Foster Care Open Records Essential

By The Intelligencer
Ohio legislators are responding to an obvious need to improve state law regarding how foster children are placed and monitored. Unfortunately, it appears that part of the plan lawmakers are considering would mean less, not more, protection for the children.

A variety of upsetting situations during the past few years, including the “caged kids” family and the death of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel at the hands of parents who bound him and locked him in a closet and took off for a few days, have made it clear that foster children need more protection.

As so often is the case, government is turning to technology as part of its strategy to address the problem. A $92 million computer system, the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System, is being established to help local and state agencies monitor the foster care program.

Of course, the system will provide information on foster children, their families and those who are seeking to become foster parents — but only to state agencies. That will minimize the role of a powerful tool — the people of Ohio — in monitoring the system.

One might expect legislators to embrace help from the public in identifying unfit prospective foster parents and in monitoring placements of children. But no, the “reform” law reportedly places new limits on release of records in foster care cases. Some records now available to the public will be put under wraps by the new law, supported by Gov. Ted Strickland.

Strickland and some lawmakers fear that release of information will discourage some Ohioans from seeking to become foster parents.

That may be true in a few situations. But the current law on open records in foster care cases does not seem to have been detrimental in that regard. Why not at least retain it?

Closing the public out of the process of monitoring foster parents and children would eliminate an invaluable aid in protecting the youngsters. Ohio lawmakers should not allow that to happen.