Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Life as a Foster Child

No matter how long I spend in Family Court, I have never grown accustomed or indifferent to the idea of a child being separated from his or her family.  And yet, each child's experience with this wrenching reality is different.  Take, for example, the story of one girl who is having trouble adjusting to foster care.  The video can be seen here.  It is a remarkable story of the inner workings of a mind of a child going through this momentous ordeal. 

At the end of the day, it is almost inconceivable to imagine the pain, guilt, confusion, frustration and heartbreak that confront these children.  But on top of all that is the death blow to a child's sense of self worth that can sometimes be too much to bear. 

I urge all of you to take the time to watch the video and get a glimpse into the mind and heart of a child facing the prospect of foster care.

3 comments:

  1. Steven, this was an interesting article about a child's experience adapting to foster care. Over the past few months I have considered going into family law. I have wondered if I would become desensitized to things like divorce or seeing children put in foster care. You said in the article that you have never grown accustomed to it. I wonder if the same thing would happen to me if I became a family lawyer.
    Emily Smith | http://www.nancyebunting.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Each person's experience is different. But most of the (better) practitioners I know are more effective because they care. It is that caring which motivates the extra effort. Nonetheless, it never becomes easy to witness human suffering first hand.

      Delete
    2. Each person's experience is different. But most of the (better) practitioners I know are more effective because they care. It is that caring which motivates the extra effort. Nonetheless, it never becomes easy to witness human suffering first hand.

      Delete