Foster Families
Temporary homes for a Forever Impact
Family Challenge
Challenge for Foster Family
Court is a slow system, and many times you take off work for court dates that are just set to a later date when you get there. Be prepared for this and have an open mind and stay in close contact with your case workers.
Time. Foster children have a ton of appointments that they need to go to. Some agencies have workers to drive the kids to and from visits and therapists. It can be hard to balance new kids in the home and your other family, but there is lots of support out there.
Challenge for Incoming Kids
The poor children have bad history that has happened to them and they are not used to people trying to help them.
These kids are not used to your rules and may struggle with following them and with acting out.
They have feelings too and are used to being put down, so trust needs to be earned.
Lots of foster kids struggle with even seeing a future, let alone, knowing who they are right now.
They are not used to support and Foster care can bring about their success.
Challenging for Bio Kids
When new foster kids come into the home, they come with all sorts of challenges and challenge the eye of authority. Results in the home come in the form of less time with parents for the other children, more negative values shown, etc. Bio kids have feelings too, and it's hard for them too.
Challenging for Bio Families
Sometimes foster care leads to adoption, which should a joyous day in the event of an adopter. It is hard to let family go, and it is nice if you can stay close the the Bio family if it is not a safety concern. Everyone has feelings and the kids are important to them, even if you couldn't see it through their actions. People grow. People can change. It would be challenging to have your child(ren) living with someone else and not being able to raise them, but it is for the betterment of the kid.
Prevalence of Challenge
Nationwide: 415,129 children were in foster care on September 30th, 2014
Nebraska: During fiscal year 2013-14, a total of 5,466 Nebraska children were in foster care for some portion of their life.Long-Term Affect
Issue for Teenagers
Many teens are not wanted because children are more desirable, but they need homes.
A teenager in the home with foster teens coming in can create drama, or they can choose to make a positive impact in the other teen's life.
What can you do to address this issue?
What can you do to improve the situation and prevent it from occurring in the future?
Agencies that can help
Boy's Town
KVC
Nebraska's Children's Home Society
Child Saving Institute
Nebraska Families Collaborative
Credible Source
http://www.adoptuskids.org/for-families/how-to-foster/being-a-foster-parent
Other Sources used:
http://adoption.about.com/od/fostering/a/fostcarechallen.htm
http://www.fcro.nebraska.gov/pdf/FCRO-Reports/2014-FCRO-Annual-Report-December.pdf