 Dr. Robert E. Fathman's letter to The Virginian-Pilot, 7/1/00
Send your letter to the Editor of The Virginian-Pilot now! Write: letters@pilotonline.com Respond to the poll: "Should foster parents be allowed to spank children in their care?" at http://www.pilotonline.com/news/nw0701spa.html Comments on the regulations can be mailed to: Doris JenkinsThe regulations are scheduled to be printed in the Virginia Register on July 17. |
By Elizabeth Simpson, The Virginian-Pilot, July 1, 2000
Foster parents from private agencies may soon be allowed to spank their foster children as long as the swats aren't legally abusive.
The state Board of Social Services voted to change its rules -- which prohibit spanking of any kind -- at a June meeting. The regulations would take effect Nov. 1, after a 60-day public comment period that begins July 17.
The staff of the state's Department of Social Services proposed the change. Commissioner Sonia Rivero said the new regulations would help parents distinguish between abuse and discipline, and quell people's fears of being accused of abuse if they spank or grab a child.
``We want to make sure that parents who are willing to provide loving homes will not be turned away,'' Rivero said Thursday.
Board member Holly Korte said she first was surprised by the suggestion that spanking be allowed, but was convinced by the state's staff that it would help in recruiting foster parents.
``Otherwise, I think we close the door on people who would be great foster parents,'' said Korte, a teacher at Great Neck Middle School in Virginia Beach.
But several child-advocacy groups, child-placement agencies and organizations that represent poor families have attacked the new regulations. The critics say they're concerned the state would allow foster parents to strike a child, especially given that many foster children have been physically abused in the past.
``There are some places where you have to draw the line because if you don't, it opens the door for abuse,'' said Kent Willis, executive director of the state's American Civil Liberties Union.
These groups will meet in Richmond next week to figure out what they can do to reverse the regulations.
``I want foster parents to be recruited because they love children, not because they want to hit them,'' said Betty Wade Coyle, executive director of the Hampton Roads Committee to Prevent Child Abuse.
Current regulations explicitly forbid spanking. The new regulations prohibit spanking ``when abusive.''
The state's legal definition of abuse is any action that ``creates a substantial risk of death, disfigurement or impairment of bodily functions.'' Generally, if a spanking does not leave a mark or cause an injury, it's not abuse.
The revamped definition also changes the prohibition against shaking to a ban against ``harsh shaking.''
Directors from three local child-placement agencies say they will continue to prohibit foster parents from spanking children or using any kind of corporal punishment.
``We are firmly opposed to it,'' said Margaret Robertson, executive director of Catholic Charities of Hampton Roads. ``Virginia has come such a long way in training parents in alternative methods of discipline. This would be a step backward.''
Lutheran Family Services and United Methodist Family Services directors also said they would continue to prohibit foster parents from spanking.
A staff attorney for the Virginia Poverty Law Center, Nechama Masliansky, said the new regulation would require ordinary citizens to make difficult legal judgment calls, often in the heat of the moment.
But Rivero said that the change in the corporal punishment definition is only a small part of an overall revamping of the regulations, and that critics are taking the section out of context. The new regulations also require foster parents to work with the private child-placing agency to develop the best discipline plan, she said.
If spanking was deemed inappropriate for a particular child, it would not be included in the discipline plan. But if it could give a child needed structure, it would be acceptable, as long as it wasn't abusive.
In a letter submitted in support of redefining corporal punishment in the regulations, Regent University professor Lynne Marie Kohm cited the importance of making a distinction between abuse and ``loving corporal punishment,'' which she said can give a child inner strength and discipline.
``Abusive corporal punishment has no place in a loving home,'' wrote Kohm, who teaches family law at Regent. ``Discipline is a loving act that may be carried out in corporal punishment, such as spanking, which is done in the context of love and security.''
Robin DeJarnette, government relations director for the Family Foundation, said the group believes parents who are adopting a child should not have to agree to avoid spanking a child. ``We believe those are decisions that are best left with the adoptive parents.'' However, she said the organization has not taken a stand on whether foster parents in general should be allowed to spank.
State Board of Social Services members have already begun receiving letters and phone calls about the change.
Board member Brian Campbell said he believes a public hearing should be conducted on the matter. Campbell was chairman of the board at the time of the June meeting, and could not vote unless there was a tie. The regulations passed by a 6-to-1 margin.
Campbell said he was angry that the Department of Social Services staff sprung the issue on the board.
``I've been on the board for six years, and I've never dealt with anything that has caused me to lose more sleep,'' said Campbell, who is now vice chairman. ``I'm torn and uncomfortable with it.''
Campbell believes corporal punishment can be appropriate in a family setting, but questions whether it's proper to allow spanking of children who are wards of the state.
``We may be treading on thin ice,'' he said.
Based on feedback from the 60-day public comment period, the board can decide to discuss the issue again, hold a public hearing or go forward with the regulations, which are scheduled to be published in the Virginia Register on July 17.
Rob Geen, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute, said the regulations are very unusual, given the American Academy of Pediatrics' position that spanking is not an effective form of discipline.
He pointed out that some states -- Oklahoma and Nevada, for instance -- have passed so-called ``spanking bill of rights'' laws that explicitly give parents the right to spank.
Those laws, however, don't cover foster parents, said Geen, who has researched foster-care systems across the country for the Washington-based Urban Institute.
``I think they're opening a can of worms.''
Deborah Jordan, a Suffolk mother who is a foster parent for Lutheran Family Services, was surprised by the change.
``I think that's a risky thing to do,'' said Jordan, who uses time-outs and withdrawal of privileges to discipline her three foster children. ``Some people might use that to their advantage. Some people think a spanking is a beating, and others just a pop.''
Reach Elizabeth Simpson at 446-2635 or liz@pilotonline.com