Lost And Found

Lesley Stahl On Efforts To Place Foster Children Back With Their Families

(CBS)  This segment was originally broadcast on Dec. 17, 2006. It was updated on July 8, 2007.

They've been called some of the loneliest people on earth: children who were taken away from their parents due to neglect or abuse, but were never adopted by new families. Stranded in the child welfare system, they move from foster homes to group homes. There are tens of thousands of these children. They have no one – not a single relative to visit on Christmas or their birthday.

As correspondent Lesley Stahl reports first reported last December, there are now several cities across the country that are trying something new. It’s called "family finding." The goal is to track down the families these children were taken away from in the first place to see if they can go home again.

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Fourteen-year-old Samara has been in foster care her whole life and now lives at "Five Acres," a treatment center for troubled kids. Officials tell 60 Minutes she does well in school, but that she struggles with severe depression, despite years of therapy and medication.

Last Christmas, Samara admits she was in pretty bad shape and even tried to hurt herself. Asked what was going on inside of her, she tells Stahl, "'Cause the other kids. They used to go on visits with their family and all, and I was stuck at the house. Like for Christmas, everybody else was out."

Everyone was out with some relative but her.

"She was very suicidal, very self-harming," Marylou McGuirk, Samara's therapist, remembers.

"Is your analysis of her case that it was all stemming from the loss of her mother?" Stahl asks.

"I believe it was the loss of her family," McGuirk explains. "Not having a support system around her. And that trauma — was there was no healing process for that."

Kevin Campbell, who created and runs "Family Finding," went to Five Acres a year and a half ago to teach the staff how to find Samara’s family.

"If the situation was so bad that the state had to take a child away from that home, why under any circumstances would the state put them back into that home?" Stahl asks Campbell.

"We may not be ever considering placing the child back in that home. What I’m looking for is 'Does he have an aunt or an uncle or a great-aunt or uncle who’s safe with their kids and has done a good job and would be there for them,'" he says.

"What do you do when you find family members who say, 'No, I don’t want anything to do with him or her?'" Stahl asks.

"What we do is keep moving. You’re not done until you’ve found at least 40 relatives. Don’t stop," Campbell explains. "The minimum first step is 40."

That seemed like a long shot, since Samara was considered a "cold case." Not a single relative was known.

The search began with just a few details about her mother. "I have her first name, we think an accurate spelling, a middle initial and a last name. We think she was in Culver City, Calif. We think that she’s 27 years old," he explains.

That’s all they had. And yet, with the help of a company called "U.S. Search," they were able to find not only Samara’s mother, but a virtual family tree.

Within two hours, the search yielded 44 family members.

This is the family Samara knew nothing about, until Family Finding came into her life. There was a family reunion, with barbecue and music.

But unused to affection and belonging, Samara felt uncomfortable. She was taken away from her mother when she was only 10 months old on charges of neglect and now she was meeting the relatives she had yearned for, as if in a dream.

She met them all, including her great grandmother, grandparents, cousins, and aunts; for Samara, the hugging was overwhelming.

There were over 40 relatives in all.

"I was really, really scared, ‘cuz I get really scared around a lot of people. And like when I was walking up the stairs, I almost like threw up," Samara explains.

Through Family Finding, Samara also met her mother Lakesha. Three months before the barbecue party, she got a call from Family Finding asking if she wanted to see Samara.

"And I said, 'Of course. I’m like I’ve been wanting it for years you know,'" she remembers.

[hogfan200731]

I know what these kids are going through. My kids were kidnapped by the system. I live in Arkansas. I am fighting the system to get them back home with me.

I feel sorry for these kids. My kids are wanting to come home but the state will not listen for their cry to come home. They are being ignored. My dad and step-mom have my kids as of now. They want to terminate my rights for no reason.

[wmtower]

There is a Rally in Washington D.C. on August 18th 2007 at the Lincoln Memorial starting at 9:00 a.m. Pleas visit the web site dcrally2007.com to read about this.
This story and many others are the reason this rally is going to take place. Everyone is invited to attend.

Bill Tower
Pres. AFRA

[skglick]

Our dtr is suffering from anxiety, separation issues, depression, attachment issues, and our son was sexually molested by another foster child!! They were NEVER abused in our home, but the social workers created unimaginable horrors in our home in a dependency order, and the local judges rubber-stamp anything CPS brings in front of them. Nobody wants to be the judge responsible for sending a child back to an abusive home. It would be way too easy to interview neighbors, pastors, teachers and the family physician, wouldn't it? These agencies may start with young, idealistic social workers, but they soon become swept up in this evil scourge on families. They lie, terrify the children, pursue parents, try to split up marriages and families, and smile all the way to the bank - they do not give a *** about children!

