factors that contributes to children coming back into foster care after being reunited with their parents. Kinship Care: Lacking Support and Information The level of supports, information, and guidance for kinship care providers is essentially non-existent. As kinship care providers, we were not given any training or fi nancial support and very little was communicated to us. In addition, kin are not always provided with all the information they need to make thoughtful decisions. For example, when family members are fi rst approached regarding children in foster care, they aren’t always informed whether the children are already placed in prospective adoptive homes. These children might have been in these homes for a year or more, forming secure attachments, and it could be highly traumatic for them to be moved elsewhere. Foster Families: Inadequate Training and Communication Challenges Unveiling Complexities: Exposing Challenges and Opportunities within the Child Welfare System Name Withheld by Request The child welfare system is complicated. The system removes children from harmful and potentially lethal situations and strives to ensure familial connections. It also has a long history of infl icting trauma, and creating harm in the lives of individuals, families, and communities. Just as complex as the system are the people involved with it. There are those who work for what is in the best interest of children, families and the community and fi ght for equity, connection, health, and wholeness. There are also those who embody problematic stereotypes and aren’t concerned about the well-being of the children, families, and the community. There are a lot of inspirational stories and powerful, even life-changing, experiences people have with the system that are a very important part of a comprehensive understanding of the system and all its nuance. As a former foster parent and kindship care provider as well as an adoptive mom, I feel compelled to speak about Page 10 a less encouraging, but still critically important part of the system: the ways I experienced the system fail. It is not until the problems of a system are brought to light that we can begin to fi x them. In my experience, this is a taste of some of the failures of the child welfare system. Families: Navigating a Bureaucratic System Interacting with the child welfare system is diffi cult and can easily be overwhelming for families between meetings, requirements, and expectations. All these additional activities and obligations can mean leaving work, securing transportation, fi nding childcare, or possibly even missing out on some of the services required by the system itself. Families are also not always provided with the support they need to effectively care for their children. Instead of being approached and treated like people who need help, parents may be viewed with little compassion. Yes, many of the parents with children involved in the child welfare system have made bad, often harmful decisions that impacted their children. They also love their children. While case plans are intended to provide support, too often, they are viewed as a checklist of general mandates. This lack of on-going and individualized support is one of the Through insuffi cient training and supports, foster families are not set up by the system to effectively provide the level of care often required. In addition, communication is one of the biggest challenges as a foster parent. Depending on the caseworker (and their supervisor) many foster parents aren’t given the basic information needed to effectively navigate systems and ensure the children in their care have essential supports. When it comes to the sharing of information, there are legitimate (and legal) reasons to limit the amount of information that is shared. At the same time, there is a lot of information that can be shared, which isn’t shared or is incorrectly shared. In some cases, foster parents know the children best. Yet, they are not viewed or brought into conversations as the experts they are. As foster parents, when we were brought in for a meeting to discuss a potential change to a case, it was clear the decision had already been made. Furthermore, when we questioned this decision, which was clearly not in the best interest of the child, we did not experience a willingness to engage in dialogue. Our experience was hostility, an unwillingness to listen and a doubling down on their original stance. Overburdened Caseworkers Caseworkers are overworked, under resourced and not supported in the ways they need to do their jobs effectively and compassionately. The number of cases assigned as well as the lack of consistent training, emotional support and compensation are not conducive to healthy, compassionate, thoughtful, and engaged employees. Caseworkers see and experience abuse and deplorable situations. They need space, time, and guidance to process the realities of their job. Challenges Faced by CASA Volunteers Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers or Guardians at Litem (GAL) are children’s voices in court. Their role is to engage in an independent investigation of the situation, make recommendations to the court and advocate for what is in the children’s best interest. As foster parents, we had a great experience working with the CASA/GALs. They were supportive, helpful and we are eternally grateful for their dedication and advocacy for the children in our care. However, the system doesn’t always engage and keep CASA/GALs as informed as it could, which makes their role very diffi cult. Community Impact The children and families impacted by the child welfare system are integral members of the communities in which they live. Volunteers, caseworkers, and other community members engaging with the system also experience deleterious impacts. Under developing and traumatizing people is problematic to the entire community for a myriad of reasons. Children at the Center The list of the ways children may be, have been, or are being failed by the system can’t comprehensively be captured in an article. Children are failed when decisions are made that are clearly not in their best interest. They are failed when they are placed or remain in unsafe situations. Children are failed when they are removed from the only community, they know to live with people who are complete strangers both to them and their family. Children are failed when they transition between placements and their toys, pictures, and other signifi cant items are not moved with them. They are failed when critical information about their biological family is not shared with them. Children are failed when their caregivers are not given, or don’t seek out, the support they need to properly care for them. They are failed when the supports and services they need are not available to them. Children are failed when they are kept from their biological siblings because they are no longer legally considered siblings (due to adoption). They are failed when they are adopted and returned to the system. Children are failed when they age-out of the system and don’t have the support, connections, and skills they need to fl ourish. Children are failed when cycles of trauma, abuse and involvement with the system are not broken.
11 Publizr Home