Foster Family Neglects Medical Care Plan

Case Overview

This case takes place in Iowa and involves a child with a chronic medical condition who was placed in the care of foster parents through a foster service. Due to the child’s state, she had to have a permanent tracheotomy in place to assist with her breathing. While the child was with her foster parents her tracheotomy came out on multiple occasions. The medical service that was hired to assist the foster parents was able to replace the tracheotomy and restore breathing for the child each time the tracheotomy was dislodged. However, on the one occasion they were unable to replace the tracheotomy and the child went without oxygen for an extended period of time, resulting in permanent brain damage. The foster service had a medical care plan that was instituted when the child was first placed with the foster family, but it was never properly implemented.

Questions to the Child Welfare expert and their responses

Can you review Child Social Service documents to decipher if the foster service properly implemented a specific medical care plan for this child and if the parties involved followed those guidelines?

I would be interested in taking a look at this case. I have extensive experience in child placement and I am very familiar with placing agency procedures and protocols.

About the expert

This expert has been practicing social work for over 15 years. After receiving her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Texas at Austin, she began her career with the Caring Family Network, a foster care and adoption agency. She held multiple positions there, from Case Manager to Therapist to Clinical Supervisor, and eventually she became the CEO. This expert left the Caring Family Network to serve as Regional Director for St. Jude's Ranch for Children, which provides a wide range of therapeutic services for abused or neglected children. She then became the Vice President of Operations for Specialized Alternative for Families and Youth of America, offering comprehensive services including treatment foster care, adoption, emergency and runaway services, mental health services, in-home services, and developmental disabilities services. Currently, this expert is the State Director of Child Placement for a major social services agency, as well as a Director of Operations for one of the largest privately funded nonprofit youth and family service organizations in the United States, wherein she is responsible for the primary oversight, direction, and expansion in 4 states.

E-007876

Specialties:

Child Welfare