[skglick]

Vic, you have fallen into their trap of thinking. My husband & I are college grads, earn a very good combined income, yet thanks to a fraudulant anonymous call, our adopted children were taken away. Thanks to Bill Clinton's Safe Families Act, the Federal Gov. is pouring THOUSANDS of dollars into the States for their county agencies. The social workers love to find white middle-class families they can fabricate all kinds of lies about. This gets the kids "into the system" and $$ into their budgets. The workers then get promoted within the agency for drawing in the $$. Not only do they receive gov. funds, but then they have the Domestic Relations office attach the parents' wages. They think we are so worried about our reputations that we will just cave; the whole world thinks that "good parents" don't lose their children, but THEY DO!!! You don't have to ever lay a hand on your child, and you can have the children abducted on the whim of CPS. Our local agency has an annual budget of $33M for a town with a population of 60K and county of 500K residents. Staggering, huh?

[rgartner2]

As a father who had the government appropriate the lives of my two daughters(each by a different woman) I can tell the reader the government has no moral conscience in the face of its own practise of intrusion, aggravation, and destruction of the lives of children and their loving parents.

Government systematically turns one parent into a visitor to his child, at best, given that the mother does not subvert paltry remaining relationship. I use gender here because 85% of half the nations kids reside with their mothers.

States, sucking up to federal incentives (monetary kickbacks)via the 1996 Welfare Reform Act, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, (PRWORA) have every reason to turn one parent into a billfold.

Government has NO program to see to it that a father may exercise even this paltry right in the face of adversity by the custodial parent.

So then, by extrapolation, how on earth could we expect less than this story of oceans of children with no place to go??????

Americans are not stupid. These problems are not new. Its just that the politicians have ceased doing their work in favor of feeding from a money trough. Its not unique to Clintons, as it was one of them that brought this Act to America. Hillary has expressed no understanding. Neither has Obama with his Responsible Fatherhood Act legislation. Perhaps Kucinich is on a right path with his idea of a Department of Peace, since peace begins with me... and him!

[shirly1]

Good for you ninabites!
Leslie you did a poor job. First of all the smile you had on your face during this interview was in poor taste!!!
You did not need to force this girl allready feeling bad to answer the questions. Stupid questions by the way!
There is a much better way to speak with children. She was hurting allready. By the look on her face while you had that smile on your face was very sad. You should think about it. Maybe watch it yourself!

[vicslason]

This piece brings to light the importance of the family. And rather than blaming the welfare or Foster Care System(s), the fault needs to rest squarely on the shoulders of those individuals who fail to become responsible for the children they produce. And BRAVO to the agency that is seeking out responsible/stable adults family members who can come to the assistance of displaced youngsters.
It also seems to show that taking children away from their parents/mother hurts the child MUCH more than it hurts the parent. Of course we don't know the damage avoided by removing the child. It's unfortunate that there is no way to force fathers &/or mothers to accept responsibilities. Perhaps creating finacial incentives that promote and encourage marriage stability, healthy family life and lifestyle.

I'd be willing to bet that a majority of the people involved in these situataions are of lower economic status. Does poverty breed abuse? Or is it that abusive lifestyles lead to poverty? (and more abuse)
Irresponsibility is abuse; be it physical, spiritual, emontional or financial.
And God bless those family members who step in and help ('cause it's really not the government's job.)

[interestedci]

The main problem I see is that too many women claim to be victims when they aren't. I also blame irresponsible men. Men and women share the blame equally. Our society is at fault by excusing out of wedlock sexual behavior. A girl who wants to reunite with a mother who has had three more children and is still not married isn't wise. Bad as foster care is, following her mother's example would be a road to disaster. The man with 10 children was also a poor example. Foster care might not be the best answer for these children, but putting them back with their families to follow the models they see there isn't the answer either.

Single motherhood is not a virtue, nor is it an accident. It happens, more often than not, with deliberate behavior. People know the risks, but they just go ahead and do it, and they do it repeatedly as the single mother of three proved. It is inexcusable. It's sickening to observe this cultural breakdown, knowing I didn't cause it. I know the cause. The cause is the humanist philosophy of public schools that focuses on the immediate,the pragmatic, and what seems to be right for the moment, regardless of the long term consequences. We are raisng a nation of fools.

