Blog Post 4: Mind Mapping the Foster Care System

Kaitlin Emerson

4 Responses to “Blog Post 4: Mind Mapping the Foster Care System

  • Robin Mary Bebo-Long
    5 years ago

    All I can say is WOW!

    What I truly appreciate about your mind map is how thoroughly you unpacked your topic. I can see the processes of your thinking in a way that wasn’t clear to me before. This a fantastic metacognitive approach to understanding the nuances of foster care. What new understandings did you glean by going through this process?

    • Hi Robin,

      I was surprised to find out how many children in Franklin and Grand Isle Counties are in need of foster homes. In this week’s mind map, I want to explore the reasons people in Vermont, particularly in these counties where over 200 children need a loving foster family, are choosing not to consider fostering a child.

  • Hi Katie,
    When I was looking at your mind map I couldn’t help but wonder what is the process like to be a foster parent? With that, I know there are some barriers people have to overcome to be “certified”. Do those guidelines hold people back even if they are interested and tons of children are in need? Another thing is the piece about disabilities within the system. What is the rate of disability adoptions to other adoptions? Would that be something that could be changed or influenced?
    Have a good weekend
    -Meredith

    • Hi Meredith,

      I wasn’t sure what the process was for becoming a foster parent, so for this week’s mind map I tried to explore some of what that was like. To get a license, or certification to become a foster parent, people have to go through an orientation or a course outlining the basics of foster parenting. Then there are the financial and age requirements. For some, the financial aspect might be a challenge, but foster parents are typically compensated for taking care of the children.

      I’m not sure what the ratio of adopted children with disabilities versus without is, but I would assume that children without disabilities are more likely to be adopted. I remember reading somewhere that close to half of the children waiting to be adopted have some sort of intellectual or physical disability. A foster or adoptive parent would have to have the right set of skills to care for a disabled child, as well as enough resources and time to accommodate the child, and most people are not prepared to take on a task like that. It would be interesting to find out what could be done to get more children, but particularly children with disabilities, into homes.

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