Foster Child Observation Paper

This week in the field I had the opportunity to observe a CFTM. The CFTM consisted of a Southern Christian Service (SCS) Family Specialist, the potential foster parents and the MYPAC team (facilitator, therapist and supervisor). This meeting was geared towards revealing the diagnosis of the foster child to the potential foster parents. I have very conflicting feelings about this CFTM, because I feel like we blindsided the foster parents. SCS has been working with this family for over 4 months and there is a great deal of work that goes into licensing a foster home. I believe that it is premature to wait until 4 months later to reveal the child diagnosis and behaviors. During the meeting, I was fearful that the foster parents were going to back out of the deal, because they were overwhelmed by the information. …show more content…
My field supervisor explained it to me. She stated that because we are dealing with family and extremely confidential information it is imperative to have all background checks and necessary paperwork completed before we can reveal this pertinent information. I told her that I just wish there was a better way of handling this. My fear is that the foster parents will back out of the deal and this will cause more trauma to the foster child. I talked about my feelings with my supervisor and she helped me to understand that we run that risk with each potential foster parent. This did not help my feelings at all, because they are still conflicting, because I want the adoption process to go smoothly and the foster child’s life to end in happily ever after. I am hoping that as I mature as a social worker I will be able to better understand the dynamics of the foster care system and