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Foster Care and Placement, an Unexpected Journey

foster-care-placement-casa

The short narrative film ReMoved has been adopted by many CASA organizations because it paints a portrait of a young girl taken from her home, separated from her little brother and placed in foster care. With each brushstroke, the movie poignantly portrays this little girl’s pain, confusion, anger and the glimmer of hope that keeps her going. It will bring tears to your eyes. The young actress brings the abused and neglected child’s emotions to life—her grief, feelings of loss, shame and even guilt.

ReMoved was originally created for the 168 Film Festival, where it won Best Film and Audience Choice. The short film was also Best Film at the Enfoque Film Festival and an official selection at the Santa Barbara Independent Film Festival. It is now available to be viewed and downloaded on-line. The goal of filmmaker, Nathanael Matanick, was that this thirteen-minute movie would be used as a tool for recruiting and training foster parents. He and his wife were in training to be foster parents at the time.  He wanted to raise awareness of the plight of these children.

Are you considering becoming a foster care parent? Being a foster parent requires the same dedication. FCAC Online Training offers 144 courses, with 5 interactive. New topics are continuously added. Foster Care parents can complete the requisite training hours from the comfort of their own home. Training online offers flexible hours…..No need for baby sitters. The courses are developed by experienced professionals most of whom hold a Masters or Ph.D.

CASA Volunteers help children like the innocent girl in the movie, ignored by her mother, beaten by her mom’s abusive boyfriend and left to take care of her little brother who is still in diapers. The little girl needed a voice to speak for her wants and needs and, most of all, someone stable in her life. Much of the anger she expressed in unsuitable ways might have been mitigated by a caring person who was consistently there for her.

One Advocate tells the story of a little boy who was dropped off at a pediatric psychiatric hospital by his foster parents, where he stayed over a weekend before she found him. He was one of her cases. When he saw her, he asked, “How do you keep finding me?” She found him because he was lost. Being a CASA Volunteer is passion, caring, understanding and giving one’s all.

CASA Volunteers help children in foster care to find the best fit in their home away from home. The first step is getting to know the child, then ferreting out information relevant to the case and that child. They use what they’ve learned to check the “fit” of a placement for a specific child or to compare several placement options. The National CASA Association has an extensive list to be used in such evaluations.

With termination of parental rights, the need for CASA advocacy doesn’t end. Instead, this need increases in importance in ensuring permanence for children. Permanent placement with a safe and loving family is CASA’s first objective. Children in foster care waiting to be adopted have been there an average of 24 months after their parents’ rights are legally terminated in addition to the months of time in foster care leading up to that point.

CASA Advocates are always focused on helpt to to find the child his or her forever home.

You can view ReMoved here: youtu.be/lOeQUwdAjE0.  Bring a box of tissues.

Learn more about Volunteering with CASA >