Foster Care and OCS

Definitions

• Foster child : A child who has been removed from the legal parents’ or guardians’ home and care due to allegations of abuse, neglect, or inability to care for the child’s basic needs and, as a result of these allegations, has become a ward of the state.
• Foster family : Family members who may or may not be biologically related to a child who has been placed in foster care, but who have committed to taking responsibility to provide shelter, daily care, basic needs, and love to the child. This may include one or more foster parents, foster grandparents, foster siblings, and any other family member who lives in the home and helps the child.
• Foster home : The foster family's living quarters where a child in OCS custody is placed in order to receive shelter and care.
• Office of Children’s Services (OCS) : A state agency that “works in partnership with families and communities to support the wellbeing of [Alaska’s] children and youth … to provide them (children) with safe and permanent homes, to maintain cultural connections, and to help them realize their potential.” OCS may have a different agency name depending on the state where the agency is located.
• Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) : A federal law that protects the interests of American Indian children and their tribes, parents, families, and Indian custodians during child placement proceedings.
• Parental rights : Parents have the legal right to make major decisions about their children. “Major decisions” are those about health care, education, and religion. When parents are separated or divorced, parental rights may also include visitation and custody, and the legal right to make decisions may be granted to one or both parents. These rights may be limited if a child is placed in foster care.
• Therapeutic foster care (TFC) : TFC is a clinical intervention provided by trained foster parents to foster children experiencing severe mental, emotional, and/or behavioral needs.
• Termination of parental rights : A parent can have their parental rights stripped if the state in which the family lives determines that the parent is unfit or unsafe. When this occurs, the rights are transferred to the state or an adoptive parent or granted solely to one parent.
• Custody : This is the protective care or safekeeping of a child. Custodial parents are responsible for making decisions for a child’s welfare. Custody can also be physical (i.e., where a child lives), which often happens in cases of divorce. One parent may have physical custody of the child, meaning the child lives with that parent full time, while both parents have shared custodial or parental rights.
• Caseworkers : Caseworkers are direct care providers who help clients with a wide range of care needs, which are often related to daily living, health care, or other items on the client's treatment plan. Regarding youth in foster care, some youth have an OCS and/or ICWA caseworker who oversees the cases of children placed outside of the home. Caseworkers visit the foster child on a regular basis to interact with the child, observe interactions between child, caregiver, and members of the foster family to ensure continued safety, and make decisions about the child’s overall welfare and plan for reunification (the reuniting of the parents and children) or permanency.
• Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)/Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) : Someone whose job is to represent the best interests of a minor in court, usually during child abuse and custody proceedings.

Background

All people have a “family of origin,” which includes the parents who were involved in a child’s creation and birth. However, for a variety of reasons, not all children are raised by their family of origin. For example, they may be legally adopted, tribally adopted, living with family temporarily, or living in foster care.

Not all children being raised by someone other than their family of origin are in foster care or legally adopted. In some cases, a parent may be too young to raise the child, out of the area attending school, deployed for military duty, or in a treatment facility not suitable for youth. In situations like this, the parent still has parental rights; however, someone else is managing the daily care of the child.

This chapter addresses children who have been removed from their parents’ or guardians’ home and have become wards of the state.

• If a child is in foster care, OCS or ICWA has become the legal guardian of the child and makes all decisions on behalf of the child in care.
• In Alaska, youth under 18 years of age who are in foster care and are required to attend counseling must have all treatment team members involved in their care. This may include biological parents, foster parents, the OCS caseworker, the CASA or GAL, teachers, and/or school social workers. For more information on how to determine who can provide consent to treatment for a minor, see Chapter B-3: Consent to Treatment.
• All parties involved in a foster child’s treatment will require a Release of Information to speak to each other.

Children in foster care deal with stress from a variety of factors. When in a foster home, they may have to follow new rules, get along with adults and children they don’t know, and even change schools if suitable foster homes are not available in their hometown. Some may have to be separated from siblings in addition to being separated from their parents.

Being in the custody of OCS or ICWA and placed in a foster home is usually temporary and often includes a primary goal of reuniting the child with the family. However, it is normal for the child to experience feelings of fear. Negative behavior may be a result of this fear. As a BHA/P, you can:

• Help children learn to identify their feelings using “feeling faces,” “feeling words,” and “I feel” statements.
• Remind children of the people who love them and teach them that being in foster care isn’t their fault.
• Encourage children to voice their feelings instead of misbehaving.

