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Growing Up in the Care of Strangers

Prologue

Revealing one’s deepest, darkest, most painful experiences is no
easy task. Doing so requires re-opening psychological wounds and
unlocking painful memories banished long ago to the secret dungeons
of the mind. This is certainly true for the authors of the stories
in this book, most of whom suffered dangerous and dysfunctional
childhoods requiring removal from their families and placement in
out-of-home care. They have chosen to reflect on their childhood
experiences through the lens of adult professionals, so that their
unique knowledge might reach receptive minds looking to improve
services to today’s youth. Their pre-placement remembrances may
shock you. Their in-placement experiences may alarm you. Their
post-placement adaptations may inspire you. Most of all, their insights
and recommendations may enlighten you, and that is the mission
of this book.

Admittedly, the authors of these stories do not represent a
random sample of children who spent time in out-of-home care.
We purposely sought out college-educated professionals who were
willing to do the hard work required to delve into their memories of
childhood and put their painful remembrances and recommendations
for change on paper so that others might learn from their lifetime
of experiences. However, we did seek diversity as regards type
of placement, gender, race and age. Therefore, the authors represent
the gamut of placement experiences other than substance abuse,
including juvenile justice, mental health, adoptive, orphanage and
foster care. Three of the 11 authors hold bachelor degrees. Eight have
postgraduate degrees. They are white and black, male and female
and range in age from their mid 20s to late 60s.

The 40-year span from the youngest to the oldest author gives
these stories a unique perspective because so much happened in
children’s social services over the four decades of placement experiences
these authors represent. The de-institutionalization movement
of the 1970s, for example, supplanted orphanages with foster homes.
Several of the authors lived in institutional care before or during this
radical paradigm shift. Their experiences and recommendations,
compared to the post-de-institutionalization authors who mostly experienced
foster care, is particularly thought provoking.

The authors also differentiate themselves from the norm by the
depth and breadth of their professional expertise. For example, more
than half worked directly with children in care at some point in their
career. Others hold administrative positions in programs for children
in placement. Some conduct research about youth at risk issues
and contribute to the literature by writing books, scholarly articles
and popular publications. A few teach or mentor social work students.
Many train and educate children’s services professionals. All
remain deeply committed to advancing the quality of care for this
vulnerable group of children whose welfare rests with people who
have not experienced the potentially devastating affects of removal
from their families and growing up in the care of strangers.

Abuse, neglect, parental death and acute family dysfunction
typify the reasons why the authors required out-of-home care.
Most of them lived in multiple placements, as many as 17. Over half
experienced several types of placement, such as foster homes, orphanages,
juvenile detention centers or mental health facilities. The
majority spent all or most of their time in foster care placements, including
foster families, kinship care and group homes. Some of their
placement experiences turned out well, others did not. It is toward
providing an understanding of what placements and services they
believe are in “the best interests of the child” that the authors have
opened up their lives to inspection.

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