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I was reading "Fixing Foster Care". Maybe having a show about people who were in foster homes and their experience with Oregon's Foster Care System, and how that would affect them becoming foster parents themselves.

posted 4 years, 4 months ago
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I just found this website right now and decided to post on here. I have a lot of experience with Oregon's Foster Care System. I was a ward of the court until I aged out in 2001. I know all about the caseworkers, the court hearings, CASA workers and all of that. I was in and out of assorted homes for over 10 years. I'm now 26 and I recently was a Foster Parent for my younger brother. I know it sounds weird. There were eight of us total and my four younger siblings were actually adopted out, I haven't seen them since. My brother that lived with me moved to Idaho and went to Job Corps, my sister lives down the street from me, and my other brother lives in Salem. We were all separated by a system that claims to keep us together. I know nothing about my younger siblings. It's been about nine years since I've seen them. So about fixing foster care. I noticed that the caseworkers, and assorted people who were there to help, always were overwhelmed by the number of clients that they had. I think one of the huge problems was not enough caseworkers and people who wanted to be involved. Some of the foster homes were good, but in the very first home all of us were placed in, my younger brother got a fractured skull from one of the foster parents punching him in the eye. Then, you have the people who become foster parents just to make a quick buck. They don't care about the kids who are there. That is a situation that still is happening now. Most people don't want to take on a responsibility like that. Some of the kids that are placed have behavioral problems, they are prone to getting into fights, have severe trust issues. I know I've been there. I what it feels like to be moved around like nobody wants you. It's a bad feeling. It would be hard for me to be a foster parent, not because of the child's problems, but because of becoming attached to them and later having them moved somewhere else. I have a daughter that's one and a half, and I think it would be hard on her too. She would get used to having another child around, and then not understanding why they had to leave. I'm not saying I would never become a foster parent, but I would think very hard before I chose to do it. These kids don't trust very easily, and they expect you to be able to keep promises you make to them, and it would be hard to do exactly that because the system is so unstable.

posted 4 years, 4 months ago
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