The Importance of Relationships in Early Childhood Mental Health
The Golden Thread I first learned about early childhood mental health at the beginning of my career, when I was supervised by someone passionate about attachment and supporting young, vulnerable families. As a home visiting social worker, I learned how critical the early years are for children while also coming to understand that I needed […]
Using Psychoeducation to Help Providers and Caregivers Understand Early Childhood Trauma
Using Psychoeducation to Shift from What’s Wrong to What’s Happened Caring for young children who have experienced trauma and toxic stress is a formidable task, leaving many caregivers confused, burnt out and helpless. Many of us in the helping professions interface with these young children and their families every day, putting us in a unique […]
Certifying a Foster Parent is One of the Most Consequential Decisions in Child Welfare
If you ask any public or private child welfare agency in the United States, I submit that every single one of them would say they need more foster parents and they need them now. This causes recruiters to source the community for prospects, heartfelt PSAs to be playing on media outlets, and foster parent certification […]
How a Plastic Garbage Bag Became the Unofficial Luggage of Foster Care
It was a scene that I would see play out time and time again during my 13-year career, serving some of our nation’s most vulnerable youth. A child comes into care needing foster care, and the youth and their caseworker shows up with a couple of black garbage bags full of everything the child owned […]
The Impact of One Trusted Adult in a Former Foster Youth’s Life
For most of us reading this article, we didn’t have life completely figured out when we turned 18 years of age. I turned 18 in the middle of boot camp with the United States Marine Corps. I declined to notify my Drill Instructors that it was my birthday, lest they plan a special “celebration” for […]
A COVID-19 Call to Action for Foster Parents
Nearly 20 years ago, I embarked on what would be a fascinating career serving some of our nation’s most troubled youth. A remarkable career considering that when I started, I didn’t know anything about kids. I was a Political Science major in need of a job post-college when one of the nation’s most respected youth […]
Adoption and the Never Ending Pursuit of a Forever Family
Without exception, perhaps the most tangible reward for a job well done in the child welfare service is seeing a young child find their forever family via adoption. Yes, it’s great to see children go back home to their birth families as well. To say that I enjoyed witnessing the adoption of a child is […]
All Foster Homes Are Not Created Equal in the Child Welfare System
To be clear, the title of this article is not one of equity or opportunity regarding foster homes in the child welfare system. Rather, it is one of competency and confidence. It may come as a surprise to many, but there is not a significant deficiency in the number of foster homes looking for a […]
Fire for Effect: Using Evidence in Foster Care
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Despite my 13-plus year career in the child welfare sector, I was never a clinician. I managed clinicians in an administrative capacity for a large number of those years and as such, a good deal of the information stuck with me. Yet, I could always count on my beloved clinicians to remind me that a […]
My Last Day in Child Welfare Services was One to Remember
Were my career in child welfare services a movie, my final day played out like a rolling credits scene straight out of Hollywood. Not only was this day my last day on the job after over 13-years, but it was my last day in the city I had called home for nearly my entire life. […]
