In my recently published book, “Succeeding as a Foster Child,” I wrote about the impressive opportunities the foster care system provides. Yes, you read that correctly. I used “opportunity” and “foster care” in the same sentence.
As I discuss in my book, being a foster child is an opportunity for a better life — a life of possibilities and resources that may only be accessible to a child because of foster care. However, according to my research, there are specific actions that must be taken to improve the foster care system and to make certain that foster children have the opportunity to flourish. There are two strategic approaches that must be used if we want to maximize the foster care system. We must fix the current exit strategy, and we must change the default and preferred policy of reunification to one that favors the best interest of the child.
In 2013, I conducted a study, Exiting Foster Care: A Case Study of Former Foster Children Enrolled in Higher Education in Kansas. Ten themes emerged from the study regarding factors of success for these former foster children. One theme repeatedly occurred — lack of a proper and formal exit strategy. This critical transition plan, which includes education, housing, health care, and employment strategies, is meant to be a guide for foster youth as they age out of their foster care settings and face their uncertain future.
Many of the participants in the study felt their exit strategy failed to clearly articulate their benefits and how to use them. In fact, even though these study participants were using their education benefits at the time of the study, they perceived that their peers in foster care did not attend college for this reason. They simply did not have their benefits adequately explained to them. These benefits are key to the success of former foster children, and it is unacceptable that they are not fully explained and promoted to foster children at such a pivotal juncture in their lives.
In order for a foster child to fully utilize his or her benefits, the timing of the exit strategy is crucial. Oftentimes the information given to a foster child is too little, too late. One participant informed me that she was still trying to figure out how to correctly use her benefits as a junior in college. Another participant informed me that she felt other foster children would have worked harder in high school had they only known the education benefits existed.
Adding more proof that the system needs improved, a participant informed me that she did not meet with her foster agency coordinator regarding her exit plan until late into her senior year. I asked specific questions, such as, “When you were preparing to exit the foster care system, did your agency coordinator meet with you consistently to discuss with you a phase plan? For example, did they discuss that you need to start looking at colleges? Did they meet with you again to see if you looked at colleges? Did they meet with you regularly to make sure you received the guidance you needed to get into college?” The participant responded with, “No. Not my whole senior year. If they did, only once or twice.”
Without this critical transition plan in place in a timely manner, these children will struggle. They just don’t have the life experience to figure it out on their own.
The foster care system is clearly missing the importance of communication regarding foster child exit plans. However, the most pivotal to improving the foster care system, is changing the goal of foster care. The top priority of the foster care system is reunification with the family — within the family DNA. Administrators and policy makers need to assess the long-term implications of reunification as this may not always be in the best interest of the child. Ironically, this well-intentioned directive — to return a child to his or her home — may be as damaging to a child as the very situation from which the child was first rescued.
From my 2013 study, the most alarming theme was that these former, and now successful, foster children adamantly opposed reintegration with their biological families. If there was a legitimate reason for removing a child from his or her family, why then would it make sense to reintegrate the child back into the same home that was once deemed unsafe? One of the participants in my study was abused both physically and emotionally by her parents. She was placed in foster care only to be brought back to her parents. Five different times she went back and forth between her parents and foster families. She made a comment that her mother just did not know how to take care of her and her sibling. Sadly, so much emphasis was placed on reunification that the biological family unit took precedence over a child’s well-being.
As so many children can attest to, including the former foster children from my study, some biological families cannot be “fixed.” In such cases, foster care offers a child opportunities to thrive within a foster family—opportunities that almost certainly cannot be matched by reunification. A shift in priority could make a profound impact on thousands of foster children. If children were placed not according to DNA, but according to safety and opportunity, those children could be experiencing life changing support and resources from the foster care system.
The foster care system is an extremely powerful resource that not only provides a safe-haven for children, but also offers them an opportunity for success. As discussed in my book, multiple resources are available from the system for a foster child’s otherwise uncertain future; however, effective policy and procedures must be put in place in order to ensure that those resources can be utilized. Correct ‘big picture’ strategies must be created and followed. Foster children must be provided a useful exit plan and their placement must be determined based on what is in their best interest, not necessarily family preservation. The foster care system must do whatever it can to make sure a foster child finds permanent success. Focusing on these two action items would overwhelmingly redefine the future for foster children.
Let’s get started!
Dr. Jamie Schwandt is a former Kansas foster child who found success in a life destined for failure. Dr. Schwandt had a difficult childhood and overcame significant obstacles to get where he is today. He was born in a small town in Kansas where his parents abused drugs and alcohol. Both parents battled depression while suffering from other mental health issues. His father committed suicide when Dr. Schwandt was eighteen years old. As a child, Dr. Schwandt witnessed many dangerous and poor decisions made by his parents. His mother suffered from severe drug addiction and alcoholism. He watched his mother use drugs in their home and was often left to take care of her and his younger brother. He has vivid memories of seeing needles in the bathroom, witnessing domestic violence, and preventing his mother from multiple suicide attempts. Dr. Schwandt is a graduate of Fort Hays State University. Additionally, in May 2013, Dr. Schwandt completed a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) from Kansas State University. He is a United States Army Reserve Captain and served in the Middle East during Operation Iraqi and Enduring Freedom; he is both determined and tenacious and is blessed to have experienced many successes in life. www.jamieschwandt.com