Therapeutic foster care is when you provide care for kids with elevated behavioral and emotional needs. Please share what your week is like in the comments below! I know this really varies depending on the where you live and the case.
As a kid I had a lot of anxiety and ended up being diagnosed with autism. I say this because I got lucky in being brought up in a home with understanding parents but still encountered many adults in my childhood who didn't understand. I'm telling you this because these kids that you foster with emotional/behavioral difficulties will absolutely grow up and have many memories of the adults who treated them harshly and the adults who gave them the attention/patience that they need. The love and care you show these kids will not be forgotten
I relate to this intensely. I am so so thankful that my family has been a place where I feel safe, and watching these videos makes me want to think about fostering if I’m in a place to do it in the future to be that place for kids who may not have had it before.
Thank you for sharing that advice. I’m so glad your parents made the home a safe place for you. They sound wonderful. I’m sorry about the harshness of ignorant adults.
Similar life to caregiving for my in-laws. FIL had Alzheimers and MIL had Parkinson's with dementia -- we moved in when the state determined they now needed 24 hour care. Busy life of coordinating appointments, endless chores, and modeling optimism... All the respect for you.
Can you explain a bit more about what constitutes a therapeutic foster parent? Do the kids typically have more intense behavioral needs or more medical diagnoses? Do you think this video is typical of general foster parents of young children, or are the number of therapies/appointments higher in the therapeutic context? Thanks, love your content!
Yes, theraputic foster care is when a child has elevated emotional and behavioral needs usually due to trauma and/or a disability. In these cases, there are often many appointments throughout the week or month. This isn't typical for traditional foster care providers. Additionally, many cases do not have two active parents who are attending the court ordered visitation.
Hey I'm very interested in getting into the foster care system could you please do a video about what you do for teenage girls and about how letting them know what kind of supplies we have in the bathroom for them as far as supplies for them and how you go about talking about that since some of them could have no idea what's going on others could know what it is but not have the supplies for it and you want to be as respectful as possible
There's a lot of great books written for teens about puberty, hygiene, body positivity & sexual health. I'd recommend reading a few of the newest ones you can get because they can really show some good ways to phrase things. And then when you are ready to foster, you can leave those books somewhere where the kids can read them privately (because most teens are too embarrassed to admit they have questions). When it comes to showing the bathroom supplies, I'd just normalize it - "This cupboard is where we keep everything to take care of our bodies. Here's the toothpaste, and here's the pads. If you like a different kind of toothpaste or pads, just let me know and I can pick it up when I go shopping." (But I'm just brainstorming here - I'm not a foster parent)
overnights...I don't ever get clothes back...so frustrating...SW won't even address it...says that I shouldn't send anything I'm married to...WTH does that mean...
Depends on region, agency and the primarily parents of the child. Some people advocate to get the child to a place of their religion and follow their own culture to keep that part of normalcy and their heritage. Others dont see any problems if you take them to church or introduce them into your religion. Some let the child decide if they are old enough to do so.
Hey! Just want to thank you for all the work you’re doing here. I don’t work with foster kids but I do work with folks with developmental disabilities, and I’m noticing a lot of overlap. Especially trying to juggle so many people on the care team!
Not only is she doing all of this, but she is also creating content for foster parents (or those considering fostering) to learn what this sort of help entails. Laura is a gift to this world, it takes a real superhero to do everything she does!
My relative does foster care n she had children who came from very traumatic home but still had visits w/mom n dad. It was shocking to see the change in behavior afterwards. I was in college for early childhood development and watching her was one of the greatest lessons. Yes a visit ment a giant step backwards(kids 2yr n 3yrs)but she helped them n never got upset no matter how much they acted out. It would be 2wks of therapies, different appts, etc..back on track. Next visit a step back but not as bad as the prior n slowly the kids made progress. She didn't start fostering to adopt but sometimes it's the only option. 20yrs later n my cousins are doing great.
I saw something similar when I worked as a special ed para. We had a student who had weekend visits with a bio parent even after being adopted, and every Monday we could tell when it had been a visit weekend because the student was so elevated all day. They usually settled by the next morning, but it was always kind of sad that what was supposed to be a good weekend never seemed to be enjoyable for the student. They were autistic and limited in verbal communication, though, so it was hard to fully understand their feelings around it, since they never really brought it up, we just saw the increase in outbursts, shorter temper, and heightened stress responses.
I really appreciate you showing that many kids in foster care still have contact with one or more of their parents, and its not just children with no parents. I had a friend in middle and high school who was in foster care for around 18 months because of domestic violence and a pending divorce case. Her carers were pretty great and really helped include her mother as much as they could. Sometimes your life just falls apart through little fault of your own and having someone else take responsibility for your kid until you can get back on your feet is the best thing you can do.
