Another major issue with drug abuse and other addictions being such a huge part of foster care is the time factor. Beating a drug addiction is not as easy or something that happens overnight. To overcome an addiction takes a huge commitment, hard work, and possibly a large amount of time for the biological parents.

Below is a quote from an article here:

Doctors used to say withdrawal took 12 to 18 months, but now, note that withdrawal might take 10 years or... more

Drugs Impacting the Foster Care System States continue to struggle with the number of foster children in care because of drugs. In Nebraska nearly 2 out of 5 foster children in foster care are there because their biological parents are addicted to methamphetamine. In Georgetown, Texas CPS says that more than half... more

The numbers of children in foster care are continuing to rise in this country because of the effects that “meth” and other drugs have seemed to have on the lives that they touch. Instead of numbers of foster placements involved with drugs getting better they seem to be skyrocketing. With drugs continuing to be a major problem of our society, the picture of foster care continues to become bleaker every day.

I have written about the effect of drugs to the foster care system and the... more

This is for the children that do not have a voice. The ones that drugs were their beginning.

When you abused your body and mind, you also did it to me. While you created me, you were also destroying parts of me. As you carried me in your womb, you left me scarred and battered by your negative choices.

As you went on that high of “meth” time and time again, my tiny developing body was forced to go along. Each time you got “high” part of me was destroyed and not allowed to develop. The “meth” affected whatever was developing at the time of your “highs”; my brain, my organs, my nervous system.

As you received pleasure from your “high”, my little body was shaking,... more

For children that have been abused and in foster care, bath time can become a nightmare for a foster parent. The bathroom has been the place of the abuse that some foster children have lived through.

In the eyes of a foster child that has suffered abuse in the bathroom, it is no longer a safe place for a child to take a bath or go to the restroom. This can be a challenge that a foster parent face rather quickly. I have seen children that were afraid of what might happen in the bathroom to the children that would go berserk in there. We probably cannot even begin to imagine what some of these children suffered in there own bathrooms.

I have tried different things to help... more

Dealing with a foster child that has abused a member of your family can be difficult and on top of that, trying to find the help for your foster child. Sometimes the help that the mentally ill needs ends up being long term treatment. This can be hard reality for everyone to come to terms with and understand.

The foster parents called their agency to explain what had happened, they were concerned that they would be unable find respite care of the boy on Christmas Eve. The foster mother explained that they would have Christmas with their foster son and would need placement the day after. Another safety plan was put in place to protect their daughter, their foster son was not allowed... more

A foster family finding their way through their grief, broken hearts and trying to understand how a child they loved could want to harm them. Facing the hard truths and facts of abuse as a family and trying to make sense of what has happened. Learning how mental illness affects the entire family.

The thoughts are racing through their heads. Their greatest fear was what they allowed to happen to their daughter and would she have long term damage. Their daughter still wanted to go out to eat for the traditional Christmas Eve dinner, so they decided to go along with their plans. During the ride in the car, the mother was struggling to understand how a child that she loved would want... more

A foster family enduring the pain of their foster son who abused their daughter, and their journey through that pain.

It was a little over a week before Christmas and their daughter had been dealing with a sore throat from a cold for a couple of weeks. The daughter started to get sick and the next day the mother was also in bed sick with a bad sore throat. The doctor said it was probably just a virus.

A few days later, it was Christmas Eve, and still not feeling well, they wanted to go out to eat just as they do every year. Their daughter finished getting ready and was on the way to the bathroom to brush her teeth, when their foster son said he had to go to the restroom... more

The family struggled through this a couple more months, still with no real answer to what is going on with their foster son. Things were starting to spiral out of control. Their foster son spent most of the night awake talking, arguing, and fighting with the voices he heard. His talk with the voices in his head were becoming more violent, talking about that he did not want to hurt anybody, and even talking about killing. At this point the mother was not sleeping because she was worried about what might happen. The parents were screaming for someone to help them and their foster son before things went really bad. They finally found a psychiatrist that said he was schizophrenic and was... more

A foster family with an eight year old biological daughter decided to foster a thirteen year old boy. They knew the boy for a year prior to being placed in their home. He had been in foster care for the year and was up for adoption. It was the hope of the family to adopt this boy in time and were working towards that.

The placement did have issues since it was a therapeutic placement and he was a teenager. The family had their ups and downs, along the way of trying to make a home for this boy and blend him into their family. This young teen had some many unknown problems that he was facing and the entire family struggled with. Mental illness came into the picture, but none was... more