From Survival Skills to Coping Skills – How to develop healthy habits in case planning
Interview by Keyna Franklin
Amelia Franck Meyer is the CEO of Alia, a non-profit dedicated to transforming the child welfare system by working with system leaders and partners responsible for getting youth back home with their families.
Photo: Amelia Franck Meyer
Q:... Read More
‘I Was Scared But I Stood Up for Myself’
Rise Contributors Melissa Landrau (left) and Mariya Kolesnichenko (right).
When CPS showed up at my door, they came in very aggressive. I had just lost my grandmother, who was my caretaker, and had gone through a break-up with my son’s... Read More
Breaking Down Barriers — Once I trusted my caseworker, I was able to make progress
I met my caseworker Gloria when I went to rehab after I got the case. The first time we met, she explained how she could help me get my kids back if I put forth the effort. It was... Read More
Plan of My Own — I didn’t think I needed services but I did them anyway
I will never forget the day I returned home from an appointment and saw a note on my door saying that my children had been removed from home. I thought, “Did they take all of my kids?”
When I opened... Read More
Peer Support
One of the biggest challenges for parents affected by child welfare involvement is planning. When you are in crisis, your mind can’t focus on planning. That can make it even harder to keep track of the many mandates, appointments,... Read More
Peer Support
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Partners in Planning — When parents and caseworkers work together, families move in the right direction
Toni Miner and Sherry Tomlinson, parent advocates in Jefferson County, Colorado and Columbus, Kansas, discuss how parents can work effectively with their caseworkers to get the services they want and need.
Q: What can parents do if their worker isn’t... Read More
Power to the Parent — A NYC program puts service planning in the hands of parents and provides peer support
Parents fighting to reunite with their kids often feel like they have no say in their family’s service planning and are given services without being asked what they need. Many also feel alone in the process.
Several child protective agencies... Read More
Group Think — When parents are supported to participate, workers can make better decisions
Recently, I facilitated a Family Team Meeting with a mother who was going through tremendous stress. Her partner had recently died and she’d been diagnosed with a serious illness. She also suffered from anxiety and depression
Up until these crises... Read More
Case Control — Your rights in service planning
Parents who feel powerless during the service planning process often accept services, schedules and other demands placed on them by the child welfare system that they can’t do or don’t believe will be helpful because they aren’t informed or are... Read More
Truth Without Fear — When your child’s in care, honesty and dishonesty are both risky
Earlier this year, I sat down with a mother, her case planner and her CPS investigator.
I was the supervisor on the case. The CPS worker began by stating that the mother was suffering from paranoia and because of that,... Read More
Mommy Time — I had to change for my children’s sake
I was angry at the world when CPS took my daughters Melanie, 8 months, and Amaya, 1 week old. I’d always wanted to avoid my kids going into foster care because my brother and I were raised in care.
But it was... Read More
Life Support — After years of chaos, I’m moving forward with the right help
When my oldest daughter went into foster care five years ago, I was 20 and struggling. I’d signed myself out of foster care two years earlier and had been bouncing between youth shelters and my mom’s place.
I went into... Read More
Critical Planning — Good communication and the right services are key to reunification
For parents trying to reunify with their children, completing the service plan within the 15 months allowed by federal law can feel like an uphill battle, filled with demands, court dates, conferences and impossible expectations.
For parents struggling with trauma,... Read More
After Care — I wish my service plan had prepared me for reunification
After spending four years in foster care, my 7-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter were trial discharged to me in time for Christmas 2015.
The family shelter I was in with my 9-month-old baby wasn’t our idea of home, but my kids... Read More
