Miss-Delectable
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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060622-9999-1m22deaf.html
There aren't many deaf foster teenagers in San Diego County, perhaps five to 15 at any given time.
But the cost of finding proper homes for them is very high, because there are no appropriate places for them here.
The county Board of Supervisors aims to change that, and voted yesterday to create a group home for deaf foster teens.
The initial one-time cost will be about $200,000, according to county estimates. But the long-term savings to the county should be about $200,000 a year.
Last year the county spent more than $530,000 to send five deaf teenagers to foster homes in other states. Sometimes they are sent as far as Maryland, Florida or Connecticut, where there are group homes staffed by people trained to help them, Supervisor Greg Cox said.
Caring for those same five within the county would cost about $338,000 a year, Cox said.
Not only is it expensive to move children around the country, it hampers efforts to reunite foster kids with their families, said Supervisor Ron Roberts.
“The emotional toll of being taken away from their families is devastating enough,” Roberts said. “The funds included in this request are small compared to the benefit to all these kids.”
Deaf children are especially vulnerable and are abused and neglected at significantly higher rates than others, according to a report given to the supervisors.
Each year in San Diego County about 12 to 15 deaf children are removed from their homes. Their problems are compounded because they often cannot communicate with their caretakers or those who could protect them.
As a result, deaf children require special care because they are usually older and have more emotional and behavioral problems than hearing children by the time they enter the foster care system, according to the report.
The nonprofit San Diego Youth and Community Services has been working for two years to create a group home for deaf teens. The organization has formed a partnership with several other groups, called the Southern California Deaf Group Home Collaborative, which will work with the county to establish the facility.
There aren't many deaf foster teenagers in San Diego County, perhaps five to 15 at any given time.
But the cost of finding proper homes for them is very high, because there are no appropriate places for them here.
The county Board of Supervisors aims to change that, and voted yesterday to create a group home for deaf foster teens.
The initial one-time cost will be about $200,000, according to county estimates. But the long-term savings to the county should be about $200,000 a year.
Last year the county spent more than $530,000 to send five deaf teenagers to foster homes in other states. Sometimes they are sent as far as Maryland, Florida or Connecticut, where there are group homes staffed by people trained to help them, Supervisor Greg Cox said.
Caring for those same five within the county would cost about $338,000 a year, Cox said.
Not only is it expensive to move children around the country, it hampers efforts to reunite foster kids with their families, said Supervisor Ron Roberts.
“The emotional toll of being taken away from their families is devastating enough,” Roberts said. “The funds included in this request are small compared to the benefit to all these kids.”
Deaf children are especially vulnerable and are abused and neglected at significantly higher rates than others, according to a report given to the supervisors.
Each year in San Diego County about 12 to 15 deaf children are removed from their homes. Their problems are compounded because they often cannot communicate with their caretakers or those who could protect them.
As a result, deaf children require special care because they are usually older and have more emotional and behavioral problems than hearing children by the time they enter the foster care system, according to the report.
The nonprofit San Diego Youth and Community Services has been working for two years to create a group home for deaf teens. The organization has formed a partnership with several other groups, called the Southern California Deaf Group Home Collaborative, which will work with the county to establish the facility.
