The Road to Adoption is Riddled with Social Workers

When Abused Children Are Further Abused by the System - One Foster Mother's Fight to Save Her Children

Although the title of my article may allude somewhat to a dislike of social workers I'd like to clarify right from the beginning that is not entirely true. Do I have a problem with some social workers? Absolutely! However it's my belief that the problem lies within the system, not the workers. I believe that in some states the adoption and foster care system gives workers so much power that some develop a "god syndrome."

As an adoptive parent of 8 of my 10 children, I have had the opportunity to observe the adoption system close up several times. What I have found is that what is best for the child is not always necessarily the plan that is followed.

After 18 years of foster care and eight adoptions, I could keep you here for hours with stories of authoritative abuse in the foster and adoption systems. However I'm not going to do that, I'm just going to tell you about a few of my experiences. Don't get me wrong, I could also keep you here for hours reading heartwarming stories about well meaning social workers who have made enormous differences in the lives of children, but I'll save that for another article.

If you have ever been a part of the foster care system then you know how much red tape and frustration can be involved. For me, the only thing that made all of the aggravation of navigating through this system worth it is the thought of where my foster children would be, if not with me. Because of this I gained a reputation of taking in the "throw-away kids." These are the kids that other foster parents wouldn't consider taking in because of behavioral problems, medical problems, or because they are attached to a large sibling group. It was the result of this reputation that brought Jacob to me.