True foster care

Hillsides benefits from an extraordinarily generous community that supports our many initiatives to better serve those for whom we care. Recently, I was touring a group of representatives from a foundation that we had solicited. In the course of the visit, we ran into one of our residents. As I greeted him, he asks who these visitors were and took the initiative to introduce himself to them. I am always careful to conduct these tours in a way that protects the privacy and anonymity of our residents; however, this kind of unsolicited encounter is always great. Inevitably it is an opportunity to explain to guests the kinds of children we serve, their needs, and the services we offer. More importantly, the freedom of a child to approach any guest and introduce themselves is an indicator of how comfortable they are and how they perceive the organization as their own.

Contrast this to the recent article in the Los Angeles Times. The exposé of a small group home facility portrayed foster care services negatively.  Clearly, some organizations fail to meet the standards required to become a quality provider of foster care services. The existence of such an organization is inexcusable. Given the scrutiny from numerous regulatory agencies we experience routinely, I am amazed that such an organization is able to operate. Certainly this is unacceptable and warrants further investigation.

However, the problem with the article is that it does not distinguish the various kinds of providers in the foster care system. As a result, the foster care provider community is portrayed as “the child mill” rather than as the true resource it is for families and communities that are desperate to address the needs of vulnerable children and youth, who have experience trauma. This is an injustice to many agencies within the foster care system, both large and small, that provide good, quality care and more often than not at considerable financial risk.

These kinds of exposés are one way that the Los Angeles Times and other media outlets serve as a watchdog to safeguard the public interest. A provocative headline on the front page of the newspaper may increase sales. My hope is one day the focus would be not on the abuse of the public trust, but on countless organizations and individuals who make the sacrifices to serve foster care youth with no gain other than the satisfaction that they have made a difference in the life of a fragile and vulnerable child. That kind of selflessness is worthy of the front page of any newspaper.

 
May is Foster Care Awareness Month. In spite of the negative image reinforced by sensational articles in the media, fostering children, who are for whatever reason separated from their families, is an extraordinary public service that deserves our respect, admiration, and gratitude.

Raising the bar

At last week’s annual CWLA Conference in Washington, D.C., I was honored along with other colleagues for helping to “raise the bar” for vulnerable children and families in this country. I was surprised by the recognition, but gratified that my efforts over the years, and in particular my support for the work of CWLA, was acknowledged. The recognition I received was an indicator of not only my efforts, but also of the collective effort shown by Hillsides staff to raise a voice for the children and families we serve.

As I thought about the recognition, I was reminded of a time when I sat in the plaza on campus having lunch one day this past summer watching a young boy arrive to be admitted to the residential treatment program with only a plastic bag of belongings. He was subdued when I met him and offered little affect when greeted. His withdrawal was profound and made me inquire about his situation. Left without his biological parents, he was placed in an adopted home. For numerous reasons the adoption failed and now he was placed at Hillsides with the hope of finding a permanent home for him soon. However, complicating the situation was that he was also being treated for leukemia. Although we often have residents who have very specific health conditions that require special attention, this young boy was the first resident who was admitted and actively being treated for such a serious condition.

A few days after his admission, I began to ask staff how he was doing and questioning how we were adjusting our typical program to address his special medical needs. Although staff had indicated an initial reluctance to admit a child in such a compromised health condition, I believe we were also confident that we would rise to the occasion and do whatever was necessary to individualize a program of care for him. Indeed it has been that kind of approach that has allowed us to be so successful with this boy. Although he will continue with us for a while, his health has stabilized and we are hopeful we will be able to find a loving family to receive him into their home.

These kinds of extraordinary efforts are really what “raising the bar” is all about. Efforts to advocate, assure quality care, and develop integrated, effective systems of care are all well and good; however, their success is measured by the impact created. Hillsides is known not just for the array of quality programs, but more importantly, for our willingness to make the extra effort and individualize programs to best serve the needs of the children we serve. This approach is indeed the best example of what it means to “raise the bar” for children and their families.

The bar is not just raised by any one person, but by a community that truly values all its children and places its many resources available to make a lasting impact.

Reaction to violence

I had been in meetings all day at the CWLA conference in Washington, D.C. when I got word from a colleague from Massachusetts that there had been a bombing at the Boston Marathon. I immediately became concerned because I knew my niece and her husband, who had run the marathon, were there. I called my niece and was reassured that they were safe though disturbed by the incident and grateful that they had managed to escape the melee. Such random violence is an increasingly common occurrence in our society. The victims of such heinous acts are innocent bystanders going about their lives, hoping the odds are in their favor that they will not be stricken.

This morning on the final day of the annual CWLA conference I sat in on a listening session addressing the threats to children in such a violent culture and how we, as caregivers, can help to address their needs. The sad fact is that 60% of all children in the United States are exposed to violence. Violence seems to have become pervasive. In the light of the Newtown tragedy and the Boston Marathon bombing, many are suggesting that the solution to such unspeakable acts is greater vigilance and capacity to defend ourselves.

The instinct to protect and defend is not the solution, but rather an understandable initial reaction to a threat. The solution is more complicated and requires a great deal of thought and effort for us to reverse what is a pervasive violent culture.

The impact of such violence is made painfully clear because of notorious acts. However, every day in this country 29 children or youth under the age of 18 die un-necessarily. They die because they are victims of violence, abuse or neglect, some taking their own lives because they consider death preferable to the tragic lives they endure.

Solutions should go beyond arming ourselves, fortifying our homes, and resorting to suspicion. Our ultimate response is to resist a bunker mentality in favor of a resolve to make a difference. While many instinctively ran from the chaos at the Boston Marathon blast, some were drawn into the mayhem and courageously responded to the injured risking their own well-being to tend to those who had been affected by the bombing. Their instinctive response to care is a great example of how violence is ultimately thwarted. We should honor, value, and share stories of courageous people in the midst of tragedy rather than overwhelmingly highlight the tragedies and perpetrators.

Our prayers are with the individuals and families affected by this recent violence.