My Vantage Point

Given the complexity and diversity of the foster care system and its impact, its important to note my background.

• The leading indicator that a child will end up in foster care is poverty. Both as a child and as an adult, I have had/have financial privilege.

• Children and families of color are over-represented in the foster care system. I am white.

• I chose to become a foster parent, and did so on my own timeline. The children entering foster care have no choice; neither do their parents or families. In addition, many people become foster parents without intention or preparation on their part.

All of this is to say is that while I am fully and wholly a member of this community, I represent a minority voice, experience, and vantage point within the world of foster care. This blog is not authoritative, and I cannot in any way, shape, or form, claim to be a “universal representation” of what foster care is or how it impacts people.

My aim is to provide a quality contribution, however small, to a much larger discussion.

Always, always, I encourage you to seek out the voices of children and alumnae of the system; their parents; and the immediate and extended families of those children. Their perspectives are so often overlooked and undervalued, but you cannot understand foster care without listening to them.

It is also worth noting that I served as a foster parent in Marin County, California, part of the nine county San Francisco Bay Area; and currently reside in central Virginia, outside Charlottesville. Foster care is locally administered and therefore it is worth knowing that my experience and knowledge has been primarily influenced by the resources and realities in these two areas.