When the children come into care, it will be decided what level of care they need. Most come into care as basic. This does not mean that they will stay basic. You will need to think about what kind of care would be best for you and your family. This will also depend on what agency you will want to use. A lot of agencies just work with one type of care. I will start with the most difficult first, since I have the most experience with this type of care.
Therapeutic Care – Children that are in therapeutic foster care tend to have more emotional problems and they can be very severe. These are very difficult children that need a lot of understanding and patience. Most children will need a lot of therapy to deal with the trauma they have endured in their short lives. You will be working closely with caseworkers, therapists, doctors, psychiatrists, etc.. You will also have a lot more paperwork on these children. You can not be opposed to using medication to benefit these children. I believe that every child deserves to live with the least amount of medication to help benefit their quality of life. You must also understand that some children require medication and sometimes very heavy medications. A child comes into care after unbearable abuse, and possibly on-going sexual abuse daily at the age of five, living on bread and water their entire life, being locked in a closet for the majority of their life, and being burnt with cigarettes, boiling water, or irons. Think for a moment. This isn’t something that happened to them one day, or a few times in their lives. The abuse, the pain, and how to survive, this is their life. When you take away their abuse, pain and place them in a safe environment, it is more than they can handle. It is very possible that the child will suffer from a psychotic break down, and most likely, they will need to be placed on some very powerful medications. This does not mean the child will remain on the medications. The medications allows for time to adjust, to start therapy, and allows to child some time to emotionally heal enough to deal with their abuse.
I am not saying these children are impossible, or are not worth the work. This may not be the type of foster care you want to choose, if you are a first time parent, or do not have experience dealing with children.
This has been a rewarding experience for my children and my family. I have learned so much about myself, my children through these foster children. You can make a great impact in their lives. Understand this is a difficult type of foster care and you will have to make difficult decisions. Two children have been removed from my home to protect the safety of my children. Take the time to think about the types of foster care and how it will fit in with your family.
Check back on the continued article about Basic care, Medically fragile care and Adult care.
Great changes may not happen right away, but with effort even the difficult may become easy.
Bill Blackman
