I have so many amazing things I would love to share with all of you, but I don't really want to have to explain acronyms in every single post. Nor do I want to get side-tracked explaining each facet of the system. My solution? This post and a couple more that explain things that non-fostering people might not know.
Today I will introduce you to an entire cast of "characters" (some are actually organizations) who play a vital part in every step of the fostering and adoption process. I will do my best to explain each cast member's role (as I understand it) and use adoption friendly language, as well.
Foster child- a child (or children) who has been removed from their living environment for their own safety. This child can be moved to live in a kinship placement, foster home, group home, or shelter. Where the foster child is moved to is often called a "placement". Sometimes the children themselves are called "placements". The actual legal process of moving a child is called "placing" a child in a new home.
Biological Parents/ Birth Parents/ Bio-parents- the man and woman who conceived and bore a child (or children). When referred to in fostering lingo, they have made bad choices and had their children removed from the home. They still retain their legal rights as a parent--but in a very limited and supervised way. When it is safe for the child(ren), they get supervised visits. BPs are consulted concerning elective procedures, hair cuts, and many other decisions. Ultimately (before parental rights are terminated or relinquished) they are still the parent. After adoption, BPs are still referred to as such, though they no longer have any parental rights.
DFPS and CPS- In our state, Division of Family and Protective Services works to keep the children safe. They have many departments. We work very closely with one particular department called CPS (Child Protective Services). CPS can be further divided:
Investigators- these are the people who go out to the home to evaluate the situation and investigate allegations of neglect and/or abuse. They take their findings to a judge who decides what to do from there. If a judge deems it necessary, investigators, often accompanied by law enforcement officers, will remove the child(ren) from the home.
Caseworkers- after a family enters "the system", a caseworker will work with the BPs to meet their action plan, supervise visits, and consult on elective decisions concerning the children. Caseworkers also check to make sure the foster child is safe, being cared for, and getting what s/he needs.
There are too many facets of CPS to explain them all here. I've only listed the two that we deal with regularly.
CASA- CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates. Many CASA personnel are volunteers. Their role is to look at all the possibilities for the child and recommend to the court which is in the best interest for the child.CASA will come into the foster home to check on the children and sometimes attend important medical appointments. CASA will also go into the BPs' home to talk with them about the situation and check on how the BPs are progressing toward making the home safe for the children to return.
GAL- A Guardian Ad Litem is often appointed to foster children. The GAL's responsibility is much like CASA's. The GAL is appointed by the court. In our county, most GALs are CASA representatives.
Attorney- Each foster child has an attorney that represents him/her and his interests in court.
Court- Judges who make decisions affecting the foster child. Also, any court appointments in front of said judge.
Agency- In our state, CPS does not license foster homes. Instead, they work in conjunction with private agencies to screen, train, license, and keep foster homes on their toes. A foster home's agency is their only ally in this long list of organizations involved in the case. While the agency really wants what is best for the children as well, their primary goal is to make sure the foster home is in compliance with all the laws and rules and that the foster parents have all the support they need.
Kinship Placement- A family member, friend, or other person close to the child or BPs that will voluntarily take a child into their home. Kinship homes can be a teacher, coach, scout leader, friend, neighbor, Sunday School teacher.
Foster Home/Foster Family- This is a home and family who have been trained in how to deal with all the "characters" in this list, and how to deal with the trauma and behaviors of the children. They are unrelated to the children or BP (in most cases) and typically foster because they love children. Foster Parents are required to live by a long list of rules that typical parents find hard to understand. They must keep their home ready to be viewed by any of the above agencies (with exception to Kinship Placements). Jay says that being a FP is like running a small business because of the sheer number of appointments to schedule and paperwork to fill out.
I think that is all. If I am reminded of anything else, I'll edit the list. :)
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