Being placed in foster care can be traumatic and result in low self-worth. It can lead to suicidal ideation or attempts for foster children who encounter teasing and have trouble feeling accepted by others in their new environment.

Children in foster care may not feel that they have a “real home” or might experience a great deal of embarrassment around peers who know about their out-of-home placement. In your role as BHA/P, there are several ways to help a child in this situation. Here are some examples of how to help a foster child cope with feelings related to their foster care situation..

• Act as a liaison between the OCS caseworker, the parents, and the foster parents to help ensure the child has some of his own personal belongings in his bedroom in the foster home. Not only will this help ease the child's fears and feelings of homesickness, but it will help him feel a sense of belonging in a new environment.
• Advocate for the child's continued involvement in extracurricular activities so that he won't lose all aspects of his home life. If he wasn't in any activities prior to being placed in foster care, work with the treatment team on helping the child find an activity he can participate in. This will help him learn positive coping skills, have something to look forward to each week, and foster a sense of confidence as he learns a new skill.
• Teach the child about the basic feelings and encourage her to talk to you and her foster parents, parents, teacher, and friends using the feeling words. Helping her learn and appropriately express feelings will prevent episodes of acting out and low self-esteem.
• Remind the child that it's okay and normal to feel uncomfortable in this foster home. Remind her that she is safe and has caring adults who are working together to make good decisions about her wellbeing.
• Encourage the child to ask questions when she has them. She may not always get the answers she wants, but encouraging her to have the courage to ask questions will keep her involved in her own treatment and the plan that's being developed for her.

As a BHA/P, you must never promise a child that she will be returned to her parents’ custody. While reunification is the primary goal of OCS, there are situations in which parental rights are terminated and the child is placed in a pre-adoptive home or an alternate permanency plan is created.

If you are uncertain about whether or not to contact authorities regarding suspicions of abuse or neglect, contact your supervisor.

If a child is placed in OCS custody because you made a report of abuse or neglect, it is important not to feel guilty or ashamed. Remember that reporting abuse and neglect is never easy, but doing so is how you make the child's safety the number one priority. Consult with your clinical supervisor if you start or continue to experience feelings of guilt or shame related to your client’s case.

Family situations that involve the safety of children can be traumatic for the BHA/P and even the clinician assigned to the case. Although this is not uncommon, it does not have to be a lasting effect. Advocate for yourself and your peace of mind to prevent burnout, secondary trauma, and empathy fatigue. See Chapter A-4: Self-Care for BHA/Ps and Clients for information on addressing these challenges.

There are several ways in which a child might transition out of the foster care system. Some of those include turning 18 (“aging out” of the system), reunification with the biological parent, adoption, or transitioning to a group home or similar type of facility living.

• Some foster children are placed in group facilities due to a lack of appropriate foster homes, the need for inpatient care, or complex diagnoses that include mental health and/or substance use diagnoses. This type of transition may result in the child being placed in an acute care facility, long-term treatment facility, or combination education/trade program like JobCorps.
• A foster child may be adopted by his foster family or another family. As with other paths to adoption, the adoptive parents become the legal parents of the child in all regards.
• When parents complete the requirements set out by OCS and the state, they can be eligible for reunification with their child. When this happens, the child transitions from the foster home back to the parents’ home and the OCS case is closed.
• If a child is in foster care through the age of 18 without being adopted or reunified with his family of origin, the child “ages out” of the foster care system. This means the child has become a legal adult and, in most cases, can legally make his own decisions regarding health care, education, religion, and where he wants to live.

When a young person transitions out of foster care through any means, the child or treatment team may ask you to assist the team in providing counseling and support through the transition process. Foster children and their foster parents may bond during the time of placement and have difficulty transitioning away from being a foster family. Having the support of a BHA/P who can provide the child with a safe environment and listening ear is beneficial for all involved as the child and involved adults share their thoughts and feelings associated with transitioning out of foster care.

For children who transition back to village life after being in foster care, the support of a BHA/P might be especially helpful. These children may have been out of their home village and even placed outside of village life altogether during their time in foster care; they may need assistance reconnecting with their roots. Your help with the reconnection process might include spending time in the community with the child, participating in subsistence activities, or teaching the child skills she forgot when she was in foster care. Consider ways you can integrate traditional, culturally appropriate teachings with the more modern, Westernized skills the child learned in foster care. Also see the information on historical trauma in Chapter A-4 and see Chapter C-2: Attachments and Relationships.

