Search Results for: blog services provided for former foster children

Helping Foster Care Teens Grow Up

My last blog talked about a problem most people rarely think about: the high rates of homelessness, unemployment, dropping out of school before gaining a diploma, and unplanned pregnancy found among older teens who suddenly stop being cared for by the foster care system once they turn 18. Many 18-year-olds are still in high school. Many more foster youth will not finish on time because of difficulties caused by changing schools due to frequent foster care moves. One agency providing tutoring to foster children estimated that their clients’ reading levels were 5-6 years behind their age—this means an 18-year-old reading … Continue reading →

How Many Children Should You Adopt?

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I recently received a comment to one of my blogs from a family that was considering adopting a group of special needs children. That got me thinking about the process of determining how many children to adopt. This blog will hopefully shed some light to help. We originally adopted four maternal brothers. That number grew to five when we had an unexpected visit from the stork. We have now informed the state that our family is complete. First, I want to discuss the reasons to keep the number small. The most obvious reason is that damaged children will have more … Continue reading →

Services Provided for Former Foster Children

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Most people in Texas are aware that there are many children in the foster system that are available for adoption. It is sad to note that many of these children will remain in foster status until they are eighteen years old and released into society. Many of these children will have been moved numerous times. The fortunate segment of foster children will spend all or mostly all of their time in one long term home that provides a loving and caring environment. Unfortunately, many of the children who are moved a lot will be in at least some homes that … Continue reading →

Book Review: The Heart Knows Something Different

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The Heart Knows Something Different is an anthology of writings by teenagers in foster care. These articles were originally published in a bimonthly magazine called Foster Care Youth United. They are an excellent resource for people adopting older children, since they may give a feel for the kinds of situations and feelings many older children experience prior to the adoption. Their stories are also of import to all citizens concerned about the next generation in our country. Many of these youth, though not all, are from New York City. Some of them were with foster families, although many were in … Continue reading →

Separated Siblings

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I have written several blogs that describe the problems that the foster system has in Texas. I am going to focus on the harsh reality that sibling groups are almost always separated. The last thing that many of these children have to hold on to is taken away. The problems of the system are essentially the problems of our society. There are over 20,000 children in the system in Texas. That is way too many because there aren’t nearly enough well qualified foster families. This numbers problem lets some ruthless people into foster care who care only about making a … Continue reading →

Week in Review Jan. 22-28

Week in Review Jan. 22-28 This week the adoption blog has moved from personal stories,to practical tips, to questions about our society, and back again. Monday, January 22 Services Provided for Former Foster Children Ed tells us that many foster care children age out of the system at age 18, suddenly homeless without means of support. He shares a model of a center set up in Texas to provide them with counseling and referrals and suggests that other states look into this. He also notes that, with all the material needs foster children have, the number-one request many have at … Continue reading →