Preparing Children for Court
Part 1: Introduction by Emil Baldwin, Jr., LSW
© 2001 Reprinted with permission The foster care system comes in contact with and is shaped by many forces, but perhaps the greatest is the court system. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can compare to the power that the lawyers, judges, and their actions have over the children and their families. Their decisions can cause great happiness or total devastation to children who often have little or no input as to wherethey live or what happens to them. Obviously, those of us who share their lives are also heavily influenced by the court and the pronouncements it makes.
Most everyone who has been to court knows that it can be a very intimidating and nerve-wracking experience. In many situations, we have no control over the legal environment but we
do have control over how we deal with what happens. One of the ways we can lessen the threat of making a court appearance is to learn more about the system and how we can better prepare the children and ourselves. However, like so many other things in life, it is not something that can be done easily or quickly. It involves a gradual and wide-based approach that will require both your time and energy.
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[Emil Baldwin, Jr. is a retired social worker in West Virginia. He was a foster care/adoption homefinder for 19 years. His articles and fictional stories about the subject have been published on the web, in print, and used as training material. He has a Web site at http://go.to/emilville and publishes a humorous email newsletter on a weekly basis.]© Emil Baldwin, Jr., LSW
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