Most foster care agencies and foster parents know that back to school can also mean more children entering foster care. Foster parents tend to try to be prepared for new placements between September and October. This is probably due to children interacting with teachers again and teachers are mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect. Over the summer there were less people taking note on a child's well-being.
Foster parents are also mandatory reporters of child abuse. That is probably one of the toughest calls to make, reporting that a child is being abused or neglected. It's even tougher when the child discloses the abuse or neglect to you personally. This has happened to me as a foster parent more than once. How do you handle yourself when a child discloses abuse or neglect? What do you do if you suspect a child is being abused?
But with new foster children entering the system this school year, I sincerely hope that foster parents are doing their best with the kids and treating them as they would their own children. This may seem like common sense to most of us, but unfortunately there are those who don't understand the importance of being an involved foster parent.
Is it common in your area for there to be a surge of children entering the foster care system when school starts?
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