With all of the negative aspects of the foster care system
that we have seen through the readings of Dorothy Roberts in Shattered Bonds and some of the stories
portrayed in the documentary "Ask Us Who We Are: Foster
Care in Vermont", I was expecting more negative views of the foster
care system from our guest speakers who had experienced it first hand. This was
not the case, however, when both of these individuals’ stories portrayed the
foster care systems as their saving grace, and the reason for where they are
today. Our female guest speaker gives the foster care system credit for saving
her from an unhealthy environment, in which her mother neglected her. She
stated that living in a foster care setting gave her the chance at stability in
her life, something she was not receiving from her young mother. Also, our male
guest talked about how his experience in the foster care system gave him a
sense of home and belonging. He mentions that he felt like a part of his foster
family, which was an emotion he failed to feel with his adoptive family. In
Dorothy Roberts’ book, she talks about the disparity that exists within the
foster care and child welfare system. They are aimed at providing safety for
children, but try to maintain family relations as much as possible. Richard
Gelles states, “the basic flaw of the child protection system is that it has
two inherently contradictory goals: protecting children and preserving families”
(107). In these two cases we have seen in class with our guest speakers, it is
clear that the primary goal had been to protect the children from their
unfavorable situations in the home and did not focus on the preservation of
these broken relationships. What happens when the best interest of the child is
not taken into consideration? Is this right/fair to condemn parents for their
mistakes when everyone makes mistakes?
Graded Reply:
ReplyDeleteAly,
I found the guest speakers stories very interesting as well because of all the negativity we have read, seen, and heard of in class. I think their stories were rewarding to give the foster care system a few positive stories. I do think there are many more out there, we just focus on the negative more than the positive sometimes. I think C's story may have differed a bit, however, if she would have been a little older and remembered bouncing back and forth from foster homes to her home. I'm glad she didn't have to experience that and she lives with a functional family she can call her own.
On the other hand, I though J's story was particularly interesting because he had such a connection with his foster family and was not able to adopted. That really bothered me because if we are supposed to be advocating for the children and doing what is best for them they should be asked what they'd like so we could follow that as closely as possibly. However, seeing the hope and excitement in his eyes as he heads "home" for the first time in many years is relieving.
Personally, I think we need to be advocating for the children. Parents are adults and know the repercussions of their actions. Yes, some are in worse situations than others, however I feel having a child requires some responsibility, so it is necessary to be held accountable for your actions. In personal connections and C's story, I would be a strong advocate for these children because they are not able to protect themselves. That is our job as the community around them.
Steph
Graded Blog Reply 11
ReplyDeleteI like the positive view taken in this blog post. I agree that the two guest speakers were examples of the foster care system working in their favor. I enjoyed hearing two accounts that believed the foster care system worked for them in the way that it was supposed to because it is normally portrayed as a negative experience and as harmful to the child involved. I thought the stance of the two contradicting goals of the child protection system (protecting children and preserving families) are a reason for the failures. While both are important which is the one that should come first?
I agree with the statement made in this post “it is clear that the primary goal had been to protect the children from their unfavorable situations in the home and did not focus on the preservation of these broken relationships”. And I think the following questions are important to consider. I don’t think it is fair to condemn parents for their mistakes but you how long do you give them to take the appropriate actions to fix it before permanent damage is inflicted on the child. Children need to be in a permanent loving home and this should be the main priority about all else. They need to be loved and they need to be safe. I think that parents and social workers should work together cohesively to achieve the best possible outcome for the child.
-BF
Graded Blog Reply #11
ReplyDeleteAlly-
Great blog post! I too had similar thoughts about the guest speakers. In the past, our classes about foster care have been very negative. These stories mention being abruptly taken from their families and put in to foster care, being racial discriminating, and Child Welfare Services providing minimal resources. Then I was shocked to hear that both our guest speakers had very positive things to say about the foster care system. Both the speakers mention feelings that resemble stability, comfort, and belonging. I was also surprised by the way Jesse was adopted. In class we hear about how long and difficult it is to adopt and Jesse’s adoptive mother adopted him in one week. She was a single mother with many children, traveled and worked many hours, and was not a support system for Jesse.
I also think you brought up a very good question regarding best interest of the child when trying to protect the child from their birthparents. We kind of talked about this in the cross benefit analysis and it is very interesting. This question also would have been a great one to consider for the final ethics paper.
Katie L.
Graded Response # 11
ReplyDeleteAly, I had very similar questions regarding our guest speakers versus our readings from Dorothy Roberts. I thought it was interesting how our male speaker’s experience seemed to directly contradict the views of the foster care system we learn about in Shattered Bonds. He experienced a “functional” family life in the foster care system and a “dysfunctional” family after being adopted. Perhaps this suggests Robert’s generalizations about the foster care system are not quite as broad as she presents. It would be hard to hear firsthand accounts from all the participants in foster care, but this may be necessary to show that some foster care placements are actually in the best interests of the child. Preservation of the family, in the female guest speaker’s situation, would not have been the best option. The same could be said for the male speaker. In regards to your question whether its right/fair to condemn parents for mistakes since everyone makes them, I believe that it is very situation dependent. There are instances where the mistakes a parent is making could potentially be fatal to the child. For example, if they are physically abusive, this could lead to serious injury or death. On the other hand, mistakes such as simply being in poverty and trapped in the welfare system is not sufficient grounds to terminate parental rights. Parents should be given sufficient time and resources to overcome these obstacles. It is clear from the Robert’s readings that many agencies and social workers are not giving parents a fair shot, seen in the ridiculous list of tasks given to a father.
Reanna N.