Loss and damage suffered by community members
Shortly after Judy's van was stolen and crashed, I contacted Marilynn Bergen and asked her if there was any protection or compensation for people who suffered damages or losses caused by fostered youth being cared for on Lasqueti. She responded that I should talk to the ministry.
I finally got around to doing that, and this is what I found out: If you want protection from loss or damages, buy insurance. I spoke to Susan Martin and Bonnie LaMarch in the Parksville office, and Terrena O'Connor in the Nanaimo office, and this is what they all said. The Ministry offers no protection or compensation or insurance coverage. They do offer an insurance rider for foster parents. Other people have to have their own insurance, as homeowners or tenants, and for vehicles. For vehicles you probably need both comprehensive (if it's stolen) and collision (in case it's crashed) insurance, according to one ICBC agent.
It is possible that there is some program as part of the criminal justice system that compensates victims of crime. I haven't looked into this. The only other recourse that was mentioned in passing was that people who have suffered losses could consider suing for damages - presumably the perpetrator(s), foster parents (they have liability insurance provided through the ministry) and the ministry itself. That's a very unsatisfactory thing to think about or undertake.
There have been quite a number of foster children on Lasqueti, and overall I think it has been good for many of them, and for the community. It's too bad that the community, and its members, have to bear the costs when something goes wrong.
I have written to the Minister of Children and Family Development, Mary McNeil, and to our MLA, Ron Cantelon, to see if there is anything they can do to help.
I have heard nothing from Marilynn other than her original "talk to the ministry" response, and I don't know if anyone else has, either. It would have been nice for the community to at least hear an apology.
The bottom line is......
The liabilty rests with Marilynn and Richard Bergen who had the 'minors' in their care.
And never mind an apology, it's high time you folks demonstrated your 'good Christian values' and ponied up the money spent to fix the van so far, plus whatever else is needed to make appropriate amends.
Scott Stilling
you can't control other
you can't control other people's actions, there foster children not prison inmates. don't be so shallow, people make mistakes, insurance has coverage for it. they don't have any liability legally to cover the cost so no in the eyes of the law she owes nothing. your opinion is law
no bullying, please
I had a phone call this morning saying that the caller thought my posting was inappropriate.
They pointed out that by naming someone in my posting I opened the door to bullying. This was not my intention at all. I probably should not have named anyone, because the situation with foster children has involved a number of households. The problem for the community is about the situation, not about one parent.
There is not just one right answer to any question, even very simple ones. Nobody knows all the "facts" in any situation, let alone all the extenuating circumstances. Everyone has to do what they think is best and right, and we don't make any situation better by bullying. Bullying makes another bad situation, and also makes the existing one worse.
Naming the perpetrators of a crime is standard paractice.
One person also commented to me Saturday afternoon that they thought my comments were bullying. And though I understand they may personally feel uncomfortable with naming the people responsible, I simply do not agree with them (and believe Peter has done the fairest thing possible given the circumstances).
First, it's standard practice in our society to name the people who commit crimes, minor or major, through whatever media we have available. And that's what's happenig here. It's a way of holding people accountable for their actions. As well, protecting the names of people who commit crimes only empowers them to continue with their behaviour. Exposing them allows the public to take appropriate action to protect themselves and their loved ones from future harm. It also lets those who would commit crimes in the future know there will be repercussions and that they can not hide once caught. And in this case, where private pressure has not worked to bring about a fair resolution, public pressure may accomplish what the private could not.
The other issue that comes up here too is that the failure to be accountable for their charge sets a dangerous precident for all future foster care situation out here. If another foster child does damage to private or community property does that mean those foster parents can simply blow it off by saying, "Well sue me then. If they didn't have to pay, why should I?" That's a slippery slope I reccomend we don't start down unless you like total chaos. And there simply is no reasons why the victim of a crime should have to go through all the hassel and wasted time of hiring lawyers and going to court to get a fair resolution. The only reason we are forced to go that way is that the perpetrators of crimes rarely have the personal integrity to hold themselves accountable for their actions.
Ultimately, as a community, we need to learn how to police ourselves before those "other folks" on the other side decide to do it for us. And that's not as tall an order as it might seem. We did afterall live quite successfully for thousands of years with only ourselves and neighbours to set and maintain community standards. And in order to do that we named criminals, publicly shamed them, had them make amends by putting them to work on community projects, and even banished them for the most serious of crimes. And none of this qualifies as bullying because it's the person who commited the crime in the first place who is the bully.
Criminal vs. Responsible
No doubt "Name & Shame" can be an effective way for a small community to deal with petty thieves, bullies, cheats, shirkers, and swindlers. And, no doubt, parents bear responsibility for the actions of a minor in their care.
But to cast these young foster parents as "people who commit crimes" seems both inaccurate and completely out of proportion.
