I wish all caseworkers felt this way. I work with CPS on a daily basis and was told I was being too “presumptuous“ when I said I thought the original goal is reunification. 😩
Some foster parents who get into foster care because they want to eventually adopt one day tend to become 'presumptuous' and start carrying on and acting like the child/baby is already theirs, and that the bio family doesn't even exist. Then the bio family are viewed by CPS and the foster family as the bad guys for actually working their services and fighting for their child. Those are the kind of people who just shouldn't foster. If reunification is something you find yourself actively praying won't happen, then you're not helping anyone. You're hurting an already hurt situation.
My husband and I are about to start the kinship care process for our nieces. Like we told the CM we hope my brother and his wife can really turn it around for these girls, however, we also hope the girls never have to deal with this kind of trauma again. The goal should always be in the best interest of the child.
This is awesome and encouraging to hear! Definitely easy to lose sight of this in the midst of the craziness. My wife and I are in the thick of it right now with kinship care of our nephew. It’s been a long 8 months so far. Hearing that the consensus goal is still reunification is very frustrating after seeing little to no progress from the parents on their case plan. But we will continue to practice patience and let the legal system play out.
Lauren thank you very much! I stumbled upon your channel as I was researching on this topic! I'm a foster parent myself. I have been pushing the social worker on more being done to empower and equip the bio family for the reunification. Like you said, I had decided to look at things from the bio family's perspective and realized that they are not so bad. Yes there could be improvement. Yet again, my standard is not theirs! So I'm ending my thanks from South Africa🙌🙏
Ïn the best interest of the child"... I think it is what is in the best interest of the court/finances. I don't think the courts look after the best interest of the child when the child has been removed two times or more.
You mentioned that, "these parents have a right to second chance." However, as a former foster child, I believe reunification should be viewed as the child being given the right to have their parents be given a second chance. Being placed into foster care is unbelievably traumatic, it can rival whatever abuse and neglect a parent is unleashing onto their children. The vast majority of foster children want to be with their biological parents. Being told that your parents are unable to take care of you, and you will not be returning home is just another massive trauma a child carries with them for their entire life. Many people have this idea that kids are resilient and bounce back from the trauma of being taken from their parents because it's better than being abused, but that's just wrong. What is in the best interest of the child is parents should be given the resources to be able to make a safe home for their children. Many times the process to get children back is about money and resources and is made unsurmountable for poor people by court systems. Instead of help parents are given financial obstacles that take a long time to overcome, then they are told that they are hurting their child by having them in foster care for too long and that they are holding their child back from being adopted into a stable loving home. The courts view these parents as people who need to fight to get their kids back, when Instead the courts and the state should be fighting for the children to get their parents back. If a parent is trying they should be helped for the sake of the child. Way too many kids are still aging out of foster care, I know because I did.
