Rise magazine is written by parents who have faced the child welfare system in their own lives. Many people don’t know that the majority of children who enter foster care return home to their parents–and that most children in care wish for a lifelong relationship with their parents, whether they live with them or not. Helping parents is fundamental to helping children in foster care.
Three parents have joined together to write this excellent article on why bringing the science of toxic stress into the child welfare system is critical
When children are removed from home, parents feel a level of grief and stress that can hardly be explained. Then they often face more stress, with things like losing a job because of mandated services, losing housing and juggling multiple services.
When our bodies feel too much pressure and threat, stress can put us in an “act now, think later” mentality that makes it even harder to do what’s needed. Stress can also make it harder to learn and plan. These reactions can affect parents’ cases. Parents who have difficulty planning or cannot follow through are seen as unwilling to comply.
In October, the Harvard Center on the Developing Child published a paper that explains how ”toxic stress” affects parents and children—and how child welfare systems can use that knowledge to improve practice. The good news is that there are things parents can do to help themselves and their children. Child welfare systems also can take steps to reduce parents’ stress responses so we’re more likely to succeed.
We interviewed Steve Cohen, author of the paper and a senior fellow at the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University and the Center for the Study of Social Policy, about what individual parents and child welfare systems can do.
Read the full article by Jeanette Vega with Dominique Arrington and Sharkkarah Harrison here.
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