Locally and nationally, there is a growing consensus that foster care is overused and more emphasis should be placed on keeping families intact. The 2018 Family First Prevention Services Act supports that goal nationwide by allowing states to redirect federal foster care matching funds toward family preservation.
“The nation and states have been somewhat cavalier about the traumatic impacts of removal,” said Frank Ordway, chief of staff of the Washington Department of Children, Youth & Families, which oversees Child Protective Services and foster care.
Decisions about whether to remove a child, Ordway said, have largely been driven by immediate safety concerns, along with avoiding lawsuits should the department fail to act
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