Family Interview : Wendy Lankford

Ashley is a young woman like many in today’s society born in 1985 to a single, teenage mother. However, her story is a success story. Therefore, she survived, although all odds were stacked against her. Due to her mother’s inability to provide for her, the Florida Foster Care System was her home from the tender age of 3 until her adoption at the age of twelve. During that decade, she resided in 14 different foster homes along with her brother. During this period, her brother and other children endured an abusive life which included beatings with a wooden paddle, starvation, made to drink homemade hot sauce, molestation and verbal abuse which led Ashley and her brother to attend a different school each time their foster home changed. She witnessed the tragedy of her uncle being shot and she experienced her own tragedy when thrown from a moving vehicle.

He promised to make a difference for the foster community, so he decided to get his bachelors in social work and intern with the National Council for Adoption. Having experienced the harsh realities himself and knowing the struggle for the children in foster care, he said “the reality of facing life's responsibilities alone is paralyzing; often we are far behind educationally, socially, and emotionally compared to those who grew up in loving families” (Lawson). Most of these children in foster care, ranging from two to fourteen, have to leave home because of neglect and trauma that had happened to them previously. Most of them don’t know what it's like to live with a loving and healthy family like most of American children get to experience everyday. Foster children experience maltreatment at home and in the system that becomes a catalyst for more corruption in their lives.

Until recently, there has been little attention given to basic issues regarding siblings in out-of-home care (McCormick, 2010, p.198). There are many reasons as to why this should be important to child welfare researchers and policy makers. “Sibling relationships are an integral part of childhood and continued development and these sibling relationships can serve as a source of protection and healing throughout their journey in out of home care” (Cicirelli, 1995).

In America it is stated that 1 in every 84 children live in foster care circumstances via "Statistics on Foster Care". There is a numerous amount of contrasting children from various backgrounds and ages living within these special housing homes, and many are repeatedly in and out from unstable circumstances. As children grow and mature into the new faces of the world, they face many obstacles and tribulations that will alter their lives. Living in fostering homes is a substantial example and the effects of living in these institutions can truly be great.

The purpose of this paper is to present a literature review on the school-approved dissertation topic: "How do foster parents describe the experiences and engagement in family

Foster Care and Adoption are the most multi-faceted areas of child welfare. Foster care consists of placing children outside of the custody of their parents or legal guardians. This out-of-home placement can be temporary or long-term. Adoption on the other hand, consists of the legal and permanent process that establishes a parent/child relationship between individuals not related biologically (Downs, Moore, & McFadden, 2009). These two areas of child welfare are constantly evolving and the decisions made on a child’s behalf can affect many areas of their biological, spiritual, social, and emotional wellbeing.

Randall Thigpen is a case manager professional interviewed for this assignment. The introduction and purpose of the interview was done through the phone, but the questionnaire was sent via email. Randall’s official title is Placement Desk Coordinator. Randall provides services to foster care children in the Arapahoe county DHS in Colorado. Although the Randall does not have a nursing degree, eight years of experience working with foster care children was valuable when providing information about the population of interest. Some of the responsibilities include finding a home for children who are removed from their home and their parents or caretakers are regarded as not fit to take care of their children. Other job responsibilities include the supervision of other case workers and to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the child in foster care through continuous assessment of the current placement and adjustments as necessary. The following questions were developed and sent to the foster care professional.

As of 2016 there were nearly a half million children in the foster care system, with roughly 25,000 “aging-out” each year (Ahmann, 2017). Most adolescents “age out” of the system with no one to mentor or serve as a caring parent figure. Foster youth are in dire need of long-term adult role models to guide them to achieve success. According to Ahmann, 50% of foster youth left “the system” without a high-school degree, as well as with having higher rates of PTSD, and depression (p. 43). Ahmann presented that research has proven teenagers, in general, that have quality relationships from adults able to provide support, do better than those that do not. If research has shown efficacy in supportive adult figures in a teen’s life then one can conclude that foster youth would also benefit. Foster children are at a disadvantage a soon as they enter “the system” so giving them resources proven positive is vital to their future success.

