Foster Care Not On the Agenda?!?! Well, Let's Get It on the Agenda!

I called Sen. Spencer Coggs today about our efforts to change the foster care system. After leaving three voicemails, two emails and three posts on Facebook, I finally got hold of a real person at his office. I was excited that I might finally be able to get somewhere.

Sadly, I was mistaken.

The "gentleman" that answered the phone was not all the polite. I said that I had left multiple messages and no one had gotten back to me, and I would like to speak to someone about issues with the foster care system. He said that they got my calls – so they did not return them on purpose – but foster care issues are "not on the agenda."

This did not sit too well with me. I explained to him that there are children that are not being placed that could be, licensed foster parents waiting for months, kids going back to birth parents that have made no efforts on any of their checklist items given by the judge, yet the kids are returned, etc. He repeated "It is not on the agenda".

This infuriated me. I told him, "We will see about that!"

Outright ignoring these issues like this is just like spitting in these children's faces if you ask me. It is not OK, and I will not tolorate it. For it to not be on the agenda is not OK. I do not care what the agenda is. There are children involved here.

Are their foster parents supposed to tell them that it is not on the agenda when they are upset about a parental visit gone bad? Are the foster parents supposed to tell the children that it was not on the agenda when they are sick and they have still not recieved their medical cards? Are they suppsed to tell them that it was not on the agenda when they are placed back with a parent that is a registerd sex offender?

Yeah... I don't think that is OK.

You come tell these kids that it is "not on the agenda," and then we will see how fast it gets on the agenda.

Thank you,

Melissa Probst

Former foster mom and mother to Elijah, age 4 – the No. 1 item on my agenda.