FARGO (KFGO) – A foster care expert who works with agencies in Minnesota and around the nation says he wasn’t surprised when he heard about a foster mother who’s accused of killing a young boy in Barnesville, Minn.
Dr. John DeGarmo heads the Foster Care Institute near Atlanta, Ga. DeGarmo says many foster care caseworkers are being overworked and foster parents aren’t being properly trained.
“It isn’t shocking in the fact that there are foster parents out there who are not necessarily being given the resources, training and support systems they need to care for these children in need.”
Thirty-five-year-old Kellie Jo Anderson of Barnesville is charged with second-degree murder. Court documents say the young boy was “blue and lifeless” and had multiple bruises on his face, head and body when Anderson brought him to the Fargo Sanford Emergency Dept April 23. A doctor estimated that the boy had been dead for about 40 minutes before he arrived at the hospital.
DeGarmo says he doesn’t want to speculate on the Anderson case, but he says currently, there are more children at risk of abuse and neglect because the COVID-19 pandemic is keeping families isolated at home. In some cases, DeGarmo says stress levels “are going through the roof.” He also says more caseworkers are working from home, which makes it difficult to conduct routine visits with foster families.
DeGarmo says he favors mandatory psychological background checks for foster parents, which are generally not required.
“What generally happens is, a foster parent will have a house inspection, a drug test, a police background check. They’ll have several months of training and then they’re licensed. What they do not get is a psychological background check. Should that be in place? It should, because unfortunately, even one case like this is far too many.”
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