Our Role in Overcoming Mediocrity

Mediocrity says: "Let's just keeping doing the things we've done before, regardless of whether or not our efforts are effective."


It's up to us, as advocates, to suggest creative, innovative methods that can actually make things better.

I would argue that mediocrity is the primary cause of:

• Insufficient investigation of reported child abuse that allows further abuse, and even fatalities, to occur
• Abuse of children within foster care placements, including residential facilities 
• Fatalities of children within foster care placements, including residential facilities
• Lack of preparation for adulthood for transitional youth
• Lack of supportive resources to support young people after they "emancipate" from the foster care system

It's not that certain people in power are "evil;" it's simply that they are tired, worn-out, and disillusioned.... The road got bumpy, and they ran out of gas, out of passion, out of vision, out of steam.

They have, apparently, lost the fire that ignited their desire to make a difference in this particular area in the first place.

But we foster care alumni don't have that excuse: "This isn't an assigned task we are trying to accomplish, it's the life we have worked hard to live - and the journey that we each took in order to get there."

For foster care alumni,  surviving during and after foster care is incredibly personal to us -- and we need to channel that energy and direct that passion towards making things better.

It will require personal discipline on our part: When we see a person in power that is just mired in apathy, we might (frankly) want to yell at them.

But - when it comes to "advocating without alienating," we who strive to strategically share know that yelling just closes other people's ears.

Imagine something that you, yourself, are just SICK of doing. That's how they feel about their work -- the difference is that we know that it's incredibly important.

How can we convey that message without accusing them or attacking them? (Accusing and attacking WON'T work - they'll just build up walls in their hearts and minds against us).

Perhaps, we can be gracious enough to stand back and let them respond to our story, and appreciate the fact that it has reinvigorated their work.

Maybe we can cheer them on in their newly renewed desire to make a difference, rather than condemning them for the past.

One young man in Ohio is so powerful in terms of his voice and his passion, and so diplomatic in terms of his dealings with other people that I have nicknamed him: 

"The Foster Care Evangelist."

While sharing his personal talents and positive energy, this young man has reignited the passion of caseworkers who were previously described as being "apathetic" and "worn out" -- but whose passion for making a difference has recently been "born again."

His example taught me something new.

It kicked me out of my mediocrity when it comes to 'just doing the things we've done before.

His patience and perseverance reminded me of how we each CAN and WILL and MUST make a difference.

Litmus Test for Child Welfare

One of the litmus tests of child welfare agencies regarding how much they truly care about the clients they serve and lifelong outcomes for youth is how they respond to alumni of the foster care system.  

I've seen the good.... the bad... and the ugly.

First of Two Examples of Effective Efforts Towards Prevention

Neglect Vs. Abuse
In an article called, "Helping the Overwhelmed Family, author Ellen Perlman mentioned that a child safety agency in Minnesota found that separating child neglect from child abuse cases was better for the protection of children.

Preventing Neglect and Empowering Families to Succeed
I see wisdom in differentiating between neglect and abuse. In the case of neglect, a parent is not providing for a child's needs -- something which might be remedied through parental education. Whereas abuse can be more pervasive and damaging.

With that in mind, I wanted to share about two Ohio agencies for whom I programmed recently... Both of these agencies appear to be doing a good job at parental education and fostering family stability. Here is part 1 of 2...

Homeless Families Foundation
As well as being a child advocate, I (Lisa) also work a day job as a youth services librarian. I recently visited the Dowd Education Center in Columbus, Ohio in that capacity. The Homeless Families Foundation is a family shelter in Columbus, Ohio, whose programs include:

1.) Apartment units for homeless families. Adult participants must be drug-free and alcohol-free in order to participate in the program. There are frequent tests of parents to assure continued sobriety.

The Homeless Families Foundation operates as a "Housing First" agency, based on the belief that families are capable of living independently and can address their issues best in a stable, long-term environment.

2.) Support services for adults. This includes GED test preparation and development of job skills.

3.) The Dowd Education Center provides after school programs and summer school for homeless children in K-8th grades.

The center views children as innocent victims in the tragedy of family homelessness. Therefore, their commitment to homeless children is to provide healthy meals, educational support and an atmosphere of stability.

When I visited the Dowd Education Center to promote summer reading, literacy and to booktalk several books to the children, I was impressed by the meals provided to children.

I don't know if you've seen the movie "Supersize Me," but too often school cafeterias serve cheap, unhealthy meals. And, having volunteered at homeless shelters in the past, the ones I volunteered for tended to serve stale, leftover food (even on Christmas!)

But these meals were healthy. All four food groups were represented. They smelled wonderful. And, being a health-conscious eater, I can honestly say that I would have been happy to grab a tray myself!

I was also impressed by the programs that they were offering the children. One teacher gave me her email and I promised to send her a list of the books that I booktalked to the children. She wanted to build upon their initial enthusiasm and to promote literacy at the shelter.

I liked how they channeled the children's energy into physical activities such as dance class and tae kwon doe.

Viewing the entire program through my "foster care" lens, it was obvious that this program promotes family stability through:

-Its selectivity (no substance abuse by parents in the program)
-Long-term shelter (as Maslow's hierarchy of needs will attests, shelter is a primary need)
-Academic focus (for children and adults)
-Health focus (for children and adults)

I have to add that when I led a program for the children, their enthusiasm was wonderful. I had brought a "wheel of fortune" of book covers. I called each child up to take a turn at spinning the wheel and then I booktalked the title based on the book cover that appeared. The children wanted to read every story and find out what happened!

I was also saddened by recognizing some of their unmet emotional needs. One young girl clung to my arm throughout the beginning of my presentation. When I ended my program, young children rushed to me to give me hugs. I was surrounded by a human wall of need, a circle of arms around me.

Family Preservation vs. Child Safety

In response to Hillary Clinton's denouncing Newt Gingrich's 1994 proposal to bring back orphananges, Richard McKenzie, who grew up in an orphanage himself, said "If the nation had few problems with its current child welfare system, no one would consider bringing back orphanages. But the country's child care problems are grave and getting worse...

He continued, "Our child welfare system today is guided by the idealogy of 'family preservation.' Before taking children from unfit parents, we wait until they have been gravely and repeatedly abused. Then, after a short respite during which we seem to expect magical reforms, we return the children to be neglected and abused once again." - Richard B. McKenzie, National Review, 9-28-98

I'm going to start this blog by taking a risk and stating my true feelings: The emperor has no clothes. The more I research the current foster care system, the more concerned I am that in many ways and for many children, it is worse than the foster group facilities where I resided between the ages of 12-16.

Why would I say this? Let outline some of the challenges I faced and how I don't think those problems are being addressed by current foster care. I'll start with two, for this post:

1.) No incest taboo. When I spent time in an all-girls group home, a male houseparent made a pass at me. I was fourteen years old, and blossoming. He felt attraction, and since I wasn't a family member of his, there was no incest taboo.

However, his attraction to me did not culminate in sexual abuse. Why? Well, because of the group home setting, it would have been hard for him to act on his feelings. There were always other girls around. There was his wife and the other set of houseparents around. So... I got lucky.

What if I had been in a foster home and he had been my foster father? What if he had had more time alone with me? If there had been actual touching on his part and I told a social worker, would I have been believed? See #2.

2.) The turnover rate for social workers... I spoke recently with a foster mother who has had five different social workers for one little boy in her care within a period of six months. When the fifth stranger came to visit the home, the little boy freaked out, thinking that he was going to be taken away.

How could a child or teenager possibly build trust with so many changing faces? Also, once a child or teen spends time in foster care, they tend to get "labeled." If the files says that a child might be troubled, it is less likely that the child will be believed if he or she reports abusive treatment.

Also, the social workers aren't coming from the angle of being deeply invested in any one particular child. Foster care is an underfunded system. Most social workers have a large caseload. They don't have much time to concentrate on any one child's particular needs.

I've spent a lot of time lately meeting with social workers and interviewing them. Some of them have said things that let me know that they are coming from an entirely different perspective than I am:

• “I just need to find a bed for these children.”


• “It’s late-afternoon on Friday, and I just want to go home.”


• “This child is almost 18 anyway. Once she turns 18, she is no longer the state’s problem.”

Let me state right now these children are all the state's problem. They are our nation’s problem. If we do not build into neglected and abused children when they are young, it will cost us in the long run. Would we rather spend money on prisons than on preventative measures?