Jen and Mad are participating in a marriage of the minds. What a wonderful idea. And we have been requested to give a social wedding gift. And when I say social, I mean a social injustice - not a social disease. Gross. So here is mine. I have not put as much time into this as I'd like. But this is the best I can do for now. So, if you'd like to participate or simply read about some girl on girl brain action check out what's going on. By clicking on the hyperlinks I have above.
Foster Care in America is floundering. Better said, the children of the foster care system are floundering. Read about some of it here. This problem is largely overlooked. These children are bounced around from home to home. And have a terrible time forming attachments because of constant upheaval. What these children go through is barely recorded when you do research or google searches on 'foster care'. You get statistics of how many children are in the system, how many have left the system and so on. There is no discussion of therapy of mental health/emotional issues. I beg you to click on they hyperlinks and read what is there as my words can do this issue absolutely no justice. All I can say is that the foster care system in this country desperately needs to be overhauled. There are children who are suffering silently everyday and at the age of 18 are thrown out into the wind & left to their own devices. And more often than not, repeating the same destructive cycles.
About me
- Tabba
- A wife, a mother, a friend. A lover of music, beautiful things, simple things, weighty things, a thinker, a wanderer, a student, and a fiesty fireball. A woman who is all of those things and more. A woman who is trying to matter, and who is trying to leave little more than her footprints behind and a legacy of hope, goodness, and sass behind her in her wake and in the hearts of her two kids. This is just the beginning. Are you ready for the rest of the ride?
5 ripples in the pond:
Tabba,
A thoughtful wedding gift indeed. I read a lot of young adult books (I'm a children's lit librarian) and it seems that teens in foster care, teens who fall through the cracks are the de facto heroes and heroines of soooo many books. This troubles me in a way b/c I think too many people end up with the sense that the world of these children is nothing more than fiction. And yet, getting people to see the reality of the situation is extremely difficult. People are always screaming at governments to "crack down on young offenders" but then they don't even blink an eye as social supports for these youths are stripped away. Troubling, troubling indeed.
It really is a sad, self-fulfilling prophecy. The effects of which I think are totally overlooked. I think the mental health piece of this picture is the key (as is the mental health piece in homelessness). I looked up info for my state regarding foster care & it is some scary, scary stuff. This bothers me the most: State employees are not permitted to be foster parents because that is considered 'double-dipping' - since they would be receiving a state paycheck & the stipend. You're ruling out so many good people from the pool on that little technicality.. Ugh, I could type for days.
Tab,
I came earlier but blogger wouldn't let me comment. you touched an important issue for me..so many of the kids in and out of foster care end up homeless as adults. the correlation is there.
i work with someone who was homeless as an adult AFTER living in 17 different foster homes. 17.
we can do better.
thank you for the lovely present.
17?!?! How amazingly sad. My heart just breaks for these poor kids.
I'm so glad you wrote about this. The foster care situation is so heartbreaking. I so feel for these kids who just want some love, support, and stability.
And thanks for popping over to visit me...nice to make new friends via this wedding :)
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