Children’s Shelters Play Vital Role in Care System

*The following Opinion Editorial appeared on www.projo.com January 30, 2011. It was submitted by Bill Reardon, Executive Director of Boys Town New England.

This is in response to a Dec. 18 commentary headlined “Closing shelters best thing for R.I. children,” by Richard Wexler.

Where one comes down in the debate about the future of Rhode Island’s children’s shelters may depend on one’s understanding of what a shelter does.

Rhode Island’s three shelters play a vital role in providing emergency care for children under age 12 who can no longer live in their own homes. Shelters are a safety net for these children, whose families are experiencing difficulties and need time to resolve issues that make it necessary for a child to be moved to a temporary placement.

We disagree with Mr. Wexler’s contention that children are “parked” in shelters merely because the shelters exist. We also disagree that children suffer enormous damage because of their experience in a shelter. Instead, shelters are necessary, appropriate placements that protect young children when a home environment becomes unsafe because of such troubles as domestic violence and/or abuse and neglect.

Shelters also provide some “breathing room” so that a child’s specific needs can be carefully assessed, a future placement can be arranged and a plan for solving a family’s problems can be developed. This is the first step toward bringing children and their parents back together. Boys Town New England’s In-Home Family Services helps many families accomplish that goal every year.

There is a great need for short-term care for children in Rhode Island. It would be a mistake for the state to close its shelters for young children because there is nothing else to take their place — namely, a network of emergency foster homes.

More importantly, these shelters actually help boys and girls. In our Boys Town Treatment Family Home for Young Children — included as one of the three shelters in question — married couples called Family-Teachers live with the children 24/7, teaching necessary skills and building a trusting relationship. This lets children who have experienced trauma receive compassionate, stepped-up care and monitoring that is not always available in a foster home. Except for the Family-Teachers, the other two privately owned shelters provide similar services. I would invite Mr. Wexler to tour our Treatment Family Home for Young Children to see firsthand how we provide life-changing care for children.

Boys Town does not believe that shelters should be seen as easy or permanent fixes when children have to be removed from their homes. We agree that a family or a family-like environment is always the best place for children who need a safe, temporary place to live. That’s why Boys Town New England offers Treatment Family Homes and Foster Family Services, both of which provide care for children in a family setting — as part of our Integrated Continuum of Care.

But even amid the growing calls for reform in Rhode Island’s child- and family-care system, the immediate needs of children speak louder. When families falter and children must be removed from their homes, there must be havens of safety where children’s best interests are served. The shelters for young children in Rhode Island are effectively filling this critical role.

William Reardon is executive director of Boys Town New England.