NORTHWEST
Saturday, March 24, 2018
Many ways to help foster kids
By JAYATI
RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
Whether opening up
your home or being their
cheerleader, there are many
ways to help foster children.
Children in foster care
have varying needs, from a
temporary place to stay to
therapy for emotional and
behavioral issues.
Some people help foster
kids as Court-Appointed
Special Advocates, or
CASAs. These volunteers
will spend time with and
get to know a foster child,
serving as a friend and
stabilizing force for them.
CASAs will speak on
the child’s behalf at court
hearings, based on the time
they’ve spent with them.
“By visiting with the
kids, it gives us the ability
to advocate for what’s in
their best interest,” said Judi
Allison, a recently sworn-in
advocate. “Most likely
they’ll say, ‘I want to be
with mom or dad.’ That may
not be in their best interest.
But we have that time to be
able to invest with them.”
In Umatilla and Morrow
County last year, there were
83 foster youth paired with
42 special advocates.
Once a child enters foster
care, they will be assigned
an advocate who is usually
with them all the way until
they find a permanent home.
“Even if a kid moves
from home to home, their
CASA is ideally consistent,”
said Jesus Rome, executive
director of Umatilla and
Morrow County CASA.
The advocate meets
with the child at least once
a month, whether at their
home, school, or at the
child’s extracurricular activi-
ties. They also communicate
with the other people in the
child’s life — foster parents,
caseworkers, teachers.
“It removes that sense
that they’re a number,” said
Maureen McGrath, director
of Umatilla Morrow Head
Start, CASA’s parent orga-
nization.
Steve Frazier, an advo-
cate in Hermiston, noted
that often they are the only
consistent person to spend
EO file photo
CASA volunteers take the oath of office from Umatilla County District Court
Judge Lynn Hampton in August at the Umatilla County Courthouse in Pendleton.
time with a child through the that program if they meet the
life of their case.
DHS definition of having a
“There’s a lot of pieces “debilitating psychosocial or
to the puzzle,” he said. “We emotional disorder.”
have the opportunity to
Adam
Rodakowski,
make sure things are going director of the program
OK.”
for GOBHI, said the TFC
Advocates can choose if program faces many of the
there’s a certain age group same challenges as DHS,
they like to work with. including recruiting parents
Frazier said he tends to work willing to take on the respon-
with teen boys, while Allison sibility of a high-needs child.
is currently working with Throughout their service
area, which includes
several elementary
Eastern Oregon, the
school children.
Columbia-Pacific
CASAs
can’t
region and parts
transport children,
of the Willamette
but can meet them
Valley, Rodakowski
at their foster
said there are about
homes, school, or at
25 children in the
sporting events or
program, and 23
activities.
Jesus Rome
therapeutic foster
While
many
care families.
CASAs are over 55,
He said they’ve found
Rome said anyone can do
it, whether a young, single the most success recruiting
current
foster
person or a retiree. CASA through
is offering a training starting parents.
Once a child is in the
April 2.
program, Rodakowski said
Deeper needs
they typically stay anywhere
The Department of from six to 18 months, but
Human Services contracts there is no maximum length
with various behavioral of time. Children in the
rehabilitation services for program usually have some
some of the higher-needs sort of treatment plan, which
children. One program is parents help facilitate.
Therapeutic Foster Care, run
The goal, he said, is to
through the coordinated-care transition the child out of the
organization Greater Oregon program.
Behavioral Health, Inc.
“That doesn’t necessarily
Children will be referred to mean into a different foster
home,” he said. “It may
mean parents choose to
adopt the child.”
He said one component
of training foster parents
receive is in collaborative
problem solving, an inter-
vention strategy which is
taught by GOBHI employee
Kate O’Kelley.
The method is used in
foster care as well other
settings, such as school and
juvenile justice.
“The primary philosophy
is that people will do well if
they can, and that if people
are struggling, it’s because
there’s some situation that’s
hard for them,” O’Kelley
said. “They don’t have the
[cognitive] skills in that
moment.”
O’Kelley said collab-
orative problem solving
helps children develop
those skills by shifting away
from blaming them for their
behavior, and instead trying
to help them understand
why something may trigger
them. They work with chil-
dren on behaviors ranging
from aggressive outburts to
understanding boundaries to
impulse control.
“We give them simple
prompts — OK, you’re
mad. What made you mad?”
