The Origins of Child Protective Services

Did you know that Child Protective Services (CPS) in the United States actually got its start with the SPCA? That’s right, back in 1875 the New York Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals spawned the first quasi-governmental protection for children. They called it the SPCC, or Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children.  This was done because there were no other governmental protections for kids.

It’s interesting that the SPCA itself was formed 51 years earlier, in 1824. People were more concerned about animals than children!

Waiting

(This is a continuation of a thread on how I became a foster parent. Click HERE to view the previous post in this thread.)

After my foster parent application was approved by Gateway Residential (a private foster home agency) I waited for my first foster child placement. After a month or so I became antsy, so I joined a local foster parent association and attended a few meetings. It was through this association that I first learned about respite care.

Respite care is basically kid-sitting for foster children by other certified foster parents. If a foster parent has to leave town for a while and can’t take the kids, or for some reason needs a short break from the kids, they can request respite care. The foster kids are then temporarily placed in a different home – the home of a respite care provider. The length of time may be hours or days.

Since my first placement was taking so long, I signed up to provide respite care for other foster parents. Through this process I met brothers L & C, who were 10 and 7 years old.  Later I met brothers C & B, who were 6 and 5 years old. Little B was a terrific kid who had the misfortune of being afflicted by cerebral palsy, mostly in his legs.

L & C during a respite visit.

Applying Through a Private Agency

(This is a continuation of a thread on how I became a foster parent. Click HERE to view the previous post in this thread.)

I don’t remember why, but the first time I applied to become a foster parent it was through a private agency called Gateway Residential. (Now I work directly with the county.) The process took a long, long time. I had to:
 - Fill out a lengthy application and list three non-relative references
 - Submit a criminal records statement and be fingerprinted, and my fingerprints were run through a child abuse index
 - Get a complete health physical and a TB test
 - Submit an income and expense financial report and a personal budget
 - Develop a home disaster plan showing the layout of my home and where we would meet in an emergency
 - Have a “home study” performed to approve my home as safe for children
 - Attend an orientation class and take a minimum number of hours of parent training
 - Take a class in first aid and CPR, and put together a home first aid kit
 - Move all medicines and toxic cleaners into a locked cabinet

I completed all of this application process and was approved in early 1994. Then I waited for the call.

Click HERE to view the next post in this series.

The Big Brother Program

(This is a continuation of a previous post about how I became a foster parent. Click HERE to view the previous post.)

In the early 1990’s I joined the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Program of the East Bay. This organization’s stated purpose was “to match children of varied ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds with stable, mature adults… to increase the child’s self-esteem and broaden their future options.”

This program accepted girls from 10 to 16 years old, and boys from 7 to 14 years old. I was matched with an eight year old "little brother" named Kai. (He is on the right in the photo above.) Kai lived with his mother, who was divorced and held down a full time job. He didn’t see much of his father. For the better part of a year we palled around together on weekends. Sometimes we went on special trips, like to the zoo, and other times he just joined me in whatever I had going on. One of the things I remember about Kai was that he liked drawing, and I just found some of his drawings in my file cabinet!

There were a lot of things I liked about the Big Brother program, but the sporadic visits and having to return the kid to his mother every day were difficult. Every time we got together it seemed like we were starting over and working on the same problems. I didn’t get the sense that I was making a difference. So, in 1993 I decided to look into becoming a foster parent.

Click HERE to view the next post in this series.

Why Did I Become a Foster Parent? (Part 2)

(This is a continuation of a previous post.  Click HERE to see this previous post.)

After a few years the adult relationships broke down, and our two families went their separate ways. When this happened, for the first time in my life, I had feelings of loss from not being around a child. Around this time someone suggested I look into the Big Brother program. This is a mentoring program designed to help disadvantaged youths, hopefully keep them out of trouble and make them better adults. This seemed like a worthy program and a good way for me to put my new-found kid skills to use, and fill the void I felt in my heart.

The process to become a Big Brother is very similar to becoming a foster parent. For example, there is a lengthy application process including fingerprinting and reference checks. Eventually I was approved and matched with my first, and what would turn out to be my last, “Little Brother”.

Click HERE to view the next in this series of posts.

Why Did I Become a Foster Parent?

That’s a good question, and it has been asked a lot. Back in the 1980’s I considered children more of a nuisance than anything else. I knew then, or thought I knew, that I didn’t want to have any children of my own. Then my father started dating a lady, and through him I became friends with her and her family. This lady's daughter was struggling through a difficult marriage and had a young boy that, by 1990, was starting elementary school. Around this time my father and his lady friend bought a small cabin in the Sierra Mountains, and we – both our families – started vacationing there together. Over a period of time I got to know this boy, and was asked to watch after him from time to time while his parents were busy. We became friends, and my perspective on children changed forever.

Of course there’s more to it, but I will leave that for future posts.  (Click HERE to see the next post on this topic.)