I Was the Child Left Behind

Thoughts of a one lovingly placed for adoption…an adoption that would not happen but rather 18 years of foster care.   I watched others being chosen. I was ignored. I hoped. I waited. Sometimes they wanted girls, sometimes boys. Sometimes they wanted a brother and a sister under five. I was too young. I was [...]

What’s It Like?

Questions of a former foster child: This blogger waited 36 years to just say HELLO to my birth mother and 40 years to do the same with my birth father. Despite this most these question have remained unswered and will forever remain so as both are deceased. What’s it like: To know there were shouts [...]

Diary of an Unborn Son

May 3, 1949 I am here today though my mommy doesn’t know it; she will feel me real soon. Late May 1949 I am a boy! I can see now and I even have a tail in which to swim, I love my mommy even if she doesn’t know that I am her little boy, [...]

Pro-Life Does NOT End at Birth!

Did the headline catch your attention? I sure hope it did! It is part of a person’s signature on a message board I belong to which I have read numerous times over the past couple of years and it had an impact on me each time I read it. It however took awhile to get [...]

Where is the Outrage for OUR Kids?

Yesterday (8/20/07) I was watching CNN’S program, “The Situation Room.” One segment of the program is, “The Cafferty Files.” It is a segment where correspondent Jack Cafferty describes a situation and then asks a question for viewers to respond to via Email. He then reads some of the responses towards the end of each hour [...]

Something to Think About!

Child Protective Services is needed as there are parents who truly abuse and/or neglect their children. However, in a number of cases I believe they have gone far beyond their authority in removing children from their homes and caused more damage to the youth than the parents may have. Here is a story: INFANT DISCOVERED [...]

My Eleventh Foster Home Experience

This is a chapter from my book, which is no longer in print, I wish to share. The book is available in its entirety on my web site for anyone who wishes to read. This is the story of “My Eleventh Foster Home.” It covers a mere eleven months of my youth (from May 15, [...]

What Happens to Former Foster Youth?

This was a speech, and later published article, delivered by Mr. Bill Stanton, former foster youth and current Board Chair of Foster Care Alumni of America.  I, as a former foster youth myself,  found it so true that I just had to share it with you. I thank Mr. Stanton for sharing his insights. It seems [...]

Family Medical History…What About Adoptees?

Former U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona in 2005 began an initiative to encourage supposedly ALL Americans to learn about their families’ health histories. This would be a way of promoting personal health and preventing diseases.  He has even collaborated with others to offer a new web site and free computer program to help families [...]

Example of Failed Child Welfare System

Recently a program called “Kids Count” released their report of each of the state’s child welfare system, in particular foster care.  Below is an example of a failure…the state of Michigan. I selected this one to share since it is the state in which I grew up in foster care. Though not surprisingly, yet I [...]

Child Welfare System Reform-Part Four

Adoption from Foster Care Reform A child has justifiably been removed from their home, parental rights have been terminated, the child is within the foster care system…it is now time to consider needed reforms to the adoption system. As with CPS and foster care, adoption MUST be done with the best interest of the child [...]

Child Welfare System Reform-Part Three

Foster Care System Reform CPS has been addressed. If all the proposed reforms of this program have been implemented and enforced there should be a large reduction in the number of children needing to be placed in the foster care system. Only after a neglect case has been fully investigated, parents refuse or do not [...]

The Basic Foster Care Facts!

A few people have written stating I don’t know the “true” story about foster care and I should study it more. They also state basically the system is doing well though they do have problems that arise from time to time and one of their problems is a lack of funding. Well I will lets [...]

Child Welfare System Reform-Part Two

CPS (Child Protective Services) is addressed first since this is where one’s entry in the system generally occurs today. Imagine an unsuspecting parent answers a knock at the door to find an agent of the government who wants to obtain answers to allegations (which may not be shared with the “suspect”) made by a shadowy, [...]

Child Welfare System Reform-Part One

I have spent a number of blog entries outlining what I feel are the problems related to the foster care system, including CPS. I have spoken in generalities as to what I would do to reform it. This will be but PART 1 of a 4 part series. In this entry I will give an [...]

Road to Despair & Hopelessness

Imagine you’ve been in foster care most or all of your life. Among all the other disappointments you’ve had to deal with, you’ve had no parents, you have been moved time and time again and few adult mentors were available to teach you what you need to know in order to live successfully on your [...]

Thousands Await Adoption

Nationwide almost 519,000 children are in foster care. While think-tanks do studies and politicians debate, almost 123,000 children are stuck in foster care—and the system that’s supposed to help them find permanent homes isn’t working very well. Thousands of children are stuck in foster care—children waiting to be adopted but who face myriad challenges. They [...]

Should Gays/Lesbians be Foster/Adoptive Parents?

When dealing with the subject of child welfare, whether it is Child Protective Services, foster care or adoption, one cannot sidestep this issue. I also realize for a number of people this is a very controversial subject. I further realize that for some the answer would be an immediate and resounding NO! I have never [...]

My Story in Newspaper

I was fortunate that during August/September 2004 a reporter and photographer spent several hours with me to prepare articles sharing my story in my then hometown nespaper, “Midland Daily News.” To my surprise when the articles appeared they were on the front page of the October 3, 2004 (Sunday) front page on top of the [...]

Story of My Search for Birth Parents

I shared the story of my youth in foster care in the entry entitled, “One Child’s Horror.” Throughout my twenties, my concern was about my career, my life partner and the things any normal twenty something would be concerned about. I laid my childhood and adolescent years aside and hoped they would be memories of [...]