

The first home we worked in was a group home that cared mostly for adjudicated youth and Children in need of Supervision (also called incorrigibles in some states) in Wyoming. They did not have any policies prohibiting visits from family and many times we would have several family visits the first week the child was there. The only time visits were not allowed was when the social worker of court prohibited them.

Since then we have worked in private long term basic care (residential foster care) facilities that in many cases became the home of the children in our care. In almost every case there was a no contact period, usually 30 days. In many cases after the no contact period, visits with family occur on a fairly regular basis for about a year, before they begin to taper off, and eventually end. More than half our children will grow to adulthood as a resident of our home. In our case a no contact period works well for the children to allow them an opportunity to bond or at least get to know the others at the home and their role in their unique situation.

I totally agree with CaringCouple that the period after a visit is a very difficult time for the child. It is especially so in our case when children only see their family once or twice a year.

Edx0487|No contact periods|195.92.168.165|yes|yes|1089614441|

CaringCouple said in their reply to my initial question that

"Many programs actually violate a child's rights however in enforcing a period like this."

Can anybody point me to where these rights are enshrined in law? If I'm going to fall out with a a facility over it I need to be sure of my facts.

Many thanks,

CaringCouple|No contact periods|68.125.25.51|yes|yes|1089709562|

http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp...foster_care.pdf has copies of several Staes individual "Bills of Rights"


http://www.cwla.org is a good resource as well


http://www.youthlaw.org is a good resource.

Almost every State has a version of something called a "Foster Child Bill of Rights". I'm not sure if there is a state that does not.

A common premise in most of these is that a child has the right to unmonitored contact with Case Workers, Lawyers, Advocates, Parents and siblings UNLESS such contact is specifically ordered not to occur by a Judge.

Although we can make minor behavioral decisions that a child might lose phone or visitation priveleges here in California a child can at almost any time assert his right to call mom, dad, his attorney or case worker and any attempt on our part to not accomadate the request can be. I'm aware of similair rules in Texas and Florida.

Very few judges seem willing to bar contact or uphold an Agencies decision to delay or not allow that contact to occur. In the hands of a "institutionalized" child it can make dealing with them a real pain in the keester.

http://www.youthlaw.org/downloads/constitu...onal_rights.pdf is a very interesting accounting of some recent issues that have received Supreme Court attention.

I think that some forget or others are simply never taught that our position as caregivers to distressed kids is to SERVE their needs and help them resolve their problems.

(Edited by CaringCouple at 2:22 am on July 13, 2004)