Three weeks ago our five year old foster daughter returned home to her birthmother. We have spent the 16 months of parenting her developing a strong relationship with her birth family. Not just developing a relationship with her parents, buts aunts, uncles, significant others, and grandparents as well. We worked on building this relationship for several reasons. First, we had parented this child for nearly a year when she was one and two years old. Therefore, we love her, we have known her for most of her life, and she feels like a member of our family. In addition, we adopted... more

Do you need to know the long term permanency plan for a foster child in order to accept placement into your home? If you do, it will limit the number of placements you receive as a foster parent. The long term plan is not typically known for at least a month when children first come into foster care. Even then, the plan can change. The caseworker never knows when a suitable relative might come forward asking for the children. While the caseworker might have doubts about certain parents complying with the case plan to have their children returned, sometimes parents surprise... more

When a child is removed from his or her parental home a judge or magistrate must sign an order allowing it. A child protective service worker usually requests this order, although a police officer may also request it. Once the removal has been approved, the child can be placed temporarily in foster care, a group home, or juvenile facility. That order is temporary, however, and after it is signed, an adjudication hearing must take place within 72 hours. Typically, a foster care worker has not yet been assigned to the case. Therefore, the child protective service worker involved in the... more

Kinship Placements & Family Involvement in Foster Care

Make contact with the child’s caseworker by telephone letting him or her know that you are willing to provide kinship placement. Follow your phone call up with a certified letter to the caseworker stating your desires to be involved, along with making references to the phone call you had with her, including her name, date, time, etc. Making a paper trail in your contact with the caseworker and your desires to be involved is... more

Kinship placements are mostly left in the hands of the biological parents. Whether kinship placement is used or who is suggested out of the family is in the hands of the biological parents for the most part. For the family member wanting to provide a family foster placement there may be more obstacles for you to overcome if the biological parents do not support you as a kinship placement.

I have been asked how kinship foster placements work, and other information concerning them. The problem... more

Family Reunification Over What is Best For The Children?

A two year old toddler of a 17 year old mother was placed into foster care as an infant. The mother left the child to be cared for by a paternal grandmother. The grandmother would go out drinking leaving the baby in the care of other relatives. The baby went into another family placement briefly which also did not work out. After all of that, the infant was placed into foster care.

He was placed into... more

Family reunification has become a main focus for most if not all child welfare agencies. A lot of agencies have gotten tunnel-vision with this and it seems to be the only goal that a lot of people involved child welfare are even looking at for the children. Yes, children most definitely need family reunification when it is the best thing for them.

Let’s be honest and open about all of this. The overall picture of the family situation and the abuse that the children have suffered needs to be part of this decision.If the child welfare agency has dealt with... more

I have discussed some problems with foster children concerning kinship placement, or family reunification. Now I want to discuss how to protect foster children and how to improve the success of kinship placement or family reunification.

We have to be honest about some parent’s lack of parenting ability. Putting your bleeding toddler back to bed after taking a serious fall because you are sleepy is unthinkable. Did the toddler’s interest lay along with the interest of the mom? She did place... more

First, please understand that I support some family reunification even with foster children but am also realistic. Meaning that I realize there are a number of foster children that should not be part of it or for it to even be part of their plan. Again it should only be about what is best for the foster children and not the parents.

Yes, family reunification or kinship placements should be an option, but not the only option. In some cases it may not be in the best interest of the child. When family reunification is the right choice for the children then it can be a great, wonderful tool for all involved.

I have been told by others that problems with failed family reunification,... more

We have to stop looking at family reunification and kinship placements with starry eyes, and not evaluating placements before placing a foster child there. We are placing children right back in harm's way by preserving families at all cost. The cost is high. Foster children continue to be abused, and some will die when placed in kinship placements or family reunification.

These children are living in difficult, sometimes deadly situations on a daily basis. Thinking that all families can be one big happy family is a pie in the sky idea, and it is not pratical. We have to be realistic that family reunification will not be the answer for all families, or even a large part... more