Ball of Confusion

I remember when Kanye West said, "George Bush doesn't care about black people" on live TV after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. If I had the same platform, I would say, "The child welfare system doesn't care about children."

Everyone knows that the system is broken. Social workers are underpaid and given unbearable caseloads. Children are left in unsafe homes. Foster parents and agencies see kids as paychecks. Mental health/trauma recovery resources are insufficient. The list goes on and on.

The problems are obvious to anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear. It is worse than you think. Anyone with a heart knows that things should be better for our kids. If we truly believe that children are the future and they all deserve to be loved and nurtured, then we would not have the system that is currently in place. We should do everything in our power to give them the support they need to be their best instead of being treated as just another number.

I am gaining a whole new perspective on the system now that I am actively engaged in adopting a child from foster care. My personal experience includes instances of CPS majoring in the minor, and inefficient processes that prevent children from being with parents who are waiting to love them. If placing children in a healthy home is really the primary goal, then so many things would be different. 

Status update: I'm still waiting on the redacted case file. The estimated time of arrival is June. I'munable to move forward with visitations until I review the file and indicate that I want to proceed.