Child neglect and abuse adjudications and DSS "services" imposed upon parents illegal in Delaware County, NY

When a child neglect or abuse proceeding in New York concludes with an adjudication (court decision) of child neglect or abuse, the proceeding moves to a "dispositional stage".

At the dispositional stage, the court must order "services" in accordance with the social services plan.

Social Services Law 34-a(2)(b) requires that a "summary of understanding" between the social services and the local District Attorney's Office must be made part of that plan.

I asked, on a FOIL request, for the summary of understanding between the Delaware County DSS and the Delaware County District Attorney's Office.

Here is the response I've got:

If the plan did not comply with statutory requirements, it was not valid.

If it was not valid, no services could be provided, ordered by the court - or funded - without first satisfying statutory requirements.

New York State Comptroller actually audited the County in 2014-2015, and specifically audited its Department of Social Services.

They did not see this?

Or somebody's hand was greased enough not to see it?

The fact remains - without full compliance with applicable statutes, the "multi-year services plan" in Delaware County is illegal, and without a legal services plan, all child neglect and abuse adjudications are also illegal.

The law is the law - right?

Attention parents in Delaware County, NY, whose children were taken by DSS and put into foster care: financial incentives to keep children in foster care

Recently, I received a response to my FOIL request from Delaware County (NY) on a number of issues.

As part of the response I received rates of reimbursement established by Delaware County (NY) for foster care parents, which I am publishing here:

Based on the daily "regular service and maintenance" rates, the following calculations as to monthly and yearly reimbursements can be made:

		per day	per month	per year
Normal	0-5 years	$      15.89	$       476.70	$   5,799.85
Normal	6-11 years	$      19.14	$       574.20	$   6,986.10
Normal	12+ years	$      22.13	$       663.90	$   8,077.45
Special	Any age	$      38.22	$    1,146.60	$13,950.30
Exceptional	Any age	$      62.43	$    1,872.90	$22,786.95

Parents whose children are in foster care have a right to verify at which level their children are labeled, and how their foster parents are reimbursed for their care - and whether the monies provided for the "care and maintenance" are actually used for the purpose of "care and maintenance", or simply goes into the foster parents' pockets.

Apparently, it is very lucrative for a foster parent in Delaware County (and many foster parents in Delaware County, NY get such positions because they are officers or employees of local governments) to get a child into foster care who is still young (and does not eat much), but who is labeled "special" (behaviorally difficult) or "exceptional" (whichever the Commissioner deems "exceptional") - because keeping such a child pays more.

Please, remember that when a child is grabbed by social services and put into foster care, it often happens to poor parents whose children are on Medicaid and monthly SSI payments from the federal government.

And, that social services always bring child support proceedings against parents for children in foster care.

So, parents whose children are in foster care have a chance to verify whether the monies from the feds (SSI), from Delaware County as per reimbursement schedules I publish here, and monies squeezed from parents in child support, are actually used for the child, or simply soaked by the County into its "general account" and used for purposes unrelated to the child's care, which is fraud.

Here are also money allowances or "stipends" that must be provided to foster care children - so parents can verify whether that is done by foster parents or not.

There is also clothing allowance:

0-5 years	$        1.10	$         33.00	$      401.50
6-11 years	$        1.54	$         46.20	$      562.10
12-15 years	$        2.39	$         71.70	$      872.35
15 + years	$        2.92	$         87.60	$   1,065.80

So, if your child is in foster care in Delaware County for a year, and he is, let's say, 12 years old, and he has "behavioral problems", the rate of reimbursement for him will be:

$13,950.30 - care and maintenance

$240.00 - allowance

$872.35 - clothing allowance

---

TOTAL: $15,062.65

That is what the County provides out of its budget to take care of that child in foster care. 

First, the County then cannot get more than that from the parent per year - and should take into account the monies it receives from Social Security for the child on a monthly basis.

Moreover, the County must report to Social Security as to how the monies received from Social Security is used for the child's benefit.

As to children 0 to 3, there is also a diaper allowance.

When a child is put into foster care, there are, as shown above, powerful financial incentives involved to keep the child there, not reunite the child with his parents, as Social Services are required to do by law.