Jack & Guest Host Nichole join Marissa (former foster youth and masters social worker) to walk the path of foster care from the viewpoint of a foster child.

Experience of a Child in Foster Care

1. Child experiences a trauma of abuse or neglect
2. Police show up and child is questioned if possible
3. Life goes on or Life goes on with safety measures put in place (if parent is compliant) or child is removed
4. Police & CPI shows up and Child is removed from home and family
5. If someone is able to take child and approved, caregiver can pick up child and bring them home.
6. Child is removed, sometimes they can throw some personal items together and sometimes they can’t access that especially if removal is not at home.
7. If going to relative or non-relative caregiver, Child will arrive at a home with presumably familiar faces
8. Child may go with CPI to placement office or directly to placement – Sometimes there is a detour to a medical apt since child needs to be seen within 48 hours. Child arrives at home full of strangers, anxious and unsure about what will happen next or if they will be safe.
9. Child will be registered for school if applicable and the caregiver will attempt to provide a normal family life for the child until they are able to have permanency. Child may attend court hearings if appropriate. Child will receive medical and mental health interventions and will be setup with any needed evaluations or service. Child will start attending visits with parents and siblings depending on judge’s order and parent’s involvement.
10. Child may move to multiple foster homes while in care.
11. Child receives permanency
    1. Child is reunified with family or pged or tpr from parents
    2. Child may be adopted if someone puts in an application and is approved, or child may age out if no-one applies or child does not wish to be adopted.
    3. Child may also select APPLA which is a program for extended fostercare

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Experience of a Case

1. Report made
2. Cpi investigation
   1. Unfounded
   2. Safety plan / safe at home programs
   3. Removal
3. CPI contacts family and friends to attempt placement
4. If relative or non relative is not possible, CPI puts in a referral for FosterCare which is called “intake”
5. Placement & Licensing routes child to fosterhome or group home
6. Visits services and caseplan
7. Moves if diff level of care needed or foster family disrupts placement
8. Permanancy
   1. Reunification/pg/tpr
   2. Tpr = adoption (may require an aarc if multiple applications or if foster home has ever had an abuse report with any indicators) or aging out or APPLA (extended fostercare)