[letitia123-2009]

This story brought tears to my eye. I'm a single mother who gave birth to 7-children (2-sets of twins are included; never,ever my children has been neglected of any source. I can't believe how large Samara's family is; you would think that someone in her family would bring her into their home. To see a welcome party, and playing the song "We are Family" I thought that Samara would be taken in. This large family I beleive don't care about this little girl who is reaching out for love. I would like to be interview about this story, and have this air on your show. I would like to give my version on how this should be handled. Also, I would love to reach out to Samara and give her lots of love, because right now she is hurting badly. Please get back to me by e-mail or phone ASAP, because I'm hurting as well. Thanks so much, Letitia

[spdcadoption]

Some resources for those who are or were in foster care:

Foster Club has a section of their website for youth and young adults: http://www.fyi3.com/fyi3/index.cfm

And the Foster Care Alumni of America has some regional chapters. Info at their website: http://www.fostercarealumni.org/

[rtlittlejohn]

My children were taken away from my ex when they were 11 and 9 years old and put into foster care. The rights of my ex and me were then terminated so that they could be kept in foster care until they were adopted. Due to the fact that they were teenagers, the possiblity that they would not be adopted became evident. The McCracken County office of the Kentucky Cabinet for Families and Children convinced the foster parents to adopt my children so that they could show the court that the children were adoptable, as they had claimed in court.

It is no surprise that there are children waiting to be adopted out of foster care when the system knows full well that no one wants to adopt teenagers. My heart goes out to them. My heart goes out to their true and natural parents who unjustly lost them for no cause at all - see http://liftingtheveil.org for proof.

[margs_21]

Let me just say that there was one part of this program that completely enraged me. I could not believe that the father of the two children had 10 CHILDREN altogether! It is absolutely ludacris that in the age of unlimited birth control, someone can be careless enough to have that many offspring that he or she is unable to support. These children are created and then pushed out into the world (or into the "system") where they are unable to form a real connection or attachment with anyone! I am a social worker and I see this every day, but it really hit me hard to see these children so abandoned and so alone and to find out that this man had eight other children who might feel exactly the same?! C'mon now people, wise up. Children need FAMILIES and if you don't think you're up to the task, please be smart enough to use protection so that you're not creating a human being who you are unable to care for. It is heartbreaking to see toddlers, children, adolescents, and teenagers who are acting out merely because they lack attention and affection and a real attachment and who later turn to the streets because it is possibly the first place they have felt accepted and connected to others. Let's break this cycle by being mindful enough to practice safe *** and only have children when you're good and ready to actually care for them...not just financially but mentally and emotionally as well.

[rmagana911]

HI I was in foster care most of my life i think i was 6 im not even sure how old I was ,my dad died when I was 5 again I think.then my mother basicly became an addict, so the child services took me my brother and sister and put us in the system ,now that im 34 I think that is probally best thing that happend to us I guess,well basiclly I think finding this kids families is a good thing, I Wish they would of had something like that when I was in the system,I always wished I knew my dads family I know not one person from my dads and Ive tried to find them never sucessful, I really dont know much about them well if you could help me in any way I would appericate it much cbs can you email me and let me know if you could help me I would be grateful.Racquel M.

[elanlee]

My son is now one year old. I was his sole caregiver for the first five months of his life. I am 70 years old and quite experienced in the raising of children; I was a foster parent for 10 years in the State of Idaho.
My son never had even an accidental bruise while in my care. However, since DHS took him over a minor insignificant isolated unanticipatable accident I have photographed bruises on him three different occasions. He has also lost his natural huge smile. This is how it begins...if I am unable to get him returned he will be another statistic. The DHS worker went so far as to put fake bandages with splints on my son and falsify information given to the physicians. The complete chain of events is on my website dhsdogs.com. Easiest way to access it is to type Mikah McCray in Google. The damage DHS has done to my son is immeasurable. At five months he could articulate a few words; now, nothing. My next court date is July 17 before an extremely prejudiced judge with no evidence that I have ever been anything but an excelent parent to my only son. Please read my site. Respectfully, J.S.

[ninabates]

A CRY FOR HELP!
The story called Family Findings on 60 minutes tonight was an answer to prayer and was an eye opener to me. I can relate to the stories that were told on the program. I can feel the pain that tne children and their parents were feeling. I lost my two children to the system in California. They adopted one of my children out and my other daughter has been lost in the system. I would like it very much if you would give me a chance to tell my story. I know 9 years ago i could not be the mother God wanted me to be. I have changed my life aroung. I broke the bondage of addiction to drugs and I have learned the tools I need to be a productive member of society. I have tried for many years for some one to hear my story and the doors keep closing in my face.Will you be the one to listen to me? PLEASE!! Thank you for taking the time to read my comments and I hope to hear from you soon.

[stopcps]

Leslie Stahl You are coward of the highest order. Rather than discuss the reason for the lonelinest people in the world you focus only on the suffering.