In that household there were also other cultures present. According to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), the fiscal year of 2010 reported 254,375 children entering into foster care. Studies are beginning to show that kinship care is the way to go for children of all ages. Reports are also finding that in some states kinship care is now exceeding non-kinship foster care. Such findings show that the United States is beginning to see the value of placing children in a familiar environment. Larry and his adopted brothers, one being Chinese, and one being Anglo, grew up with one another until Larry was around 10 years old. Larry, being the oldest amongst the two, saw them as his real brothers. “We used to play war games at home with plastic guns.” I was responsible for their mistakes at home, and at school, they were my only family.”

The North American Canadian Foster Care System has been a controversial issue and has been debated for a long time. During the last few decades of the twentieth century, the number of children in foster care has increased in alarming numbers (Being a Foster Child, 2017). In the past years, it has been proven that the Foster Care System is in crisis and fails the children, who are placed in it, in various ways. In order to examine this failure to a greater extent, one essential question needs to be asked: “What is the relationship between a foster child’s placement in the foster care system and how well they develop?”. It is very important to examine the effects of the children’s past experiences on their further development during their time in the system, and moving into the future, as these past exposures

Renowned country music star Jimmy Wayne’s autobiography, Walk to Beautiful, tells of Wayne’s times of misfortune before fame which inspired his advocating awareness for foster children in the foster care system. Through the telling of his story and his ultimate walk halfway across America, Wayne hopes to raise awareness for the issues foster children face—especially for those aging out of the foster care system or suffering homelessness. The book shows a world not seen by most people through Wayne’s own heartbreaking and honest story of his difficult childhood. It is an inspiring tale that teaches the importance of “being somebody” in a foster child’s life. In reading this book, I took away many messages as I was educated on the type of troubles foster children face.

One way Maurice William’s faces problems in the foster homes is to have a meeting with every foster parent under their program every three months. In this meeting, all issues are discussed in great length and an appropriate procedure to deal with each specific problem are agreed upon and implemented so that the problems do not come up

The ICAR5 is the premiere international child welfare and adoption conference. My participation in ICAR5 is a boon to both myself and the COPP/Social Work for at least three reasons. First, the acceptance of three papers is recognition of my innovative and groundbreaking research on the post-permanence experiences of adolescents who exited foster care through adoption or guardianship. One of the paper presentations is a collaborative effort with a University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee colleague and another paper highlights the work of two of my UTSA graduate students. Having the opportunity to present and disseminate this important scholarship offers opportunities to receive peer/expert feedback on my work raises my and UTSA’s profile among

“There are approximately forty nine million children and youth, ages 6-17 living in the U.S.” (“Making the Case” 1). Children need care while they are in the initial stages of growth and development. Whether this care is provided by a mother, father, sibling, or other guardian, a child needs to be loved. When children turn a certain age, the care of the family is added to by caregivers in another institution. While attending school, children are shown care for the duration of the day by teachers, mentors, and other aids. This is a productive time for the children’s development because they are being nurtured in a well rounded, safe environment. This environment provides initial academic

Chapter 3 revolves around the individuals involved in the therapeutic process namely the therapist, child and parent. It describes foster care situation and its changeable nature these children have experienced, the need for the foster parent to have “considerable inner strength and maturity…” (pg44) and provide a “high degree of affective attunement”(pg45). The parent’s participation and the benefits are addressed throughout this book. An effective therapist must be compassionate, receptive to attunement and secure in their personal relationships. They consider the parent as a co-therapist, must have the ability to communicate effectively, be a facilitator for change and a role model, particularly in the instance of affective attunement. There is also a warning for any therapist undertaking the intensive deeply emotional work discussed, as the therapist you are in a position of power and so must not become complacent and remain vigilant, constantly monitoring the work delivered with supervision so no harm can be done to the child.