The social worker is one of the many people foster parents interact with on a frequent basis. This person is expected to be cooperative, a good listener, respectful, and sympathetic to the needs of the child and foster parents. Most social workers are hard-working, dedicated, and concerned about the children within the foster care system. Unfortunately, many agencies are severely understaffed and ongoing fostering cases often do not receive the nurturing they require.
Social workers operate within tight deadlines and are constantly dealing with crises, leading to high levels of stress. Child Protective Services investigations and removing children from risk take precedence over ongoing foster cases. They may not seem pleasant or willing to please, but most are also not mean or bad people. They are forced to deal with a bad situation and make the best of it.
There are several things that foster parents can do to improve the situation. Many of these techniques focus on the foster parents and the family, which might seem to be a roundabout solution. Joining and participating in a foster parent association offers strength in numbers. The group can influence legislation, the local social work office, and to increase community support.
Volunteering to assist the social work agency with recruiting of new homes, training, and envelope stuffing may help improve the system within the local community. Foster parents can brainstorm other ways to assist each other and the agency. By undertaking initiatives to establish a helpful environment, the situation may improve.
Helping legislators, the media, and social workers to understand what a great role foster parents occupy goes a long way. Staying positive ensures that these relationships do not erode over the long-term. Being a foster parent is an important job that many people do not think about so they must be continuously reminded of it.
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