TOPEKA — Kansas foster parents Meaghan and Blake Briscoe were asked to welcome into their home a newborn who ended up staying with them for three years.
They eagerly collaborated with the biological mother in an attempt to stabilize her life, but her parental rights were severed after 20 months. The father, who had a history of violent crime, abandoned the child. Cornerstones of Care, a foster care agency under contract with the Kansas Department for Children and Families, recommended the father’s rights be terminated.
Blake Briscoe told an legislative committee working on child welfare issues Wednesday that DCF inexplicably ordered during a closed-door meeting that Cornerstones of Care reverse its assessment so the child could be united with the biological father. He said micromanagement verging on conflict of interest between DCF and Cornerstones of Care should be remedied.
“They forced Cornerstones of Care to change their recommendation. In a 35-day period, to see the soul of a three-year-old broken is something I don’t wish on anyone. They just want to force a square peg into a round hole,” Blake Briscoe said.
The child was transferred to care of the biological father 19 months ago, but the Briscoes have been able to meet with the child a few times.
Blake Briscoe urged the Legislature to amend state law to allow foster parents to participate in conversations with DCF or contractors about placement of the 7,000 Kansas children in foster care. Parents proven to have abandoned a child should forfeit the right to raise that kid, he said.
In addition, he recommended the Legislature impose greater accountability on lawyers appointed by courts to serve as guardian ad litem for children in need of care. The attorney assigned to the infant who shared the Briscoe’s home never met the child, he said.
Louisburg Sen. Molly Baumgardner, a Republican on the child welfare committee, pivoted from Briscoe’s testimony to questioning Laura Howard, secretary of the Kansas Department for Children and Families, as to how DCF, a foster care contractor or the state’s court system could rationally declare, “Yes, this is the best interest for that 3-year-old child.”
Howard said she would look into details of issues raised by the Briscoe family.
“Relative connections are important, but they’re not the only thing,” the DCF secretary said. “It’s really important to look at every situation individually in terms of what that child’s best interests are.”
‘Difficult to hear’
Rep. Susan Concannon, a Beloit Republican who chairs the legislative committee, said she appreciated willingness of individuals to share firsthand insight into complex situations involving children in foster care.
“I know some of it is very difficult to share and it’s also difficult to hear from out end of it,” Concannon said.
Two of her constituents, Tom and Susie Tuggle, outlined their effort to assist two children in temporary placement after their mother died of cancer. The Tuggles said DCF and foster care contractor Saint Francis Ministries were intent on placing the girls with a biological relative.
Susan Tuggle said the girls had different fathers and both men were interviewed about assuming parenting responsibilities. She said one of the men will be in prison until 2025 on convictions for engaging in pornography with the girls’ stepsisters. The other father had been jailed for making violent threats at a hospital and at residents of Concordia, she said.
