Does out-of-home care placement eliminate the trauma?
Consider Greta's story. Greta was a teenager when she was removed from her home:
Transcript
“When I entered the foster care system, I was taken with ten minutes warning. Similar to many foster youth, the day I was removed from my home was one of the most traumatic days of my life. Weird patches of that day stick out in my mind - little things like the look on my mother’s face when she told me I had to leave, and the hula dancing golden retriever on the dashboard of my social worker’s car. The thing I remember most about that day is Christmas socks and flip-flops. In the hustle and bustle of packing and trying to compose myself within the ten-minute timeline, I put on Christmas socks and flip flops, and that is what I would be wearing when I entered care on April 14th, 2004. It was nearly summer time, and obviously my apparel didn't reflect that. I specifically remember standing in my front yard and realizing the state of my footwear; panicking, knowing I wasn't allowed back into my house to get something that would make me look more "put together" amidst the chaos. There was such heartbreaking irony in that moment; me the child with no idea of where I was going or how long I would be there, trying to compose myself to reassure adults that it was okay, while they provided little to no reassurance to me. Maybe that is why it has stuck with me all this time.”
Some traumatized children have difficulty adapting to even small changes in their environment. Yet the reality is that children in care are often placed into entirely new and different environments:
- They are placed in a new home, often the home of strangers.
- They may have to transfer schools – be placed in a new school community - when they are placed in care.
- They may be separated from their siblings.
A child may be in a constantly elevated state of arousal - of fear and loss of control in his life. Everything is potentially dangerous. In this elevated state of arousal and fear, there can be few internal resources left over for learning and for adapting.
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