"I feel confident that continuing with EPM will guarantee the success of the product and change the dynamic of foster care by having an army of knowledgeable, informed Foster/Adoptive Parents advocating for their children."Your MISSION ACCOMPLISHED Story
I became a foster parent to help. I knew the children in the system needed homes and people to love them. What I was not prepared for was the disconnected and disjointed service the Systems and Agencies provided the children. Foster children by the nature of how they come to us are already traumatized. Unfortunately, the last 7 years have been a long and arduous love/hate battle with the Philadelphia DHS and the foster care agencies that form the network of systems that care for more than half a million children nationwide. Shortly after meeting all the licensing requirements, I received a call. Two sisters ages 8 and 13, required emergency temporary placement. As a newly minted resource parent and uninformed of the parameters of “emergency temporary placement,” I accepted. I’d requested children between 2 and 6 years old, but I felt obligated to help. My first experience with DHS lasted two weeks. I later learned the older girl was at risk of self-harm. Also at risk was my family’s safety; vital information undisclosed to me. So a couple of phone calls later, including one to the police, I had the children removed. Undiscouraged but curious, I wondered how the system could facilitate such a mismatch. Was my family knowingly put in harm’s way? I sensed something was wrong and my senses were on high alert. After that first brief encounter, the educator and community activist in me began researching the Department of Human Services system and the policies of the foster Care Agency. I suspected but was not prepared for the depth of disjointed policies and services I would encounter. Nor was I prepared for the impact the policies would have on the lives of the children and resource families. My next call was for a six-year-old, badly burned and recently released from the hospital. Experience caring for my mother convinced me I could care for the child. On October 15, 2015, a caseworker showed up with a small bundle wrapped in gauze from the neck to her waist. In her other hand was a small green bag with the child’s belongings. Again, very little information outside of her medical needs was shared. The caseworker shrugged off my questions and once again red flags went up. And I thought, “here we go again. I was correct. In addition to behavior and anger issues, I later learned someone had thrown boiling water on the child, resulting in third-degree burns which required surgery, skin grafts, and rehab. Then came the onslaught of doctor and rehab appointments, the demand for visits by her bio mom, therapy for past sexual abuse, and treatments for chronic asthma. It’s important to note that the caseworker originally categorized the child as “general” which meant the basic, standard daily rate for care. My complaints about the immense time and care requirements fell on deaf ears. The caseworker’s apathy was palpable. I felt completely invisible with little control over what was taking place in my own home. Something had to change!!! After months with no progress in the level of care for my foster daughter, I had had enough. I began documenting EVERYTHING: her care, appointments, behavior, transportation, times, etc. I gathered all the information and wrote everyone – from the caseworker’s supervisor to the state DHS Commissioners and even the local newspaper. I learned very quickly from my days as a community activist, that public agencies hate being put on blast. Now seemed the perfect time to utilize those activist strategies. I began calling the agency director. When responses were slow in coming, I was at their door. They hated to see me coming. It took a while but as a result of my actions, my foster daughter’s category was correctly changed to the next to the highest designation. (I believe they thought I was motivated by the additional monies but very surprised when my onslaught continued until I secured the additional care and therapies she needed. “Fostering Lives” was born out of a deep love of children and youth, their potential and their right to a successful, well-coordinated placement. Our mission is to focus on the work we do as foster and adoptive families and to help other foster/adoptive families/parents find their voice in their fostering/adopting process. For several years I have been searching for the right platform to launch Fostering Lives. Our Blog fosteringlivesesi.org, podcast, and online workshops will launch in February 2022, as a direct result of EPM Master Class that gave me the inspiration, knowledge, and confidence to launch an online workshop series. I have scheduled two Free workshops to introduce the Series and possible coaching services. I have no sales as of yet. But I continue to believe that is how I wish to Live My Message. I feel confident that continuing with EPM will guarantee the success of the product and change the dynamic of foster care by having an army of knowledgeable, informed Foster/Adoptive Parents advocating for their children