Agency report on Foster Care - Essay Example

Introduction Foster care is an issue that has been in practice as long as history itself started to exist. It is a system in which parents who are not the biological parents of the child (minors) in question are certified and given the onus of taking care of the minors who have been removed from the care of the biological parents or other custodial guardians by the state authority as a result of various circumstances. The foster parents are legally bound to take care of the minor(s) under their care. They are never forced to take up the responsibility of caring for these minors and as such they voluntarily offer to take up the responsibility and choose which of the minor(s) they would like to care for. These minors are often in government or state's foster homes. It should be understood that foster care is only a temporary short term alternative for the main permanent plans for such minors. These permanent plans include Reunification with the biological parents Changing of the foster home to a legally-permanent adoption Placement of the minor(s) into another legally permanent family There are a number of foster care organizations which are both state owned or Non Government Organizations (NGOs) (Watson, 1994). These NGOs are mostly owned by individuals, family foundations, churches, professional organizations etc. This paper seeks to address the issue of foster care by these foster care agencies by looking at one of the agencies. The population taken care of by the agency, the services offered by the agency and the procedures for fostering the minor(s) shall be highlighted in the paper. The agency to be addressed is the Alabama Baptist Children's Homes & Family Ministries. Alabama Baptist Children's Homes & Family Ministries This is a Christian organization that has been around for more than 116 years. Alabama Baptist Children's Homes & Family Ministries is found in Alabama in the US and it has continued to embrace its tradition of foster-caring for minors and/or families. The minor(s) and families under the care of this organization are nurtured to become productive and pro-Christ citizens. It was founded in Evergreen, Alabama by one Rev. John W. Stewart in 1891. The personalized and comprehensive services offered at this foster care agency imply that the organization is more than equipped to assist more individual minors and families in a myriad of ways and in more places in the entire Alabama and beyond. It is important to note that this agency sets foster goals and plans as it continues to take care of the minors and families under its care. The agency is in partnership with the Alabama churches, community organizations, Baptist associations and individuals and all these ensure that the foster goals and plans are reached and accomplished effectively. The agency's main goal or what may simply be termed as its mission statement is to not only protect but also restore and nurture both minors and families through the extensively Christian centered services. These services are extended to these minors and families who urgently need foster care as result of a number of unfavorable circumstances (Young et al, 1997). The agency offers its services to such minors and families under four major areas. These include: Homes for Children which include campuses, emergency shelters and group homes among other arrangements Education services and/or family assistance Professional counseling to the minors and the families Administration of the agency in a way that maximizes resources that will be used to give the foster care to the minors and families It is imperative to note that for almost the entire history of the agency its major focus has been to provide foster homes for children and the youth especially those who are unfortunate in the society. It owns campuses and emergency shelters. It also manages group homes and foster care. The children homes are positioned to provide homes for both the children and the youth. These are found in Mobile and Decatur. The group homes are found in Oxford, Dothan, Alabaster, Mobile and Gardendale. Children's homes owned by Alabama Baptist Children's Homes & Family Ministries are licensed to not only train but also equip the foster families that provide care for the children and youth in their homes. In 2005 alone, Alabama Baptist Children's Homes & Family Ministries was able to provide homes for more than 145 youth and children in Oxford, Dothan, Alabaster, Mobile and Gardendale. The agency also provided homes for more than 102 youth and children in foster care. Temporary homes among other services were provided to more than 30 mothers along with their children in both Mobile and Alabaster. In short, Alabama Baptist Children's Homes & Family Ministries continues to provide foster care to children and youth facing unfavorable circumstances while fulfilling their mission of not only protecting but also restoring and nurturing both minors and families through the extensively Christian centered services (Young et al, 1997). Alabama Baptist Children's Homes & Family Ministries has always maintained that the children's homes are never orphanages. Actually, the agency has 'crafted' the children's homes to take the shape of families. The children are therefore able to benefit from home-like settings. The homelike settings are comprised of house parents. The buildings in a children's orphanage resemble the buildings in a barrack but in the children's home, the buildings are set in such a way to exude the feeling of being home together with the entire population in the children's home. Alabama Baptist Children's Homes & Family Ministries tries to customize ministry so as to meet the ever changing needs of the children and the youth in the homes. In a situation where there are siblings being taken care of by the ministry, there are special efforts to ensure that these siblings are never separated but stay in the same children's home or same campus. Alabama Baptist Children's Homes & Family Ministries struggle to care for and refurbish lives of children, youth, and families. They achieve this by providing educational fora that help minimize or get rid of youth violence in the society. These are achieved through provision of educational seminars to not only parent and guardians but also to youth workers, community leaders and the youth themselves. These seminars: Equip youth workers, parents and guardians how to help the teens resolve conflicts and thus preventing the ugly face of youth violence. Inform the partakers of the seminar about the original cause of youth violence Furnishes the partakers of the seminar with the skills to help them counter in a constructive manner all the trends as they recognize them in their youth groups Inform youth workers, parents and guardians on the best way possible to take care of the youth and address all their needs in time To enable youth workers, parents and guardians device the best way of addressing the emotional needs of the children and youth Conclusion Alabama Baptist Children's Homes & Family Ministries continues to take care of the children and youth in their foster care and offering emergency shelters for mothers together with their dependent children. These services offered to the children are in line with the US legislation for fosters homes and children's homes. The children and the youth in the children's homes and campuses are made to feel the home-like settings induced in the homes and campuses. The siblings are kept together to maintain the family ties and make them feel the family environment. Distinction is made between children's orphanage and children's home by ensuring that the children in the home are tied closely in family-like ties witnessed in the normal family set up. The children and youth are held in the homes for as long as there are people who come forward to adopt them or up until the time these children are reunified with their families etc depending on the situation that led the children to be in the homes in the first place. The agency, Alabama Baptist Children's Homes & Family Ministries, ensures that all the children, youth and the mothers under their care are provided with all the necessities they want. The mothers are taught parenting skills and how best they can take care of their children besides the skill of gaining economic independence (Bornstein, 2002). These dependants are also taught the skills that can make them independent and be able to take care of themselves in future. For the mothers in temporary shelters, they are told how they can venture into work to take care of their children or work is found for them thus releasing them from dependency on the agency. For the youth and the children, they are provided with education befitting any kid their age. This education is provided in the schools found in the homes or campuses. It is normal for such children to often be overwhelmed with feelings of neglect, loneliness, loss, inadequacy, hopelessness etc and this is where the agency comes in strongly, providing professional counseling services to reassure the children and the youth, protect, restore and nurture both minors and families through the extensively Christian centered services. References Watson K, Substitute Care Providers: Helping Abused and Neglected Children, DIANE Publishing, 1994 Bornstein B H, Handbook of Parenting: Children and Parenting, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2002, pp319-321 Young et al, Foster Care and Nonprofit Agencies, Lexington Books, 1997, pp 123-127 Read More