Vol. 1, No. 1 • Spring 1997
Foster Parents Ask the Division of Social Services
Response: Foster parents and social workers have many critical tasks related to the growth and development of the foster child. Most important are the attachment tasks as outlined in the MAPP: Group Preparation and Selection meetings. They include:
Responses by Sara West
Question: Sometimes we grow as close to our foster children as to our biological children. What is the official role of the foster parents, along with DSS, in determining our foster child's future?
- Supporting the attachment foster children have to their birth families
- Helping children recover from separation from their families and attach to a foster family
- Helping children in foster care rebuild and maintain relationships with their birth families
- Helping children who cannot be reunited with their birth families build and maintain relationships with their adoptive family
- Helping older adolescents establish strong attachments to persons in the community who can help them move into self-sufficient, independent living.
Since each attachment builds on and is connected to other attachments, it is crucial that foster parents, adoptive parents, social workers, and birth families work in partnership to meet the needs of the foster child. This is best accomplished when there is respect and open, honest communication among all partners.
Planning for the future of our foster children is most effective when done in alliance with birth families. Regular contact with the child's social worker is also essential for foster parents to be able to share important insights regarding the day-to-day progress and adjustment of the child.
One helpful avenue in planning for children is review team meetings. Departments of social services are required to hold Agency Foster Care Review Team Meetings (in some agencies, these are referred to as Permanency Planning Meetings). People who know about the child's situation or who have responsibility for some part of the child's life attend these meetings. These people can include the child's parents, the guardian ad litem, and, when appropriate, the child. As a foster parent you have responsibility for a part of your foster child's life and a right to attend these meetings. You have a right to say what you think is the best plan for the child. The first agency review team meeting occurs within 60 days after the child is placed with you. The second review occurs within 90 days of the first meeting. Subsequent agency team reviews occur every six months.
When a child enters foster care, it is because his family is troubled. Most often, his birth parents have abused or neglected him. These families need help and support to change their behavior toward the child so that he can be returned to them. All departments of social services are required to make reasonable efforts to return the child to his birth family. The term DSS uses for this is "reunification".
Departments of social services must show the court that they are doing everything that can reasonable be done to help the parents change their behaviors. That is why court reviews are held on a regular basis. You, as a child's foster parent, have a right to attend these court reviews. However, it is the judge's decision whether you may testify as a part of the court hearing.
You should receive regular notices and invitations to agency review team meetings and court hearings for your foster child. Contact your licensing social worker, the child's social worker, or the child's social worker's supervisor if you are not receiving these notices.
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Question: We know our foster child receives free lunches at school. Are there other freebies or discounts available to our foster child, either from government agencies or private businesses, that we should know about?
Response: Grants and scholarships are available through both government and private sources, primarily for post-secondary education. For example, many foster children are eligible for Pell Grants. To apply, the student should contact the guidance office at his school or the financial assistance office at the school where he has applied or been accepted.
In addition, scholarships are available through the North Carolina Division of Social Services' Independent Living Program and the National Association of Former Foster Children, Inc. Some counties also have local resources that offer scholarships.
The independent living coordinator in your local DSS should be able to provide you with information regarding these resources.
Other "freebies or discounts" vary with the resources in each county. Your social worker or local foster parent association should be able to talk with you about the resources available. Local foster parent associations will often assume the task of soliciting discounts from local businesses. If your county does not have a foster parent association, you may wish to start one.
Sara West is a Program Consultant for the North Carolina Division of Social Services.
Do You Have Questions for DSS?
If you have questions about your training, your role in your foster child's life, or any other aspect of foster parenting, please send them to Fostering Perspectives, c/o John McMahon, Editor, Jordan Institute for Families, UNC School of Social Work, Campus Box #3550, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3550 or e-mail: [email protected].
Copyright � 2000 Jordan Institute for Families
