Article: Background checks anger foster parents Conn. agency reviewing policy after screening called excessive

DERBY, Conn. -- Cynthia Lawrence has been a foster mother to more than 35 children during the past seven years and is outraged by cases of neglect and abuse in foster homes that have resulted in the deaths of several children.

But she and other foster parents across Connecticut say they are also outraged that the state is insisting they sign a waiver to allow the State Police to conduct intensive background checks on them -- making them feel like scapegoats.

Those checks would include interviews with neighbors and former employers, disclosure of traffic violations, and all financial records including credit histories, and even examinations of high school transcripts. After 6-year-old David ...

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