I’ve never been a foster child. I’m not sure if fostering is in the future for me. Still, I find myself finding so much comfort in these videos. I’ve only found this channel recently, but watching such healthy and kind interactions feels a little bit like I’m healing myself as well. Thanks for your efforts.
Worked with kids for a long time at church. 1 foster (later adopted)kid told me every year that his mom was visiting at Christmas since he was 2 or 3 years old. He was always so excited. Every year the mother made an excuse. At a certain point I wished his foster parents would stop reading him those letters but they respected their relationship too much. He's almost in high school now, his mom has still never visited. honored to know him and his now adoptive parents. God bless foster/adoptive parents.
It's really cool that you make sure to point out that YOU need and receive recharge time as well. Your channel seems like a great educational tool, and one important aspect of that is you don't make yourself look like superwoman - you've said/done things less ideally when you were just starting out, you get emotionally drained and have to use time to recharge/reset once the kids are asleep. I can imagine if you're starting the process to become a foster parent, it would be really intimidating to see content that makes it come across like that person is perfect, never sleeps, never does anything wrong, and is ready 24/7.
So much of what you show us is helpful for all children and all parents. Thank you for sharing your wisdom, your kindness and especially your acceptance of each child as an individual ❤️
Hi Laura, I just wanted to say, as a new to fostering couple, your videos are nothing short of a blessing to us. Thank you for all that you share, it has helped immensely!
I'm a new subscriber and I'm in awe of you. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Have you done a Q&A on yourself about how you prioritize private life, or how you take care of yourself to keep going? 🙏 😊
I think Laura tends to work with younger children, you might want to check out Brittany Collins, FosterTheTeens. She primarily works with teenaged girls and emergency care. Laura and her have worked on videos together, so I think Laura is a fan of hers too. I learned a lot from Brittany Collins too.
@@tabitas.2719 I think Laura tends to work with younger children, you might want to check out Brittany Collins, FosterTheTeens. She primarily works with teenaged girls and emergency care. Laura and her have worked on videos together, so I think Laura is a fan of hers too. I learned a lot from Brittany Collins too.
I can relate. Very validating. Exhausting but worth it. Those transitions with visits... Oof! Can be rough to get through. I'm encouraged and comforted just by watching. 😊
Thank you for your posts. I admit that I was very ignorant of the work that goes into fostering. You are doing an amazing job for the children you foster.
Could you do a video on respit? I want to foster in the future so I watch a lot of content on it and I keep hearing about it. People say to make sure you use it as a resource when needed but I can’t help feeling like it might cause more trauma for the kid as in a way your kind of saying you need a break from them.
I have heard of foster parents that get members of their family to get a respit license, so the children at least go to someone who is somewhat familiar to them. Or foster parents having a deal with one respit family so they can always use the same one for the same child. Apparently it helps to reduce trauma. No experience myself yet though.
I think it works better when you mainly use one family/person as your respite provider. My friends fostered a set of siblings for about a year, and the kiddos always loved going to visit their "babysitter" because she became a good friend to them and staying with her was like a fun trip.
What happens when the children have to go to school? Are they home schooled? Or do they go to a real school? Would you send them to public school, or private?
In my state, the priority is to keep the child in their current school. They automatically qualify for transportation to help with this. With so much changing, keeping their school the same is so important.
i like the having photos of people they will be working with. I don't know anything about little kids but I'm an autistic adult and this would help me in any complex situation where there's multiple specialists. maybe because I barely make eye contact? I have a hard time remembering faces because I simply can't look at the person enough to get it in my head. but a photo to practice would certainly help. y'all are cool and I am interested in fostering now :) I don't know if it will ever be possible for me but maybe someday, and otherwise I know a lot of ways I can help and be involved anyway! thanks to your videos!!
I'm curious - how often do kids get reunited with bio parents? I know most CPS's goal is to keep the kids in the home by providing support to parents to ensure a safe environment.
Love the idea of the Polaroids to help the children keep track of the different adults. Seems like the picture would also become a little comforting in itself, aside from its value as a memory aid.
On a phone call with a bio parent would you be allowed to FaceTime and show them the kid playing or the kid could talk to their parent through FaceTime?
I was wondering this, too, during the example with the young kid zooming around the backyard. I know generally speaking that taking photos and video isn't allowed for most foster children, but if it were done specifically for the bio parent?
The goal of foster care is always reunification with the parents. You’re just there to provide the child a safe, stable and supportive environment while the parents work their issues out. You treat the kid as part of the family, but you are not their parent.
@@1Cosmic_Squid1 There are some situations where the chance of reunification is almost zero. Those are handled a little differently. Each case is different.
