Family preservation in child welfare is changing how Child Protective Services and the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families approach families. In this Boston Barrister episode, Attorney Kevin Seaver discusses the shift away from routinely removing children and toward helping families remain together and become more stable.
You’ll also learn:
- Why child removal was often used by child protective agencies in the past
- How foster care can negatively affect children
- What the family preservation model is intended to accomplish
- Why child welfare programs and protocols differ among states
- Why Attorney Seaver believes consistent federal standards may help states move in the same direction
- Why the quality of foster homes can vary
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Disclaimer
This video is not intended as legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please consult a lawyer regarding your legal issue.
Since 1991 Boston attorney Kevin Patrick Seaver has specialized in family law, including divorce and fighting false child abuse allegations and getting DCF cases closed once and for all. Giving parents freedom and happiness.
617-263-2633
kevin@kevinseaver.com
Kevinseaverlaw.com
Keywords:
family preservation child welfare, Massachusetts DCF family preservation, child welfare reform, foster care Massachusetts, Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, child removal DCF, Boston Barrister
#FamilyPreservation #ChildWelfare #MassachusettsDCF #FosterCare #AttorneyKevinSeaver #BostonBarrister
Transcript:
Welcome to the Boston Barrister. My name is Kevin Patrick Seaver, and I’m a family law attorney located in Boston, Massachusetts. Today, I want to talk about the national trend among Child Protective Services agencies, including the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, toward keeping families together and removing children from their homes less frequently. For many years, Child Protective Services agencies across the United States leaned toward taking children out of the home, but research and data now show the devastating effects foster care can have on children. If agencies are not removing children, the question becomes what family preservation model is being implemented throughout the United States. The answer depends on the state because every state operates differently, with some following similar programs and protocols and others taking different approaches. This independence among the 50 states creates a need for federal legislation to make sure the states are moving in the same direction when deciding whether to remove children and when helping families stabilize themselves. Family preservation is critically important because the data and research show that removing children can have a negative effect on them. There are some great foster parents, and there are also some who are not. I have been in countless foster homes and spoken with many foster children through my work as an attorney and guardian ad litem.
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