Disclaimer: I am not an attorney; this article should not be construed as legal advice. Opinions are my own. 

In recent years, eyes and ears across the country have been on West Virginia due to the state’s notorious opioid epidemic and economic instability, but one ripple effect of both issues doesn’t get talked about as much: the state’s foster care crisis.

Children enter foster care for a variety of a reasons, but the underlying reason is the same: for some reason(s), a child’s parent(s) cannot adequately provide necessary care, and the child is being neglected, abused, or some combination thereof. Broadly, the home is not a safe, secure place that is beneficial to the child’s well-being. Children can be removed for a plethora of issues which include (but are not limited to) physical/sexual abuse, substance abuse, incarceration, illness, death of a parent, and behavioral issues (AACP, 2018). 

Foster care is typically intended to be temporary, with reunification the ultimate goal when appropriate (JLSA Admin, 2021). In West Virginia, parents may be given an “improvement period,” which requires them to comply with specific terms and conditions that are unique to them and the reason(s) their child was removed from their home. For example, a condition may be mandatory, random drug screenings. Improvement periods can be beneficial because they give parents the opportunity to work on themselves while their child’s needs are still being met.

Often, parents may utilize an improvement period by entering rehabilitation. In order to assess compliance and evaluate progress, parents are supervised during their improvement period by DHHR workers, and are required to maintain regular contact with service providers.

To make the process fairer, parents are appointed an attorney to represent their interests in and out of court. When conditions are not met after an extended amount of time, permanent placement may become a more feasible option (W. Va. Code § 49-4-610). 

So, what is the foster-care makeup in West Virginia?

As of the February 2021 DHHR Foster Care Placements Report, there are currently 6,789 children living in foster care in our state. 6,789 children. The most common type of placement in West Virginia is certified kinship/relative home, in which 2,305 children are currently placed (DHHR, 2021). A certified kinship is a residence that has been approved for fostering, whereas a relative home refers to a foster care placement in which a child is living with a relative – commonly, grandparents.

The elderly generation has been hit extra hard by the opioid crisis – not only do they have to cope with the reality of having an adult child who is suffering from addiction, but often, they have to take on the role of parenting their grandchildren.

This is problematic because grandparents frequently aren’t in an ideal position to raise their grandchildren. They often live on limited incomes, have extensive health issues, and may find it more difficult to supervise and discipline unruly children. The golden years are supposed to be spent relaxing and enjoying the fruits of one’s labor, but many West Virginia grandparents have had to start the overwhelming child-rearing process all over again. 

Sometimes, children are removed from one home only to find themselves in another bad environment – while there are many great foster care placements, there are documented cases of children being abused at the hands of their foster parents. In order to paint an accurate picture of the foster care crisis, I asked people to share their experiences with me; some were good, and some were horrible.

(Trigger Warning: the next paragraph includes content about physical and sexual abuse). 

One person I spoke to wrote, “I was put in my first placement when I was five-years-old. My parents had a drug problem and just couldn’t get their act together. It was me[,] my sister and brother. They tried keeping us together at first. We went to eight different homes the first year. Just after I turned seven, we were placed with a couple [name redacted] who fostered us for a year before deciding they wanted to adopt me and my little brother, but didn’t want my sister.”

“They separated us, and my brother and I were adopted by them. It was horrible, they used kids for the money in it. They adopted my brother and I to be their slaves pretty much. I was used as a babysitter for the other children they were fostering. I was abused physically and sexually from the age of eight till 14 when I finally spoke up. It was found that it was not only me but several other little girls that were in their care. Their license was pulled, and they can never get another child again.” 

Another person I talked to was fortunate enough to find some homes where she was properly cared for, and she says she still maintains a bond with those families. However, she acknowledged that the system isn’t perfect, and she wishes more people understood the trust issues that children in foster care experience. She also went on to say that she prefers the term “children suffering consequences made by adults,” instead of “foster children.” She expressed that it’s scary to be around strangers and children in foster homes often don’t feel comfortable telling their new adults about bad things due to fear of being labeled a “troubled child.” She was placed in 14 different foster homes as a child – so she grew up constantly wondering when she was going to have to pack her things and move again, making it difficult to establish familial bonds.

Her message was striking, “those children are already feeling unwanted and unloved.” She suggests foster parents spend time one-on-one and give extra love to children in their care without holding back out of the fear of growing too attached. The kids need you to be attached. 

We owe it to our kids to have these uncomfortable conversations. Bottom line: our state needs good foster parents. Children are our most precious resource – it sounds cliché, but it’s true. They are little sponges, the way we treat them does have a lasting impact. When children are exposed to trauma, we, as adults, have an ethical responsibility to seek out necessary resources in order to help alleviate their pain.

We know that trauma can manifest itself in the form of unhealthy coping mechanisms, thereby keeping our state’s most insidious cycles alive. Every child is deserving of a safe, suitable home where they are loved, respected, and pushed to be the best version of themselves. There are thousands of West Virginia children in foster care right now – if you feel that you can make a positive difference, you should consider fostering here.