Documentation of the Child’s History

When a child in placement lacks knowledge about a parent’s death or about the circumstances of his or her own birth, it can be helpful to try to obtain death and/or birth certificates and even, where feasible, to visit the hospital where the child was born or the home in which his or her early childhood years were spent. In most families parents keep photo albums and tell children stories about their early lives. However, the child who was placed at an early age may not have such stories in his or her memory. These children lack a family narrative that helps create a sense of a family identity and contributes to the child’s development of a coherent sense of self (Shapiro et al., 2001b). The creation of a lifebook and the other activities described here can help serve this purpose in the absence of parental input.
The Case of Ricky: A Child Living with a Grandparent Tonning (1999) presented the case of Ricky, age 3, who was removed from his mother’s home for chronic abuse and neglect after she left him home alone with his 6-year-old brother for 3 days when he was 18 months old. The mother, who was addicted to crack cocaine, was subsequently incarcerated for a year, and Ricky was placed with his paternal grandmother, who was also caring for the 2½-year-old daughter of another son at that time. The grandmother was concerned about Ricky because he seemed angry, unhappy, and oppositional. In this African American family, Ricky had quite a bit of contact with his extended family, including weekend visits with his father, who would sometimes leave him with his mother, despite her background of having abused Ricky previously. The boy also would occasionally visit his half-brother, who had been diagnosed with ADHD and was living with his paternal grandparents. According to the grandmother, Ricky would return from these visits to his father greatly regressed. She knew that the visits were hard on him, but she nonetheless was unable to set limits and implement a less stressful (shorter) visiting plan, even when she learned after one extended stay that his mother had beaten him. The parents were seeking to regain custody of their son, and the grandmother apparently felt that she should not stand between a father and his son. She probably also feared that if she did so she would jeopardize her relationship with her own son. The family abruptly withdrew from counseling in the middle of the custody dispute, and the social worker commented that “the intergenerational conflict over where Ricky belonged and who was his rightful caregiver proved impossible to resolve” (Tonning, 1999, p. 221). Clearly, this child was caught in the middle, and his disturbed behavior could be understood as reactive to the chaos around him. The case also demonstrates the frustration of the caseworker and the limitations on her ability to help. Unfortunately, these cases do not always have happy endings. The Case of Kayla: A Child Living with Her Grandmother * This case involved a German Jewish grandmother who had custody of her severely emotionally disabled 2- year-old granddaughter (Bean et al., 2001). Kayla had been placed with her grandmother after having been removed from her mother’s care three times due to neglect. Both parents were addicted to heroin. Kayla’s father (the grandmother’s son) was incarcerated for drug trafficking, and her mother had a history of numerous arrests for prostitution. There was the suspicion that Kayla had been sexually abused by various caretakers.
Nadine Bean, with several colleagues, interviewed grandparents and great-grandparents raising grandchildren from various cultures in the United States. This research study looked for recurrent themes in the experiences of the kinship parents. Kayla’s grandmother was particularly eloquent in expressing her anguish at seeing her granddaughter so terribly afraid of men and so clingy and fearful. The pain of the grandmother’s empathy nearly caused her to end her role as a kinship foster parent, but she changed her mind in view of the child’s great needs and the presence of guidance from a supportive social worker. I mention this case to emphasize the great importance of ongoing counseling and support for all foster parents. INTERVENTIONS WITH THE FOSTER PARENTS Most foster parents experience considerable stress in carrying out their parenting responsibilities. Whether the child is related by blood or not, the likelihood is that he or she comes into the placement experience with multiple problems that often include difficulties trusting others, aggressive behavior, sleep and eating difficulties, and possible antisocial behavior, such as stealing. The foster parents must be firm and patient and realize that it will take time before the child develops some sense of trust. They also need help understanding that the child’s behavior is often based on his or her past negative experiences with adults, and that it is not in response to the current life situation in the foster home. In other words, the foster parents could be doing a very good job, and yet the child in placement continues to act out against them. The role of the social worker is to provide consistent support to prevent the foster parents from giving up their efforts. All foster parents would benefit from either individual or group counseling. A parenting support group consisting of other foster parents can provide an outlet and a resource for them. Visitation with the child’s biological parents often stirs up feelings of resentment, competition, and conflicts about custody. It is important for the foster parents to have a safe place to discuss their feelings. If and when the child is reunited with his or her biological family, the reunion should be accomplished gradually