We Have An Emergency – Foster Care

Emergency Foster Care Placements

This post is the first in a series of 6, that discusses what Foster Care Emergency Placements are, how and why we decided to open our home to Emergency Foster Care Placements, and our experience as an Emergency Placement Home.

We Have An Emergency

When Ariel left our home for her potential forever home, we needed time to process the change in our family, and reflect on our journey.  When a child leaves your home, even in the best of circumstances, it is a painful experience.  However, as we slowly processed the change in our home and came to terms with our new “normal”, we quickly remembered the State of the System  in Oregon, and the crisis that we are in.  Some people process loss and grief by carrying on with life, by returning to work, maintaining routines, and pushing forward. In the few short weeks after Ariel moved from our home, it became apparent that this is how our family processes change, copes, and continues on in this crazy world of foster care.

After much thought, reflection, and conversation, coupled with the knowledge that in Oregon, children in the foster care system spend nights, weeks, or even months in hotels due to a lack of available foster care providers and beds, we decided to open our home to emergency foster care placements.  We agreed that with only one child in the home, we did not want to sit by with a perfectly good empty bedroom in our home, while children, through no fault of their own, spent nights with strangers (DHS employees) in hotel rooms.

This was not a decision we made on our own though, we knew that just like the decision to become foster parents, the decision to take new placements needed to be a decision that the entire family agreed with. When we broached the conversation with Trevor*, about opening our home to “emergency” placements, to our surprise, he was fully on board. It was amazing to see his understanding of the struggle of other kids in foster care, and his desire to share his home and his family with them. We let him know that for every child DHS called us about, we would check with him first to make sure he was alright with them living with us.

And so, we began opening our home to “emergency” placements. We became emergency foster parents much the same way that we became foster parents. We had the resources, and there was a need.

We became emergency foster parents much the same way that we became foster parents. We had the resources, and there was a need.

When we called our Certifier to let them know that we were interested in being on the “after hours” and “emergency placement” call list, we thought that it meant that we would be getting calls in the evenings and weekends, when DHS offices were closed, when children had to be removed from unsafe environments immediately. Our understanding was that the placement would be for a night or two, until DHS could locate a long term placement resource for the children, either relatives or a certified foster parent. Our hope was that our open room would keep children from the traumatic experience of living in a hotel room, as well as expose them to the positive people who choose to be foster parents, and comfort them during their worst nights and most vulnerable time.  Instead, we learned just how dire the foster care crisis in Oregon, and many other places actually is.

“Our hope was that our open room would keep children from the traumatic experience of living in a hotel room, as well as expose them to the positive people who choose to be foster parents, and comfort them during their worst nights and most vulnerable time.  Instead, we learned just how dire the foster care crisis in Oregon, and many other places actually is.”

When you become a foster parent, you have the opportunity to tell your Certifier what “type” of children you are comfortable having placed in your home. Initially, we had very few stipulations, but after a few placements, and realizing that the children in foster care are actually just children, and should not be defined by their experiences or circumstances that were no fault of their own, we ended up being open to accepting children of all ages, all genders, and all past experiences. This means that prior to opening our home to emergency placements, we had cared for children from 11-months to 12-years, from all walks of life with every past trauma you could imagine.  During that time, we had purchased all necessities to care for kids of all ages, genders and experiences. This is probably why we received calls for emergency placements almost immediately. Little did we know, our understanding of “emergency” or “short term” placement was not accurate.

***This is the first post in a series documenting our experience having emergency placements. A post pertaining to each child will be available over the next six days.***

Pt. 2 – Brit, 16

Pt. 3 – Carlton, 8

Pt. 4 – Ryan, 2

Pt. 5 – Abram, 5

Pt. 6 – Charles, 8 – Alyssa, 2

*All names of children have been changed to protect their privacy

Thanks for reading, if you have questions or comments, feel free to post them in the comment section below, we would love to hear from you.  To receive updates when a new post is published, click the “Follow” button, we appreciate your interest in our journey. You can also “like” our page on Facebook.

2 Replies to “We Have An Emergency – Foster Care”

  1. Hi there! I’m a new foster care licensing social worker in Idaho and stumbled across your blog in my research to better support foster families and children. Your experiences are so valuable to learn from and I will be taking them back to my team. Thank you for opening your hearts and home!

    1. Glad you found our blog, and yes, please share with your team. In Oregon, our system has been struggling for decades and a new initiative is to create a dialogue between foster parents and social workers to create a cohesive team. When we all work together, we all benefit, but especially the kiddos. Thanks for reading and for the hard work that you do as well. It is not a glamorous job, but it is a meaningful one.

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