Fosterage

My First Mother’s Day I stood with pride as the youth passed out the mother’s day plant at the end of Sacrament meeting. It was my right to accept this small token and I was delighted it was finally my turn. All I had ever wanted was to have children. I felt that my husband Travis and I, had done everything we should. We had been married in the temple, active in church and serving in our callings, paid our tithing, and even served our time in the nursery on several occasions. It had been almost…

[3] A group that would be considered oppressed in the adoption process would be the children being adopted. There are five conditions that determine if a group is oppressed or not and having just one of those conditions could determine a group as an oppressed group. The five conditions are exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism, and violence (Bruskas, 2008). Children in the foster care system meet all five of these conditions determining them an oppressed group. One…

I graduated at the top of my class from high school in 2000. I then met my husband and married in 2002. We got him through medical school and residency and now he is working steadily and securely. While in his residency, I received my associate’s degree from Laramie County Community College and intended to finish my bachelor’s when we relocated to Washington. But by that time I had two young children and a new house. We couldn’t afford for me to finish then. I did well in my community college…

Problems in the Foster Care System “Foster care is a state-managed child welfare system that provides out-of-home placement for children who have been removed from their original home due to neglect, abuse, delinquency or abandonment.” What this quote from DAMAR Foster Care Services fails to mention is that though in 2014, 415,129 children were removed from dangerous situations and placed into a more acceptable situation, these children and young adults are still not safe. Foster care is…

Children in foster care wait too long in custody before being placed into a home with a family setting. According to Section: D Foster Care Policy, the policy and program goals were a positive outcome for the client (p.18). The adoption act of 2008, states that the increasing opportunities for adoption and relative guardianship are for the wellbeing of the child. The act is thought to increase the adoption that is taken place but instead it could decrease (p.18). Looking at the strength based…

The water droplets roll down my forehead as I lay in my bed looking at the water damaged ceiling. At twelve years old I slept in a one window attic in a tattered bed, under a leaky roof. I do not have any family nor friends to speak of and no real optimism for the future. School was my only outlet yet it was also beginning to be the root of my humiliation and embarrassment. Leaving school today with tears in my eyes and my teacher’s voice ringing in my head all I could ponder was this can’t be…

In Hope’s Boy by Andrew Bridge, he reflects on his decade spent in the foster care system and puts a spotlight on the horrors of a system that attempts to save children, but condemns them to physical and emotional abuse. As a seven year old, all Andy wanted was his mother, Hope. They shared such a deep love for one another that nothing in this world could tear that love apart. Being trapped in poverty and continuously being faced with tragedies, all they had were each other, until they didn’t…

Case Study Christopher is a seven-year-old child from Mobile, Alabama. He was born full- term and natural birth to his mother, Karen and her boyfriend, Stephen. When Christopher was two years old, Karen was diagnosed with aggressive cancer and passed away shortly after Christopher’s fourth birthday. Since Karen was the primary caregiver, and a stay at home mom, Christopher was extremely close to her. Stephen noticed the great remorse and took Christopher to multiple psychiatrists. Christopher…

1. What changes have you experienced in how you think about the people you served? For my service project, I was able to work one-on-one with children who are or have been abused or neglected in the county of Tulare. I was also able to work with the people who are involved in making CASA possible such as my supervisor and even the judge and others at the Juvenile Justice Center in Visalia. After completing my service project with CASA, the changes that I experienced in how I think about the…

Annotated Bibliography of The Great Gilly Hopkins The annotations that follow are based off of other books which are realist fiction for middle readers. The main character Gilly is a difficult and full of troubles foster child who just wants to live with her biological mother, Courtney. Throughout the story readers watch her grow from a tough, stubborn, hard protective shell she created and slowly transform into a helpful, caring, and loving girl who respects her foster family in her own unique…