You need to do a story on why these children are in the system. When there was suitable family all along usually their own parents to raise them. Instead CPS DFS is turning out 100s of thouands of mentally and severely emotionally disturbed children. You also lost sight of the 100s of thousands of suffering parents who children were stolen by a system that rewards states and counties with cold hard large cash stipends for removing children and then rewards them again for placing these children with unrelated strangers. Those that are left behind are discarded like trash as long as the federal government is sending Federal money to the states and counties for the removal. These children are dumped out of the system and are left with no one. They are further victimized by pimps and predators after they have been victimized by our government.

The system creates the most disturbed irresponsible adults in our society. They are allowed to drop out of school and are paid to clean up after their own spills. These children grow dependent with an entitlement type character. Where they believe money falls from the skies and no one to over see it.

[nanawells]

NANAWELLS AGAIN I TO WOULD LOVE LESLIE STAHL OR FAMILY FINDINGS TO CONTACT ME. I AM POSITIVE IF YOU SAT DOWN WITH ME AND HEARD OUR STORY FROM BEGINNING TO END ( ACTUALLY THERE IS NOT END YET WE NEVER FORGET) YOU WOULD HAVE A WONDERFUL STORY LINE AND MAYBE WE COULD SEE THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL... WE NEED SOMEONE TO HEAR OUR STORY AND MAYBE GET THE GRANDCHILDREN HOME. YES THEY HAVE BEEN ADOPTED AND IT WILL MAKE THE ADOPTIVE PARENTS SAD, BUT WHAT ABOUT THEIR BIRTH FAMILY WE CRY DAILY WANTING THEM HOME. IT IS HORRIBLE THEY WERE NOT EVEN ADOPTED TOGETHER AND WE ALL LIVE WITHIN 20 MILES OR LESS OF EACH OTHER. PLEASE CONTACT US HEAR OUR STORY!!!!!!!!!!!!

[stopcps]

Leslie Stahl You are coward of the highest order. Rather than discuss the reason for the lonelinest people in the world you focus only on the suffering.

You need to do a story on why these children are in the system. When there was suitable family all along usually their own parents to raise them. Instead CPS DFS is turning out 100s of thouands of mentally and severely emotionally disturbed children. You also lost sight of the 100s of thousands of suffering parents who children were stolen by a system that rewards states and counties with cold hard large cash stipends for removing children and then rewards them again for placing these children with unrelated strangers. Those that are left behind are discarded like trash as long as the federal government is sending Federal money to the states and counties for the removal. These children are dumped out of the system and are left with no one. They are further victimized by pimps and predators after they have been victimized by our government.

The system creates the most disturbed irresponsible adults in our society. They are allowed to drop out of school and are paid to clean up after their own spills. These children grow dependent with an entitlement type character. Where they believe money falls from the skies and no one to over see it.

[stopcps]

Leslie Stahl You are coward of the highest order. Rather than discuss the reason for the lonelinest people in the world you focus only on the suffering.

You need to do a story on why these children are in the system. When there was suitable family all along usually their own parents to raise them. Instead CPS DFS is turning out 100s of thouands of mentally and severely emotionally disturbed children. You also lost sight of the 100s of thousands of suffering parents who children were stolen by a system that rewards states and counties with cold hard large cash stipends for removing children and then rewards them again for placing these children with unrelated strangers. Those that are left behind are discarded like trash as long as the federal government is sending Federal money to the states and counties for the removal. These children are dumped out of the system and are left with no one. They are further victimized by pimps and predators after they have been victimized by our government.

The system creates the most disturbed irresponsible adults in our society. They are allowed to drop out of school and are paid to clean up after their own spills. These children grow dependent with an entitlement type character. Where they believe money falls from the skies and no one to over see it.

[nanawells]

CAMILEESMOM!!! MY HEART GOES OUT TO YOU. WHAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO US WITH OUR GRANDCHILDREN. THE SOCIAL SERVICES MADE UP SO MANY LIES ABOUT US AND PRESENTED THEM TO THE JUDGES. WE DID ALL THE SERVICES THEY ASKED US TO DO AND STILL DID NOT GET THE GRANDCHILDREN. OUR SON AND HIS GIRLFRIEND DID ALL THEIR LIST OF REQUIREMENTS AND STILL LOST THEIR PARENTAL RIGHTS. THE SYSTEM IS VERY CORRUPT WITH FAMILIES WHO HAVE NO MEANS TO GET LEGAL HELP AND HAVE TO RELY ON STATE APPOINTED LAWYERS. I HOPE YOU GET YOUR NIECE I WILL PRAY EVERY DAY FOR YOU... GOOD LUCK DON'T GIVE UP.