Case in point
Well, I promised to follow up my last post with some good news, and I know that at least one of my readers will be disappointed that she won’t get to read about the sense of optimism I feel in …
foster care Archive
Complaints, concerns, but also causes for optimism
I’ve been delaying writing this post because for a stretch I was too outraged about certain things I’d been hearing in the foster care scene. Outrage is healthy if you can articulate it well and channel it productively, but anger …
Hazards of the Job
Recently I’d been thinking a lot about how this work uplifts me. On Twitter I had some wonderful conversations with youth advocates in the special ed and autism community about the public misperception that the populations we work with are …
Inspired by “Dispiriting” Work: A Child Welfare Worker’s Thoughts
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The Mind of the Conservative Social Worker: Part One
As someone who is a bit more conservative than my peers, I often think of the reasons why I want to get involved in social work. While the goal of all social workers is to improve the lives of disadvantaged …
Preserving the idealism of youth—and a new project
Been thinking again about that point in life when youthful idealism clashes with the harsh realities of the world. I’ve already written about Egan’s Invisible Circus and Woolf’s Jacob’s Room, but the most famous literary example of the disappointment of youth in the apathy and hypocrisy …
The Ethics of Program Design in Youth Development
One of the higher compliments anyone can pay me for my work is something along the lines of “I would love to take that workshop myself!” or “My high school- / college-aged kid could use that program!” or better yet, “Everyone could …
Unmet Mental Health Needs of Children in Foster Care
As a follow-up to a previous article on youth in the child welfare system and overuse of psychotropic medications, Imagine Giving an Infant A Psychiatric Drug, here are some highlights from the December 2012 Government Accountability Office’s Congressional report on …
