BGCA’s Katie Anderson is back on ClubX with the second in a two-part series on supporting youth in foster care.
Currently in the US, there are 365,000 youth in foster care. Chances are you have youth in your Club that are either in foster care now or have been in the past, which makes it vital that we understand the unique their unique needs and how we can serve them best. In part one of this series, we discussed ways to support youth living in foster care in your Club, and today we are going to talk about another group of people involved with the system- foster parents.
There are just over 214,000 licensed foster parents in the US, and I’ve been one of them for the past three years. There are also thousands of biological family members & close family friends who are providing safe homes for youth in the foster care system through what’s known as kinship & fictive kinship arrangements. Foster parenting can be very rewarding, but it can also be very difficult. Here are three ways that your Club can support foster parents and caregivers.
Give us communication.
Foster parents are often caught in a legal limbo where we have physical custody of the youth in our home but not legal custody. We can make smaller day-to-day decisions, but may need to get approval from caseworkers, biological family, or even judges before giving the OK on big things like field trips or sleepaway camps. The more advance notice you can give us on upcoming special events, the more likely it is that we can get approval for our child to participate with their peers.
Give us privacy.
I wrote in part one about the importance of protecting a youth’s story. It’s also important to protect the foster parents’ story. There may be situations where our addresses, phone numbers, or even names need to be kept confidential to help protect the safety of the youth in our care. Ask every time before giving out a foster parent’s contact information, even to other staff members. Another key privacy issue is refraining from taking and posting photos or videos of us or the youth in our care while at the Club. Photo releases should be a part of your membership materials for all youth, and it is of the utmost importance that you follow them. There could be both legal and safety ramifications if you don’t. All site-level staff should know who is not allowed to be in photos or videos. Boys & Girls Club staff can find sample photo release language on BGCA.net.
Give us time.
You’ve probably heard stories about youth who only have trash bags to carry all their belongings from one foster home to another. Unfortunately, it’s not just disorganized belongings that youth in foster care experience. Paperwork relating to the child’s identity and history doesn’t often arrive in a neat and organized manner. I once had a foster child whose middle name was unknown for over a year, and multiple cases where I never received a physical copy of a child’s birth certificate. In many states, public schools are required to allow a child in foster care to be enrolled even if some of the required paperwork is missing, but there are no such protections for after-school care. A foster parent who is registering a new member may be working with limited information. By providing flexibility in registration when you can safely do so, you will help relieve a lot of the stress on us. It also helps us get our youth into a safe and welcoming environment as soon as possible, where we can work together to change the trajectory of their lives.
You can learn more about the foster care system at the Child Welfare Information Gateway. Learn more about Trauma-Informed Practice on BGCA.net. Subscribe with your email at the bottom of this page so you never miss a new post!
Subscribe with your email at the bottom of this page so you never miss a new post! You can learn more about the foster care system at the Child Welfare Information Gateway. Learn more about Trauma-Informed Practice on BGCA.net.
What are your best strategies for supporting youth in foster care? How does your Club meet the unique needs of youth and families in your community? Let us know! Comment below, on the BGCA Youth Development Facebook page, or email ClubXBlog@bgca.org.
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