and with sensitivity to the feelings of all. Obviously, this did not happen in the case of Ricky, despite the social worker’s best efforts. Every change of placement is a loss experience for all involved. It is important to find a way to help everyone grieve their losses so that they can accept new relationships. THE ROLE OF THE SOCIAL WORKER IN CHILD WELFARE Social workers in child welfare settings have a multifaceted role—one that includes direct work with culturally diverse children and families, work with the family court and the department of social services, and the necessity of functioning on an interdisciplinary team. A social worker often serves as a case manager, coordinating the progress reports of a child’s residential staff, educational and psychological reports, and all matters related to setting goals and evaluating the child’s progress. It is important for social workers in this field of practice to have a solid knowledge base in child assessment, including diagnostic classifications, family systems assessment, substance abuse assessment, and evaluation of the impact of trauma on children (especially that resulting from physical and sexual abuse). An administrator of a large residential treatment center identified the issues of substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, neglect, and physical abuse as typical of about 80% of the center’s population (Webb, 1995). Because many children in foster care and residential treatment have experienced multigenerational losses from AIDS, it is imperative for social workers attempting to help these children to understand the impact of disenfranchised grief (Doka, 2002) and to be knowledgeable about methods for assisting with mourning. Because of HIV/AIDS, it is increasingly common for multiple siblings in a family to enter care simultaneously. It may become the social worker’s responsibility to coordinate the work with these siblings, which will be greatly facilitated when the children’s care is managed by the same agency rather than by several agencies. Social workers need skills in conducting sibling sessions to maintain and enhance the children’s family ties.
Special Challenges Some of the special challenges to the social worker in child welfare settings relate to the need to work with very resistant and overwhelmed families in a political climate in which funding is decreasing. Sometimes the worker’s own feelings of discouragement can be an obstacle, especially when the worker assumes too much responsibility for a child or family and in the process fails to respect appropriate professional boundaries. The worker who shares all the pain of his or her clients will soon suffer burnout and become ineffective. The last chapter of this book discusses the topic of vicarious traumatization, which is a great risk for child welfare workers. It is essential for practitioners to understand the personal dangers of their work and to learn to establish appropriate boundaries to avoid becoming overwhelmed and ineffective. Regular supervision and self-care practices can help workers retain their personal balance and enthusiasm for their work. Special Rewards The child welfare worker does experience moments of great satisfaction in his or her work, despite the difficulty and heart-wrenching circumstances of so many cases. One positive response to my survey question about satisfaction in this work (Webb, 1995) mentioned “seeing children go from depression and hopelessness to trust and belief in the possibility of a happy future.” Another respondent referred to “clinical moments” at which children are able to verbalize important understandings about their lives, as in the case of a child who finally developed enough trust in his caseworker to tell her how ashamed he felt because no one in his family wanted him! These significant moments help the child welfare worker appreciate the importance of his or her role and (let us hope) will lead to retention of competent workers in the system. There are probably few settings that make as many demands on social workers or in which dedicated workers are more desperately needed. Our profession must acknowledge more fully the vital importance of this work. CONCLUDING COMMENTS 
Children in foster care, through no fault of their own, grow up without the security of a stable family. When extended family members are not available to assume their care, they are thrust into the child welfare system. Unresolved mourning is a vital issue for these children. Children who are moved from one family to another and who may lose contact with their biological parents through either death or abandonment, need assistance to put their experience into perspective and to realize that they were not to blame. This is a great challenge to the profession, and one that can reap substantial rewards.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND ROLE-PLAY EXERCISE 
1. Discuss the pros and cons of kinship foster care and foster care by nonrelatives. What safeguards could the social worker implement to avoid custody battles in the family? Role-play a family session with the mother, father, and grandmother in the case of Ricky, in which the custody issue is the focus. 2. Consider the matter of a family secret involving a foster child whose parent has a history of substance abuse and physical abuse of the child when drinking and drugging. What kind of help does the child require prior to resuming visitation with this parent? What kind of help should the parent receive? 3. What are some of the key personal issues for the social worker who is employed in a child welfare agency? Describe some ways to avoid burnout. 4. Discuss the implications of the position that clinical issues and larger societal issues overlap in child welfare.