The Tough Love At Kids Inc. Is Paying Dividends

It was the typical teary-eyed crowd you expect to see at a graduation: parents, loved ones, friends, family members. …

They came to the Spokane Opera House on Friday night to watch Ferris High School’s Class of ‘97 step into the future.

Steve Kramer was there, too. File him under all of the above.

He has no children. He’s never married. But to troubled kids who live with him, Kramer, 31, is mom, dad, teacher, cheerleader and coach.

Kids like Josh, a lanky 19-year-old who once carried a gun, used drugs, attempted suicide and was in and out of group homes and counseling sessions.

Nothing worked until Josh’s parents placed their son into Kramer’s spacious South Hill home.

That was two years ago. Josh was Kramer’s first resident. The young man now is the first Kramer Kid to graduate from high school.

“I didn’t know if we were going to see this day,” says Kramer, a small, wiry man with a short goatee. “After he turned 18, he could have walked out any time. But Josh stayed and finished. That’s quite an accomplishment.”

Kramer calls his unusual business Kids Inc.

He’s really a surrogate parent who spends seven days a week helping the young charges who live with him year-round.

He is the dream parent who checks on the kids at school.

He drives them to appointments. He takes them on summer vacations. He feeds them and works out with them daily at a health club.

Unlike typical foster homes, Kids Inc. isn’t licensed through any state agency. Kramer relies on a 1995 law allowing neighbors and friends to privately care for a child on a 24-hour basis.

This has raised the eyebrows of state social workers. Tim Tyler, a regional manager with the state Department of Social and Health Services, says he is examining Kramer’s interpretation of that law.

But Kramer has worked at licensed group homes before.

He believes the governmental baloney and red tape often causes more harm than it cures. So instead of getting placements through agencies, Kramer receives kids by word of mouth. He contracts with parents and, he says, is accountable only to them.

Kids Inc. can take up to six boys. The $2,400-a-month rate is steep, but parents who contact him usually are at wit’s end.

But if Josh is an example, Kramer’s methods are worth the cost.

His graduation “is a tribute to Steve and the effort he’s put in,” says Ferris counselor Pam Phelan, who has watched Josh’s progress. Instead of reading about Josh’s success, “we could have just as easily been reading about him not being with us.”

Kramer has plenty of work ahead.

Jonas, 16, came recently from California. He’s done time for drug possession and grand theft. James, 16, arrived last fall from Western Washington. He was hanging with a bad crowd and stole a car. Jermaine, a teenager with learning disabilities, is due to arrive in two weeks.

Drugs. Bad grades. Crime. Anger. …

Kramer combats these problems the old-fashioned way: by setting high standards and backing up the house rules with a firm, but not a cruel, hand.

“Each kid comes here with a different set of baggage,” explains Kramer. “One rule won’t work for all. The main thing is that you have to be there for them and let them know you’re not fake.”

Kramer relates to his kids from experience.

A 1983 Ferris grad, he says he was “a pain in the butt” during his teen years.

Dyslexic and a poor student, he surprised his friends by getting a psychology degree at Washington State University. He devoted his life to helping kids like himself.

“This isn’t an occupation where you do your job and go home,” says Kramer. “This is something you live and breathe. A kid is a 24-hour project. You can’t just give birth to them and then ignore them.”

, DataTimes