Our town commemorated Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month with a Light of Hope ceremony on the courthouse steps. The event was sponsored by our local CASAs - Court Appointed Special Advocates. CASAs are some of the first heroes encountered by children who have been abused or neglected.
If you can imagine your worst fear as a child, it would be losing your parents. Children who are placed in state custody because of abandonment, abuse, or neglect feel that loss along with many more painful emotions. In my work as a counselor with children at each stage of the difficult processes of investigation, removal, and termination of parental rights, I am thankful for those heroes who choose to parent these hurting children.
Children are often first placed in foster homes. Foster parents are needed in every community. Perhaps you will become a hero to children in your town and state. My suggestion for getting started is to explore the site of About's Adoption/Foster Parent Guide or these great resources for foster parents on the Net.
Teaching parents are also my heroes. Group homes, often with religious affiliations, are working miracles with troubled children every day. I am amazed at the effectiveness of the educational, behavioral, and environmental interventions used by the United Methodist group home in our community. Kids with very troubled pasts are succeeding and that's a blessed thing to see. Statistics from Girls and Boys Town show that 83% of their children graduate from high school and that 92% are employed or in educational training two years after leaving the program.
Adoptive parents take the next step to give a child a family for life. Children who grow up in foster care are frequently cut loose at age 18. Though they have the ability to remain in foster care past 18 if they are enrolled in school, many begin living life on their own. Some are able to connect with relatives, even the parents they were removed from. Others have no one. What a feeling of hope and security it gives a child to know that adoptive parents are there for them throughout their lives. So, I give special tribute to the heroes of adoption, especially those who adopt our older foster children.
More of this Feature
Parenting Practices Associated with Child Abuse
Understanding and Preventing the Cycle of Abuse in Your Family
