2016 Annual Report

HONORING FAMILIES
to prepare for the future
She thought she knew best
The young worker gripped the little boy’s hand as if she was all that kept him from floating away. As
they crossed the parking lot, he jumped around, impatiently asking over and over when he was going
to see his dad today. The sparkle in his eyes shined brightly up at her with pure joy.
The worker’s furrowed brow said it all. She had read the dad’s file. He was an addict. An abuser. A
threat.
But to this little boy, he was dad.
They sat in the packed waiting room. His short legs swung about in anticipation. The worker felt a
tinge of protectiveness in the pit of her stomach. The door opened and the tall burly man knelt down
to catch his son as he leaped into his arms.
“Dad I miss you! Can I come home?”
Home really is where
their heart is
Looking back, this worker reflects on
what her young self once believed: that
the places and families children in foster
care come from are filled with danger and
disgust. Today she knows that the families
children come from are doing their best,
but struggling with life’s hardest challenges.
It’s easy to villainize a child’s family when
we don’t know their whole story. For many,
we uncover personal histories scarred by
trauma or struggles with addiction. Being
separated from their child makes this even
more difficult.
Often times, no matter what a child has been through,
they usually just want to go home.
They miss their parents, their school, and their friends.
They miss the smell of their room, their toys, and how
they celebrated holidays.