Settle lawsuit over foster parent pay

In December 2013, Hawaii foster parents filed a class-action lawsuit contending that the state was breaking federal law by failing to adequately pay them for care of foster children. At that time, the Hawaii Department of Human Services had not raised a basic care stipend rate since 1990.

The state agency then budged, despite years of apparent foot-dragging and claims that it had insufficient funds to cover any increase. The monthly stipend now tops out at $676 for children ages 12 and older. But is $22 per day — up from $17 — enough to cover meals, school supplies and other necessities for a teenager living in the islands? Hardly.

It remains puzzling that in the last days of the 2017 legislative session, House leaders passed up a prime opportunity to see the suit settled. With a trial now scheduled for March, the state’s taxpayers could end up shelling out significantly more than the rejected multimillion-dollar settlement.

Unless House Finance Chairwoman Sylvia Luke (D, Punchbowl-Pauoa-­Nuuanu) can make plain a compelling reason why the plaintiffs don’t have a solid case, she should break her recent silence on the matter and quickly signal intent to revisit the issue in the legislative session that gets underway next week.

While last year’s negotiated deal had consent from DHS, Gov. David Ige, the Attorney General’s Office and Senate leaders, the House Finance Committee scuttled it. At that time, Luke told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that she objected to paying $1.1 million in plaintiffs’ attorney fees as well as to the courts mandating state programs.

The impulse to rebuff perceived court meddling in the state’s job of setting foster care pay — or any payment at all — is understandable. As is an effort to stand firm against lawsuits that have potential to touch off settlements that result in unreasonably pricey entitlement payouts.

But in this case it’s apparent that the state has indeed short-changed foster parents and some of the state’s most disadvantaged children. The lawsuit points out that if the stipend rate had kept pace with inflation, it would have nearly doubled to $950 per month between 1990 and 2014.

On any given day, there are nearly 428,000 children in foster care in the U.S., according to estimates. In Hawaii, roughly 2,800 children are in the foster care system due to family abuse and neglect problems.

Under the federal Child Welfare Act, federal dollars go to DHS to help pay the cost of running Hawaii’s foster care system. A string attached requires the state agency to ensure that foster parents receive sufficient funds for everyday care costs. And it all adds up: food, shelter, utilities, transportation expenses, school supplies, non-prescription medical and hygiene supplies, recreation-related excursions, and babysitting expenses for foster parents.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture report released last year pegged the national average cost of raising a child born in 2015 at $233,610, with a middle-income family spending between $12,350 and $13,900 a year. Funding for a foster care teen here is set at about $8,100 a year.

To make ends meet, many of the more than 1,000 foster parents included in the class-action suit say they dig into their own pockets. That’s easy to believe, given our high cost of living, and indicates that we’re out of compliance with federal law.

Seven years ago, California foster parents with the similar short-changed complaint prevailed in federal court, forcing that state to bump up reimbursement rates to a range between $609 and $761 depending on the age of the child.

The Ige administration is now asking the Legislature to allocate $7.13 million that DHS maintains it needs to cover higher foster care rates, in accordance with applicable federal and state regulations. Luke and other lawmakers should follow that lead and seek a path to settlement.

Failing to do so could leave taxpayers bearing the cost of a losing legal battle. What’s more, it could chill ongoing efforts to recruit and retain big-hearted people who share their homes and everyday lives with vulnerable foster children.