O’Kelley said. “Building
new cognitive skills — it
does take time.”
Hermiston choir earns trip to state competition
By JAYATI
RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
The Hermiston High
School Chamber Choir will
sing for a shot at the state
title in May. At the district
regional competition in
La Grande on Wednesday,
Hermiston placed first in
their division, and will get a
chance to show their stuff to a
state audience at George Fox
University on May 4.
Choir Director Jordan
Bemrose-Rust said the
students had to get a score of
85 or above from two of three
judges at the event. The group
received an 87, a 90 and a
92 from the judging panel,
putting them in first place.
There were four competitors
in Hermiston’s 5A divisions,
but 15 1A through 5A schools
at the competition.
Bemrose-Rust said the
students sang four songs,
including a French folk song,
an Indian classical piece and
an African-American spiri-
East Oregonian
Page 3A
BEHIND THE REPORTING
Why we name
our sources
M
outside factors.
ost reporters
These stories and
I know
others offered me a
aren’t used
look into the foster
to seeing their names
care system I didn’t
in print outside of
otherwise have. But
a byline, and many
try to keep it that
the parents made clear
way. Thus, it can be
that they didn’t want
hard for us to accept
to be named.
Jayatti
Ramakrishnan
subjects who don’t
The EO’s policy
want their names
is to identify sources,
Comment
printed, no matter
because it’s important
how significant the
for our readers to
story.
know where we get our
For several weeks, I have
information. So even though
been working on a piece
I had a powerful interview, I
about the state of foster care
couldn’t use most of it.
in Umatilla and Morrow
Jesus Rome, the executive
counties. It finally came out
director of Court-Appointed
on Thursday, but looked
Special Advocates, a group
almost unrecognizable from
of volunteers that work
the story I initially thought I’d with foster kids, said many
write. It had lots of relevant,
children don’t want to let
important information
peers know they’re in the
from people who work at
system.
the Department of Human
“There’s almost a shame
Services, the agency that
there,” he said, adding that
handles foster care. I hope
the stigma exists for both
the story shed some light on
foster children and parents.
the challenges the agency
It’s sad that’s the case,
faces, and left readers with
and makes it all the more
an understanding of how
understandable that children
strained current employees
and parents would hesitate
are.
to be identified in a story.
But the article lacked
But it’s also why I wish the
a key perspective — of
parents I spoke to would
foster families and children
have been willing to use their
themselves. I tried and failed
names.
several times to speak with
The foster father I spoke to
parents and children in the
said he grew up in the system
system.
as well. He said after a series
There are some
of homes, some OK and
good reasons for that.
some bad, he had one good
Confidentiality issues prevent foster home experience that
DHS from releasing names,
changed everything for him.
or from discussing a child’s
Though he was only there for
home situation. For both
two weeks, he said it reset
children and families, there’s
his entire world view. That
a sense of fear that comes
experience, and the ability to
with the limbo of being in
empathize with kids going
foster care, and having your
through foster care, made him
name or story splashed across want to be a foster parent.
the front page can compound
He tells the story much
that anxiety.
better than I do because he’s
When I first started
lived it. And while I respect
researching the story, I
his decision not to use his
focused on a specific type
name, I also wish others
of behavioral rehabilitation
could have heard his telling
called Therapeutic Foster
of the story instead of mine.
Care, which is geared
And that’s why, though
toward children with high
his hesitation is valid, I still
psychosocial and emotional
believe it’s important for us
needs. I was able to speak
to identify our sources in a
with a local couple about
story like this one. Those
their experiences as foster
in the foster care system
parents.
offer a perspective you can’t
They were candid about
pretend to understand from
the challenges. They said
the outside. Reading about
they were concerned, at
another family’s experience
first, about the impact
may encourage someone to
bringing a high-needs child
become a foster parent. It
into the home would have
may assure a foster child that
on their own young son,
there are others out there who
but that he was involved in
can relate to them. Or it may
the interview and training
educate someone on a topic
process. They discussed the
they knew nothing about. But
involvement parents have
it’s most powerful if they hear
in the child’s rehabilitation,
it from the people who’ve
helping the child set goals
been there.
and using social stories to
■
teach behavioral skills. They
Jayati Ramakrishnan is a
talked about the difficulty
reporter for the East Orego-
with saying goodbye, and
nian. