Black People : What's happening on the Foster Care front

[truetothecause]

Greetings, Akwaaba, and Bless Up!

These are the stories of the people I've come to KNOW stuff from.
These are the people I have come to KNOW...
I have worked in the hospitals and group homes and with children in foster care or those connected to the criminal justice shystem...

This young Sistren is doing relatively very well..she seems to have been able to play the game enough to have lost control of her executive decision making area of the brain...the frontal lobe. She has not had OR ....the Spirit that is SHE....intended for HER to BE Free enough to be able to Share with THEE


I currently work with adults who were part of the first wave of testing of psychotropic medications. It is not a very pretty site....YET.....many of their SPIRITS are alive, well and kicking....TRUST ME..... they KNOW what's going on....yet...they are the "sickest" amongst us and can use some loving encouragement and not telling them what's wrong with them.
I work with the youth/off-spring of that first generation of folks hooked on crack and the like....those are the children placed in foster care and group home settings.





M.E.

 

[Destee]

Greetings, Akwaaba, and Bless Up!

These are the stories of the people I've come to KNOW stuff from.
These are the people I have come to KNOW...
I have worked in the hospitals and group homes and with children in foster care or those connected to the criminal justice shystem...

This young Sistren is doing relatively very well..she seems to have been able to play the game enough to have lost control of her executive decision making area of the brain...the frontal lobe. She has not had OR ....the Spirit that is SHE....intended for HER to BE Free enough to be able to Share with THEE


I currently work with adults who were part of the first wave of testing of psychotropic medications. It is not a very pretty site....YET.....many of their SPIRITS are alive, well and kicking....TRUST ME..... they KNOW what's going on....yet...they are the "sickest" amongst us and can use some loving encouragement and not telling them what's wrong with them.
I work with the youth/off-spring of that first generation of folks hooked on crack and the like....those are the children placed in foster care and group home settings.





M.E.

Oh my gosh Sister True ... this is so sad ... gosh ...

It reminded me of my niece, and how i felt when it became time for me to adopt her. While i didn't want another baby to take care of, all i could think about was what would i tell my 2 year old niece, when she turned 18, and came looking for her Family. Her aunts, uncles, etc. What would i tell her? Her Mother couldn't raise her at that time, but what would i tell her, when she asked ... why didn't anyone want me?

I couldn't live with the prospect of that future, for her or myself.

Once i accepted my responsibility to my niece, my Sister, my Family ... i was so amazed at how those white folk FOUGHT to keep my niece placed in the white family she had been temporarily assigned to!

I couldn't believe it! I couldn't believe how they FOUGHT to keep our 2 year old little Black Girl!

I just didn't understand it. It made no sense at all. It seemed like "the system" would have been glad to have her placed with her own Family ... but i had to FIGHT ... i had to hire attorneys ... EVERYTHING! All of this and my Sister was voluntarily relinquishing parental rights to me!

Oh My Gosh!

My niece is 14 years old now, with her own Mother ... and it's bringing tears to my eyes right now ... just imagining this beautiful young Sister in the video, as my niece ... having to tell that horrible story, or anything similar!

There was a time in our not so distant past, when there was no such things as foster homes for Black Children. Families, Friends, Neighbors, took the babies in and raised them as their own, when the need arose.

I remember one of our Elders, during the Elder Interviews talked about how, back in the day, there were no foster homes or orphanages for Black Children. They simply did not exist. This from an Elder who is still living today!

We must take care of our own babies. I know it's not easy. I know that no one really wants the great responsibility of raising additional children ... but we owe it to our own nieces, nephews, cousins, etc. I know it's easier said than done ... i know i know i know ... but it can be done!

I don't know what's up with this foster care stuff, but we should not be sending our babies to them!

Thank you Sister True for sharing!

Much Love and Peace.



Destee

 

[truetothecause]

Oh my gosh Sister True ... this is so sad ... gosh ...

It reminded me of my niece, and how i felt when it became time for me to adopt her. While i didn't want another baby to take care of, all i could think about was what would i tell my 2 year old niece, when she turned 18, and came looking for her Family. Her aunts, uncles, etc. What would i tell her? Her Mother couldn't raise her at that time, but what would i tell her, when she asked ... why didn't anyone want me?

I couldn't live with the prospect of that future, for her or myself.

Once i accepted my responsibility to my niece, my Sister, my Family ... i was so amazed at how those white folk FOUGHT to keep my niece placed in the white family she had been temporarily assigned to!

I couldn't believe it! I couldn't believe how they FOUGHT to keep our 2 year old little Black Girl!

I just didn't understand it. It made no sense at all. It seemed like "the system" would have been glad to have her placed with her own Family ... but i had to FIGHT ... i had to hire attorneys ... EVERYTHING! All of this and my Sister was voluntarily relinquishing parental rights to me!

Oh My Gosh!

My niece is 14 years old now, with her own Mother ... and it's bringing tears to my eyes right now ... just imagining this beautiful young Sister in the video, as my niece ... having to tell that horrible story, or anything similar!

There was a time in our not so distant past, when there was no such things as foster homes for Black Children. Families, Friends, Neighbors, took the babies in and raised them as their own, when the need arose.

I remember one of our Elders, during the Elder Interviews talked about how, back in the day, there were no foster homes or orphanages for Black Children. They simply did not exist. This from an Elder who is still living today!

We must take care of our own babies. I know it's not easy. I know that no one really wants the great responsibility of raising additional children ... but we owe it to our own nieces, nephews, cousins, etc. I know it's easier said than done ... i know i know i know ... but it can be done!

I don't know what's up with this foster care stuff, but we should not be sending our babies to them!

Thank you Sister True for sharing!

Much Love and Peace.



Destee

Hey SiS Destee!

Thanks for Caring enough to Share on this topic.

What you and this young Sistren have stated does not even touch the iceberg of this shytuation. I have worked for the child welfare shystem back in the early 90's. I have even been in the unpleasant position of taking Afreekan children away from their parents and placed them in foster care. I have attempted to work with family members to assure the safety of the children so they could be returned home. I have experienced so much sadness, anger and shame as a result.

I left the child welfare shystem because I was not interested in becoming "vested" with a "nice government job", a house in the burbs...away from the hood, and going along with the b.s. messages about the people who "deserved" what they got. I have paid a dear price for my ethical and moral stand against this...and....I continue to pay that price every time one of my own, suggest that I am a "failure" or a "feminist" or even sitting around on my "academic laurels" as a member of this stinky shystem.

My approach to sharing "knowledge" is NOT as we have been taught and therefore, it seems to be largely ignored and I am written off as a "angry black woman". Well to that I say....YOU DANG SKIPPY I'M ANGRY!....and...

IF YOU walked half a mile in my shoes...you would be too!

What happened for you Destee continues to happen everyday. It is extremely SAD to witness and sadder even to be in a position to work with folk who are unable or unwilling to try and make some changes. Many family members will take custody of the child only to return them to the mother who is hooked on drugs or hooked on a man. Too many of our people...in those positions....of extreme marginalization....are just plain stubborn. They KNOW changes need to be made yet will not do anything different because THEY did not make the decision and someone else did. They are shamed and shame is produces a pretty tough exterior....in an attempt to hide from self and others...some jacked up behaviors. As long as they can view me or others like myself.....who are of Afreekan Descent and who worked "for the shystem" and they can categorize what we do as "doing the white man's bidding" then....they themselves don't have to do anything different. WE become the "problem" and not them or what is happening for children whose physical, emotional, educational, Spiritual and Cultural needs go unmeant. Whenever a parent or one in a parental role with a child is actively involved in substance abuse....(and this was typically the primary reason children are being removed from their homes) or they (parents) have unmet emotional health needs...the children DO suffer the consequences. Yet, people can espouse how "resilient" Afreekan children are or "how bad they had it when they were kids" and/or "how easy kids have it today" and finally the age old adage of "I know what's best for MY child and he/she is alright!"
smh...sad state of affairs indeed.

Anywho....let me stop now cause I sense I'm rambling. I'm thankful someone took the time to listen to a Voice in the Margins of this Madness called "life".


M.E.