In small or rural communities, it is not uncommon for a BHA/P to have to provide services to the parents and/or foster parents as well as the children who are in foster care. While this kind of dual involvement can be difficult, it can also be rewarding. The benefits of helping families learn new and healthy skills, advocating for a child's best interest, and modeling communication skills means you have the opportunity for professional growth. Interactions with children and their treatment teams are learning experiences for the BHA/P as well.

Your role as a BHA/P requires a delicate balance in maintaining a professional and objective relationship with all parenting parties. This balance can be especially difficult to develop in small communities, where you may have a history with the parents or children who have an open case with OCS or ICWA. For information on conflict of interest or dual relationships, refer to Chapter B-1: Values and Ethics for BHA/Ps.

It is important to remain objective and to work within your scope of practice. This does not mean “telling on” a parent who doesn’t come to sessions, nor does it mean begging the parent to participate in services. Maintaining an objective role in counseling means that you focus on teaching, coaching, encouraging, and supporting parents in making healthy choices for themselves and their children.

Parents whose children are in foster care may be required to participate in parenting classes, counseling, or treatment. Parents may resist this or try to convince you that they don’t need the classes or treatment because they have changed or learned what they needed to in order to be a better parent so they can have their children returned. Make sure you maintain strong boundaries as you work with parents and speak to your clinical supervisor if a parent is not participating in or completing the required activities.

Some parents may seek counseling for the purpose of dealing with feelings of anger, guilt, and resentment over their children being in OCS custody. It’s important to allow the parents to experience their feelings while also assisting them in improving their parenting skills and following OCS rules and expectations for participation in treatment. See Chapter B-4: Confidentiality and Release of Information for more information.

Parents whose children are in foster care may need help understanding and processing feelings of guilt or shame related to their behavior. Guilt says, "I did a bad thing," and shame says, "I am a bad person." While guilt can provide a sense of responsibility and the need to make amends, shame is generally unproductive and even counterproductive. In addition, the parents may blame themselves, the OCS or ICWA caseworkers, the judge, or even the children for the family being separated.

• Remind the parents that they are responsible for their own actions and that the children are innocent.
• Help parents accept responsibility for their actions and help them identify healthy actions they can engage in instead.
• Teach parents healthy parenting skills using best practices and encourage them to educate themselves on positive approaches to parenting.
• Encourage parents to forgive themselves for past mistakes.
• Help parents to explore their own histories. Doing so may allow them the chance to make changes in their parenting practices that will benefit all members of the family.

Remember that foster parents have not “taken” a child away from the child’s family and home.

Foster parents are individuals who have gone through extensive background checks, training, and approval to become foster parents. They open their homes, their families, and their hearts to children identified by OCS as needing a safe living environment.

When you work with families involved in the foster care system, you might also be called upon to provide services to the foster parents. These individuals hold a special place in the world of foster care because they provide a home, support, and love to children but are not the legal guardians or decision makers for the children they are helping raise.

Foster parents may be treated poorly by the parents, who can feel threatened by the foster parents’ role. Foster parents may also be treated poorly by the children in their care for attempting to establish household rules while also abiding by OCS and/or ICWA guidelines. Some will consider them to be nothing more than glorified babysitters and they are very likely to be aware of this perception. Helping foster parents develop confidence in their role means adding a sense of security to the children’s temporary home. Providing support to foster parents could include:

• Allowing the foster parents to share feelings and thoughts about their role in counseling visits that don’t include the foster children.
• Helping them to explore all of their options as temporary parents.
• Helping them through their feelings and options if they are considering adopting their foster children.
• Acting as a liaison between the foster parents and children to help them develop positive communication skills, quality family time, and positive household rules.
• Validating the foster parents’ feelings of insecurity and frustration in their demanding and often thankless role.
• Acting as a liaison between the foster parents and the other treatment team members.
• Educating them (and all parties involved in foster care) on the respectful titles that each member has to reduce/eliminate negative wording that can stay with children forever. For example, instead of the term “real parents,” encourage clients to refer to “biological parents,” and instead of talking about the children being “taken away” from their parents, encourage them to say “removed.”
• Reminding and encouraging foster parents to engage in self-care activities to reduce episodes of frustration and burnout.

It is not easy for anyone when a child is placed in foster care, and all parties involved need to feel respected, encouraged, and heard. As the BHA/P, your role is essential in teaching families the skills necessary to ensure that the foster care experience is as stress-free as possible. This does not mean that you won’t experience moments of stress when counseling people who are part of the foster care system, nor does it mean that all foster care stories will have happy endings. However, when you take care of yourself while providing quality care to your clients, the reward of helping families will outweigh the challenges inherent to foster care.