April 29, 2015

Maria Gonzalez
Financial Services Representative
3748 West Clermont Dr
Salt Lake City, Utah 84120
Jennifer Popich
Case worker
Division of Child and Family Services
195 North 1950 West
Salt Lake City, Utah 84116
Dear Jennifer Popich:
I Hope you and your family are doing great. I am writing you because I know of your
interest in having a positive impact in our community as a case worker for the Division of
Child and Family Services. I also know that you understand the importance of finding a
secure and loving place for foster children as well the importance of the developmental
growth and the reunification of a child with their biological parents. While doing a
research on the subject, I came across an article that states that according to Utah Foster
Care, there are about 2600 children and teens removed from harm and are placed into
foster homes across the state of Utah. My concern is that while trying to keep children
out of harms way, physically, mentally and emotionally. Some children are being placed
into foster care because of their parents have been deported. I feel as if we are not doing
these children any favors, they have to suffer the consequences therefore being
emotionally traumatized.
As an immigrant and mother of four children there is one thing that I did not understand
when reading that the Division of Child and Family Services emphasize that the reason a
child is put into foster care is because they have been neglected and harmed by their
parents and that goal of DCFS is to reunify a child with their families. How is it that there
are thousands of children currently in foster care that are from immigrants who have been
deported without the possibility of keeping their family unit. According to a report
written by Geena Jackson an administrator at the Department of Homeland Security,
these 51,000 children currently living in foster care across the United States have
detained or deported parents. The U.S. reportedly spends $22 billion dollars on children
in foster care annually, which averages to $40,000 per child, an unnecessary cost for
children with able and willing relatives. Most of these children are separated from their
family not because they were injured or living in an abusive home. It seems to me that
this is an unnecessary and traumatizing circumstance for a child to be subjected to.
For this reason I would like to suggest to you, knowing of your interest toward the
security and the developmental growth of these children as well as a direct worker for

this purpose to also propose to local governments and the state to implement a policy to
specifically protect families from separation if there are not harm involved toward the
children. To let the child continue living with their parents even if they are deported, to
allow the parent to take the child with them, or to let the child stay with immediate
family member. With this policy implemented we could cut the unnecessary cost of this
process and spend the money on children that really need it, children that are in foster
care due to cruelty and abuse from their parents and not keeping a child in foster care and
away from his or her deported family. Likewise, keeping these families together and
avoiding the unnecessary traumatizing experience that these children are going through. I
hope that together we can create a better community and a safe environment resulting
beneficial for these children our children that are our future.
Sincerely,

Maria Gonzalez