A Duty to Respond to All the Little Katchinas

Nurturing, supportive, empathetic—these are words every child should be able to use to describe their upbringing. Unfortunately, this is not the experience for many children in Rhode Island. According to the RI DCYF 2020 Permanency Report, 1122 children under the age of 18 entered out-of-home placement during fiscal year 2019. Sadly, there weren’t enough licensed foster families available to care for all of these vulnerable children.

There are different reasons children enter into state care. Some children come into care needing a forever home, whereas others need a temporary semblance of stability while their biological parents work to address the concerns which lead to the removal of their children. As a result of this disruption, all these children deserve compassionate, well-trained, trauma informed foster parents who can help them navigate through this difficult experience.

Unfortunately, there are specific child subgroups that foster care programs find challenging to place, particularly children 8-16 years of age, and children who identify with the LGBTQ community. Additional cohorts of foster children that are difficult to match with foster families would be those with significant developmental delays, behavioral diagnoses, or complex medical needs. These groups have also experienced significant trauma and are more vulnerable to multiple removals and low expectations of permanency. It is essential they be fostered in nurturing environments with parents specially trained to support their needs.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Katchina, a former foster child who was later adopted by her parents, Norman and Linda Harrod. Katchina was eight years old when she and her two younger siblings were first placed in foster care. Luckily, they were able to remain together in a single home which is considered crucial to minimizing the deleterious effect of parental separation. Unfortunately, though, that luck didn’t last very long. The children were soon separated into three separate placement homes, with the sisters in two different foster homes and their brother in a group home. Katchina’s sister was eventually adopted by the foster parents she was last placed with, but Katchina and her brother remained in separate care. After some time had passed, Katchina and her brother did end up being placed into the same home with Norman and Linda Harrod, and as mentioned, were adopted by them.

You can imagine the stress these siblings experienced with each upheaval. Katchina described her early childhood as “overwhelming” and felt that she had to grow up faster than her peers. The responsibility of caring for her siblings was often left solely on her shoulders due to her biological father’s absence and biological mother’s mental illness. Before meeting Linda and Norman, Katchina never imagined being able to finish high school, and had always assumed she’d have to quit school to care for her younger siblings. After she and her brother were adopted by the Harrods, high school and college suddenly became realistic goals. Katchina earned her associate’s degree two years ago and graduated this year with a Bachelor’s degree from Rhode Island College.

There is a desperate need for people willing to open their homes to children living in turmoil, and now, there are unique barriers to recruiting and retaining foster families that come as a result of the current COVID pandemic. Potential and existing foster families are fearful of the risk of exposure to the virus as school age children are transitioning to in-person instructions. We weigh this against the need for providing safe shelter to so many children in need, and point out that schools are taking all possible precautions to ensure children can have benefits of the in-person learning experience while practicing preventative measures to avoid transmission of the virus. School departments have been collaborating with the RIDOH, RIDE, and DCYF in order to best support education needs while remaining safe.

Additionally, agencies are increasing supports and resources to foster families, including opportunities for more specialized trainings. These include a ten-week TIPPS MAP training as well as monthly trainings that touch on a variety of topics regarding the children involved in the child welfare system.

Community Care Alliance is fortunate to have the experience of Linda Harrod to lead on this. Over the years, Linda and Norman fostered 17 children and adopted seven children of various ages, genders, and socioemotional needs. Additionally, Linda’s experience with fostering had a significant influence on her career path in child welfare and she is currently the Therapeutic Foster Care Program Manager. The knowledge she gained in her training to become a clinician in the field benefited the children in her care and has inspired her to help train other foster parents.

In the current climate there are many unknowns. One thing is certain though—the vulnerable children of Rhode Island need our help and it is our duty to respond. There are many “little Katchinas” out there who can grow up to be educated, caring, and assets to society just like she has. She too would like to foster someday so that she can be the person she needed as a child. When asked what her adult self would advise her adolescent self, Katchina responded, “I’d tell her to never give up because forward is forward no matter the speed.” —Pauline Awosika, BS, Therapeutic Foster Care Recruiter/Trainer, Community Care Alliance

Community Care Alliance is offering virtual trainings on how to become a Foster Parent. Call Pauline at 401-999-9702 to find out more.