When my oldest daughter went into foster care five years ago, I was 20 and struggling. I’d signed myself out of foster care two years earlier and had been bouncing between youth shelters and my mom’s place.
I went into a shelter after my daughter was born, but a few months later my mother asked me to move in with her. It felt good. My mom had always been emotionally cut off from me. She placed … Read More
When I was 23 and my doctor told me I was pregnant, I put my head down and burst out crying.
A piece of me felt grateful that God chose me to bring life into the world. But I also felt angry, ashamed, selfish and scared. The father and I had only been dating a short while. Plus, I had a job but he didn’t, and neither of us was financially secure.
Still, when my boyfriend told me that … Read More
When I was 14 my father broke the worst news to me and my siblings. He told us he had one year to live.
Almost immediately after he told us, he placed my sister and me in foster care, where we were separated, because they said I was always telling my sister what to do and trying to be her “mother.” My brother was locked up and my mother had been removed from our home when … Read More
All my life, I have been ashamed of my family. My father left me and my mother when I was 6 years old. The only memories I have of him were all negative.
My mother was no better. She left my brother and me for another man, and had another child with him as well. My grandmother raised us but she passed when I was 11. As I was bounced around from group homes to foster … Read More
This story is part of Rise’s series by frontline staff at foster care agencies about their experiences working with parents.
I took the job of case planner because I wanted to help families, particularly parents.
I believe I have the ability to empathize with people without judging them. I grew up poor in Harlem in the 1980s. My mother received public assistance, and drug trafficking was all around in my neighborhood, so I understand that people can struggle … Read More