If the point of the exercise is to build a more harmonious community, then I fail to see how isolating 2 of it's members is a step forward? Has anyone, aside from Peter, tried to simply talk to these two to help them come to terms with their responsibility and the negative impacts their inaction may have? Perhaps they honestly feel the ministry should take responsibility and don't yet see their own culpability in this matter? Maybe they're just embarrassed, or a little scared, and don't know what to do?
The point is - none of us know all the circumstances, all the why's and what-for's, so to comment so uncharitably seems a bit harsh.
There IS a time to simply name-names, but a "community" is best built on inclusion and constructive dialogue. Let's leave divisiveness, finger-pointing, and name calling to the professionals at Fox News.
When you're not responisble, you become a criminal.
Regarding the accuracy and proportion of my statement:
Marilynn and Richard Bergen have not done a dam thing about repairing the van which their foster children stole and wrecked. Also keep in mind that these same children stole at least two boats and broke into peoples homes in the process of their rampaging around the island. They're lucky the kids didn't drown and that the vans airbags likely saved their lives, otherwise this would be a criminal matter.
The point of my comments is to make them accountable for their actions. And isolating people that lack the integrity to be accountable for their actions works quite well at protecting others. I can think of at least four people in the past five years that were 'isolated' right out of this community for theft and violent behaviour, and the community is more 'harmonious' for it.
As to how Marilynn and Richard feel? What I care about is how the people who suffered the loss feel, not the perpetrators. Stop making excuses for them. They're adults and need to act like it.
And as to that time to "name-names" you talk about... exactly when does that happen, and why do you get to decide when that is for everyone else?
I'll stand by what I wrote about this issue, that's why I put my name on it. As to you "Not in the Loop", it's impossible to give your comments any credibility because you hide your identity.
Fostering
what difference does it make if these children are in fostercare or not? If they moved here with their biological families and did the same thing would it change anything? If the same child is adopted by somebody here does it change the way we look at them? children don't choose to be in a foster home. The fact they are singled out by their current living situation is a bit creepy.
Re Fostering
You're correct. It doesn't make a difference if they are in foster care or not. The foster parents, whoever they are (because this has happened more than once) "are still responsible" for the children's behavior. And it's the foster parents that are the issue here, not the children.
And unfortunately our society will always single out foster kids because of their situation, and that sucks. How one deals with that I'm not sure, but I'm open to suggestions.
And if you want "creepy", I've talked to foster parents out here who have had 20-40+ year old men come by to "hang out" with 14-16 year old girls. That IS creepy! And that's also a risk these children face out here that many people, including the Ministry seem unwilling to acknowledge.
Scott
foster parenting
One possibly important difference between being a foster parent (as compared with an adopting parent or birth parent or some other sort of parent) is that foster parents are paid (I believe on a monthly basis) to be foster parents. This is not in itself a problem, but it does mean that the motives of some foster parents are mixed, with income being part of the equation. This can be seen by the community as a foster family accruing the benefits, and the community paying some of the costs. Until recently it has been, I think, okay, but the not-so-recent-anymore incident has made it more difficult for the community to feel safe and protected. The ministry's statement that "if you want protection, buy insurance", and the silence from the foster parents have both spoken volumes, and have not been reassuring at all. It's not so much about the kids as about the parents, and their relationship with and trust from the community, I think.
Bullying
Singling out this couple on the Internet for what some angry kids did is not just bullying but wrong. Yes these parents get paid for feeding and taking care of these kids, it costs money the alternative is an institution and that won’t help kids go anywhere but jail. These kids are responsible for their actions this couple may not have money to make recompense for these kids actions and frankly thinking they should is not fair.
I think Scott is a bully and a trouble maker. I wish Scott would keep his uninformed opinions to himself.
Think what you want
Sol,
Feel free to voice your opinion. That's what the Charter of Rights and Freedoms grants everyone in this country.
As to the children being responsible for their actions? Children are not responsible because they lack experience to make informed choices. That means the foster parents and the government are.
Also keep in mind, I'm not the one who initiated this conversation, but for some strange reason you want to blame me for outing them online (though I do fully support Peter for starting this thread as it's an important topic). Maybe you should actually read the entire thread before giving your "informed" opinion about the issue.
And even if the foster parents (whoever they are because this has happened more than once out here) don't have the money, they could at least say, "I'm sorry", or some other form of acknowledgement that would recognize the loss suffered. That way the healing process can begin in earnest.
On a more positive note, I don't think that these particular foster parents (or any of the others out here) have or will do a horrible job. I have complete faith that they won't let creepy men hang out with the children or otherwise put them at risk. They just got screwed by delinquent kids and a government that won't take responsibility by properly funding programs to help. That's the risk you take though when you raise children, biological, adopted, or fostered.
Take good care and thanks for speaking up:)
Scott
Fair call
A balanced, even keeled response - thanks Scott. If I had my webmaster hat on, I'd take it off for you.
Let's hope they don't steal
Let's hope they don't steal and vandalise your property then......
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