Home
All prices include shipping.
Please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery.
Departments
2 The Editor's Desk
by Cynthia Peck
6 Letters to the Editor
7 Resource Review
9 Ask Ashley Anything
by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
12 In The News
14 Agency Speak
by Debbie Riley, M.S.
16 Spiritually Connected
by Kim Combes
17 What Do You Think?
by Bob Lewis
25 Foster Parent Perspective
by Don Davis
26 Advocating for Kids
by Barbara Tremitiere, Ph.D.
40 Medical Matters
by Lisa Albers, M.D., M.P.H.
53 Coming Through the Wry
by Ratna Pappert
54 Post-Adoption Services -
What's Working, What's Not!
by Cynthia Peck
30 The Foster Caregiver Crisis
in America
by Marilyn Harrison
31 Myths and Maltreatment
by Marian Ruth Turner
34 Vulnerable Kids, Vulnerable Families
by Linda Loudermill
8 Thank You Mrs. MacIntyre
by Ashley M. Robertson
10 Lessons From The
“Best Interests” Trenches
by Gay Courter
13 From Fostering to Adoption-Is it For You
from adoption.about.com/library
18 The Importance of Bonding
by Jim and Peter Kenny, ACT, Inc.
20 Going and Growing
by Dee Paddock
22 Advocacy 101
by Pamela Darr Wright and
Peter W.D. Wright
37 The Warrior Parent
by Linda Grillo
38 Openness for Children
by Bruce M. Rappaport, Ph.D.
43 It All Begins With Listening
by Mark Reiman
44 Laughter, Attachment and Adopting Older Kids
by Pat O'Brien
48 Tami's Village
by Linda Williams
50 Therapy: Making an
Informed Choice
by Naomi H. Reid
52 A Foster Child's Plea
by Cynthia Blatchford
55 Recommendations for
Foster Care Reform
Click here to order Fostering Families Today
You Want Them To Graduate?
by Raynard Price -
Therapeutic Foster Parent and Adoptive Dad
Take a look at Charter Schools and Independent Study!
I love long, hot showers. They lend themselves to deep thinking as I shave my head and plan my day. Some day the Water Police may come to arrest me in my L.A. desert community for exceeding my allotted water limit, but I need the soothing pounding of steamy water to cleanse my soul as much as I do my body.
My thoughts these days are mostly about foster care. I try to make sense of the “monster” that it is. When I think I am getting close to comprehending, however, I seem to lose it. The answers fade. I wish the country would focus more on foster care, but we seem to sweep it under the rug. I keep trying to escape that swamp that is foster care but I cannot.
It is time now for us to stop blaming the “foster care monster” and find a way to tame it instead. No longer should licensing workers, social workers, foster parents, school districts or politicians give the standard, “I know it is sad but that is the way it is,” response to every issue raised about “the system.”
Let me take schooling as an example. Schooling is a big dot in the connect-the-dots picture that is life. We must take a proactive role in ensuring that foster youth graduate from school by any means necessary. If not, we will be unable to connect the next dot to Independent Living Programs or true emancipation. If a child does not complete school it begs the question, “Did protective services really save this child from abuse or did protective custody continue the abuse?”
Let's face it. The percentage of children dropping out of school is growing at an alarming rate. It is estimated that 50% of fosters will not complete school. Several moves translate into several schools and missed school days. For some reason beyond my intellect, school has not been at the top of the list for those mandated to stabilize a family.
When it comes to education we should develop a “zero tolerance” policy for kids who are not on track to graduation. As foster parents, we are obligated to find a school that works for our kids. I am not a big fan of assigned alternative education programs available in most high school districts. The odds are overwhelming that your child will be placed in classes with other students who are, for the most part, at least as problematic as your own. I've become a big fan of charter schools for youth that are not doing well in the traditional school setting, however. Because I am a high tech kind of guy, I see distant computer learning programs as the wave of the future for kids caught in foster care drift and missing consistent schooling. I tried this approach with my youth and love the results. I switched my young men to charter schools as soon as I saw the potential that this approach held for them.
Most charter schools are independent public schools designed to meet the needs of students who aren't well suited for traditional school systems. They can be privately operated or sponsored by an existing public school or county board of education. Sometimes they are organized around a particular theme, skill, or academic area of interest in the sciences or liberal arts.
The best thing about charter schools is that they are performance-based and are held to close standards of accountability. This is different from most traditional schools that I know, which are rule-based and bureaucratic in their structure. There are basically two types of Charter schools – independent home study operations and conventional “schools with walls.” I say this with a smile; most foster parents do not want their children home all day. However, I prefer the independent study approach. In all likelihood, however, your agency, juvenile courts and the probation officers will not.
I like home-based independent study programs for several reasons. First, they allow youth who suffer from depression, ADD or ADHD, and a range of learning issues to work at their own pace without distraction or interference of others. Next, they allow you as a foster parent to form a special allegiance or bond by working closely with your foster son or daughter. Thirdly, you also will always know what the work is to be completed. There will be no more opportunity for excuses or lies of the, “I don't have homework” variety. Independent study is also a great way to catch up on credits missed or lost as the result of missed schooling while drifting from placement to placement. What about the need for socialization, you ask. Ha! Have you seen whom your kids are socializing with these days? Enough said! Finally, charter schools are safer.
If you select a home-based independent study program, you'll have extra time to do family field trips to a museum or excursions on public transportation. Concurrent college enrollment is also a good thing and a tremendous morale booster for foster youth. In most school districts, high school teens are eligible to take college classes at the local community college. I suggest something fun like art or psychology or photography. Now your teen is earning both high school and college credit!
People and things do change (life lesson) so maybe there's hope for the “foster care monster.” Until that happens, however, I'll keep on taking long hot showers, thinking deeply, and keeping one eye and ear alert for the Water Police. Meanwhile, fosters, stay strong and take care of your blessings!
© 2001 Community Internet Services. All rights reserved.
Email Page to a Friend | Feedback | Adoption | Adoption Wiki | Parent Profiles | Infertility | Adoption Information
© Adopting.org 1995-2010. This site should not substitute personal professional, legal, or medical advice. The accuracy and personal applicability of this information is not guaranteed. By using it you agree to the terms of service, including jurisdiction and limitation of liability provisions.
