People Wanted

Since we adopted our kids, we put ourselves out of commission as foster parents. Indiana guidelines now, allow five kids in a foster home. That includes the foster parents' legal children.

This has been ok with us. We decided we needed to focus on our kids and their needs. They had been bounced around and put on the back burner by others. Now is their time. I have enjoyed the "normal" this has brought to our family. A set routine, plans in advance, a budget that is easy to stick to.
But, something has been missing for me. Not necessarily for the family as a whole, but for me. I started finding articles and things about child abuse and foster kids. No matter how far away my kids' pasts are, their circumstances are always in my heart. It's a daily thing for me. It hinders my decisions about everything I do for them. But, I guess it hasn't filled my days like it had previously. So my free time was being taken over by the headlines. Headlines of abuse. News stories of neglect. Articles of the latest dead baby found in a trash can instead of being taken to a Safe Haven. These things haunt me.

I had been offered a volunteer position with CASA last year and backed out. It just wasn't the right time. I knew I had wanted to have something to do with these kids, but wasn't sure to what extent. A good friend of mine called in July. She was a previous FCM, Family Case Manager, at the DCS we worked with. She is actually the one responsible for Alecia's adoption. She asked if I would be interested in sitting on a board for Child Abuse Prevention in our county. Shocked, I said yes right away. She also asked me if I had thought about joining CASA. I explained my plan last year and she encouraged me to look into it again.

Next thing I know, the CASA director is emailing me an application. So, now I am about one week away from being sworn in to the CASA program..

CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate. We become officers of the court, designated by the judge to investigate our case and form an opinion to report to him. He calls us "his eyes and ears." Judge highly values our opinions and takes them seriously. He appreciates the different views that are not mandated by DCS policy.

I am excited to dig in! I have always been a jump-in-with-both-feet type person. And this is no different. Gung-ho, all guns blazing!

Now, to my plea. We need good foster homes something terrible!! If we need them, you need them! And don't think these kids are not your responsibility. They may grow up to be your neighbor, your cashier, your repair man. They will be in society with us and someone needs to take responsibility of them as children to teach them the way. It doesn't take a lot to provide for these kids. A lot of them have been raise to this with not much at all. Stability, rules and patience is what they need. *Disclaimer: they also need shelter, food and protection, but that is a given*

If you have ever considered, wondered or wanted to know more, call you Department of Child Services and see what steps you need to take. It is a blessing you don't want to miss, and one that these children can't afford to miss.