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why
foster
? ?e reason to foster varies from person to person, but the underlying common ground is to give a child
a home. children in need of foster homes range in age from infants to teenagers. ?ey may have an emotional or physical illness, have been neglected, abused, abandoned, have experienced a breakdown in the family, or the death of a parent. it is not the child?s fault that they are removed from the home. for the cowleys, their motive was ?to be that safe place for a kid to land while mom and dad took the time to get their lives on track. we never really intended to adopt.? many plan to be that temporary refuge, but then decide to adopt later. jessica had a similar mindset, ?we had realized that we had this big house and there was so much more to offer. we were open to adoption, but also just to foster.? some parents
decide to foster because of their faith like the carters. amber explains, ?we wanted to help kids feel loved. we figured whoever god put in our family could be here for a little while or forever.? foster care to adoption ends the cycle of abuse or neglect for these kids. children who turn 18 and age out of foster care are more likely to be homeless at an early age, be unemployed, experience mental health problems, and live in poverty. but if they are either reunited with their family or adopted, their chances greatly improve. ?e reality since reunification is always a priority, foster parents have a responsibility to work with the courts and dcfs towards that goal. michelle faust, dcfs child welfare manager, emphasizes, ?we ask the foster parent to provide excellent parenting and be a team member in the reunification process. ?e case manager will try for reunification for at least 12 months.? of course, in the interim, bonds are formed between the foster parents and the children. christal lawrence, jessica black, and angel lawrence can face any thing together. ?e ultimate goal is reunification and for the parents to get what they need, but if that isn?t possible, then a permanent, safe home becomes the goal. after parental rights are terminated or surrendered, dcfs will try to find biological family first for kinship placement. a foster parent knows that at any moment that child can be taken from them. ?is is the hard part. amber shares, ?you literally never know. you love the child like they?re your own, so the thought of them leaving is heart wrenching, but if it?s what?s best for the child, then it?s worth it. ?e alternative is that these babies would be somewhere in an unsafe environment and unloved. i guess it?s better for an adult to be heartbroken than a baby to be unloved.? both mandy and amber brought their foster sons home from the hospital as newborns. ?eir cases are somewhat similar in that the biological parents were not really involved and multiple caseworkers were. juggling the needs of a baby while fulfilling the responsibilities of foster parents is a may 2017 | brparents.com 49
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