Free Declaration in Support - District Court of California - California

Case 3:07-cv-05086-WHA

Document 62

Filed 09/11/2008

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CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY INSTITUTE University of San Diego School of Law Robert C. Fellmeth (CA SBN 49897) Edward Howard (CA SBN 151936) Christina McClurg Riehl (CA SBN 216565) Elisa D'Angelo Weichel (CA SBN 149320) 5998 Alcala Park San Diego, California 92110 Telephone: 619.260.4806 Facsimile: 619.260.4753 [email protected] MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP Kimberly N. Van Voorhis (CA SBN 197486) Marc David Peters (CA SBN 211725) 755 Page Mill Road Palo Alto, California 94304-1018 Telephone: 650.813.5600 Facsimile: 650.494.0792 MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP Steve Keane (CA SBN 247588) 12531 High Bluff Drive, Suite 100 San Diego, California 92130-2040 Telephone: 858.720.5100 Facsimile: 858.720.5125 Attorneys for Plaintiffs

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DECLARATION OF SHAARON SCHUEMAKER IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT -- Case No. C 07-5086 WHA sd-440866

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION California State Foster Parent Association, California State Care Providers Association, and Legal Advocates for Permanent Parenting, Plaintiffs, v. JOHN A. WAGNER, Director of the California Department of Social Services, in his official capacity; MARY AULT, Deputy Director of the Children and Family Services Division of the California Department of Social Services, in her official capacity, Date: October 9, 2008 Time: 8:00 a.m. Place: Courtroom 9, 19th Floor Judge: Honorable William H. Alsup Case No. C 07-5086 WHA DECLARATION OF SHAARON SCHUEMAKER IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

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I, Shaaron Schuemaker, hereby declare: 1. I have been a foster parent for 22 years. I currently have five foster children,

ranging in age from 13 to 17. 2. My first foster children were Tammy, Bonnie and Elaine, three sisters, ages three,

five, and six. When I got them, the effects of neglect were obvious. I nurtured them and eventually adopted each girl. Tammy is now 25 and is currently getting a Ph.D. in education administration and is married. Bonnie is now 27, is a dental hygienist, and is married with two children. Elaine is now 28 and is an EMT. I am extremely proud of the progress my girls made in my care. 3. I began accepting other foster children about a year after I first took in my adopted

daughters. Over the years, I have provided both emergency shelter care and long-term care. Some of my emergency shelter children have been with me as short as one day, and I estimate that I have had about 300 foster children in this type of emergency care situation. I also estimate that I have had about 150 foster children for a period that lasted longer than a month. I often have six foster children at a time, because I have three spare bedrooms and can have two girls to a room. When the emergency shelter children leave, or when my longer term foster children "age out" of foster care, the placement coordinators often call upon me to take in others, because I provide such a good and stable home. 4. The foster care maintenance payments that I receive from the State of California

have fallen far below what I spend on food, shelter, clothing, supervision, school supplies, personal incidentals, insurance, and home visits for the children I take into my home. Although I do what I can to make ends meet, the limited payments I receive place a substantial hardship on my family, as I ensure that my foster children receive the level of care to which they are entitled. 5. California's foster care maintenance payments have been below the real costs of

caring for a foster child for many years, and the lack of any increases in monthly payments from 2001 to 2008 has made the situation much worse. 6. The financial burden associated with caring for a foster child in California has

caused me to reconsider my financial ability to serve as a foster parent. My husband and I will
DECLARATION OF SHAARON SCHUEMAKER IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT -- Case No. C 07-5086 WHA sd-440866

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likely have to take fewer foster children into our home or stop taking foster children altogether unless California increases its foster care maintenance payments to cover the costs of providing foster children with food, shelter, clothing, supervision, school supplies, personal incidentals, insurance, and reasonable home visitation. I declare under the penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct and that this declaration was executed electronically, with my permission, on September 6, 2008, while I was in Bonita, California. /s/ Shaaron Schuemaker Shaaron Schuemaker

I, KIMBERLY N. VAN VOORHIS, am the ECF User whose ID and password are being used to file this DECLARATION OF SHAARON SCHUEMAKER IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES IN SUPPORT THEREOF. In compliance with General Order 45, X.B., I hereby attest that SHAARON SCHUEMAKER has concurred in this filing. Dated: September 11, 2008 By: /s/ Kimberly N. Van Voorhis Kimberly N. Van Voorhis

DECLARATION OF SHAARON SCHUEMAKER IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT -- Case No. C 07-5086 WHA sd-440866

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