Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Oh the Drama...

Drama Queen 10x15 wall sayings vinyl wall quotes vinyl lettering vinyl wall art
I get to wear a crown... and I am not a princess, but a queen... the Queen of Drama!  Yes being a Foster Parent brings all sorts of unexpected drama into your life, but so does being a parent.  We are lucky enough to parent 3 beautiful children, who's hearts are so big they not only have room to love their biological family but also our family and our extended family and our friends.  "C"indy is our drama queen, from a hang nail to minor fall.. she requires a band aid.  "B"ella is a handful (but what 3 year old isn't)... on a recent outing we discovered that this little one had inserted a small round band aid into her nostril -- so my suggestion to you mom's and dad's out there on the interwebs, keep a first aid kit with tweezers in it on you at all times (I did not have one in our diaper bag, but I will be getting one.. we were at a place that had tweezers so I managed to pull the bugger out).  And then there is "A"arron.. he is 14 months now and has lived with us for almost a year!! We went from an infant that was supposed to be with us for a week to a placement that has lasted longer than we ever thought and welcomed his siblings with us (by the way, he is walking now and saying a few words).

 
Enough about the kiddos, life is good with them, we love providing them a home for as long as we need to.. the dama is with the system (not them, not their case)... just the system.  In my state there have been lawsuits, threats to take over the child welfare system because of inadequacies.  There are federal laws that aren't being upheld, there are children that are stuck in the system because caseworker's are overloaded and overburdened.  The system is a mess, supposedly reform is in the works (we will be getting new computer systems to help with the workloads, because technology is the answer --- please note the sarcasm in that, don't get me wrong technology will help, but it is far from an answer).



My opinion... my humble opinion... we need more people to advocate for these kids, we need more people to welcome these children/families into their homes and hearts.  And you don't need to be a foster parent to do this, you can provide respite care for foster parents (yes you need to do the same training as foster parents to, but it is basically babysitting for foster parents) or you can become a CASA (a court appointed special advocate for children).  So what's stopping you?

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for posting those links. I am new to the area that I live in and have been looking for ways to volunteer and make a difference. Turns out, we have a CASA program 8 miles from where I live. I have already inquired and they are sending me an application packet. Thank you!

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