Foster Care and Adoption

Regardless of where you are from you have inevitably heard the horror stories surrounding foster care and foster care parents.  Perhaps you heard the story of the children that were kept in cages, or the children that were living in squalor with barely a roof over their head, let alone food or clothing.  If you are in the Washington D.C./Northern Virginia area near me, two of the more recent stories are the mother who adopted three sisters from foster care and when one of the girls escaped, authorities found her sister’s bodies in the woman’s freezer or perhaps the young girl whose adoptive mother is now in jail because her daughter had “disappeared” and was found several days later face down in a creek.

These are sad and unfortunate events in the world of foster care and adoption, but they are not the norm.  We try to place blame on understaffed and overworked social services departments, but the real problem lies in the motivation of the hearts of those caring for these children.  In rare cases, NOT MOST, but in some, people only take on the challenges these children present because of the guarantee of a monthly check from the government.  When money is the motivation for caring for someones child it is a recipe for disaster.  Unfortunately the screening process for becoming a foster parent, while very thorough, cannot reveal what is truly in someones heart.

The real beauty of foster care and adoption lies in the stories of those who silently care for these children, day in and day out.  We didn’t create these kids, they definitely are not our responsibility, but we step in to care for the child whose parent either can’t or more sadly won’t.  Many times these kids have lived lives that make us shudder and want to hide our faces from the ugliness of it.  However, the children are still there and they still need someone to help them grow up.  They need someone to just be there when they come home from school, to make certain there is food on the table and that they don’t go hungry tonight, someone who will care for them when they are sick and cheer at each of their victories.  They need someone who won’t give up on them even when they have given up on themselves.

That is what this Blog is about.  I want to help you understand what foster care and adoption from foster care means.  If you are considering this or perhaps not but should be, you need someone who will talk openly about their experiences and will let you explore the realities of working with foster kids and social service agencies from a parent’s perspective.  If you are already a foster parent or an adoptive parent (even if its not from foster care), this is also a place for you to come and share ideas, troubles, thoughts, advice experiences or just to have someone who knows where you are listen to you.  We need caring parents to help get these kids out of the system and into real homes.  Join in, I am anxious to hear your thoughts!