“Treat them like your own.” That’s what we tell Foster Parents. Simple enough right? Welcome children into your home, fold them into your routine. Easy Peasy. Except it isn’t easy peasy, is it? Treat them like your own, EXCEPT: don’t advocate for them if it means going against the state’s position in court, report and…
Category: Social Issues
Social Work: The Swiss Army Knife of Human Services
I find that the general population has no idea what social work is or what social workers do. Social work is not something often depicted in Hollywood TV shows or movies (when it is depicted, it is usually inaccurate), and frankly, the tasks of social work are so varied that the work can be hard…
7 Reasons It Is Incredibly Difficult To Have a Career in Child Welfare
This post has been rolling around in my mind ever since I started working in child welfare. Over the course of almost 5 years, I have watched workers come and go, staying in their jobs on average about 6-9 months. In my experience, if anyone can make it past the role of supervisor, or be…
Dear Social Worker,
Thank you for the work you do, for caring for children. Thank you for putting so many hours in to do the extraordinary work to find homes for children who may not have the best home. Thank you for putting the time in at the office to check on these children and do the hours…
What Foster/Adoptive Parent Category is Right for You?
So in Georgia we have 4 categories to choose from when you are going through the process to be a foster/adoptive parent: Partnership Parent Resource Parent Adopt Legal-Risk Parent Adoptive Parent I imagine that some form of these 4 categories exists in every state, and so to determine how this specifically applies to you in…
How Do I Know I Am Ready to be a Foster Parent: No Past or Present Events Cause You Severe Mental Distress
There is no doubt about it. Caring for traumatized children is no small task. Between dealing with the child’s behaviors, case workers, birth parents, and life’s other normal difficulties, one can easily get overwhelmed. Being a foster parent alone is inviting messy and exhausting circumstances into your life. Forget what you have going on personally….
The Christian Social Worker 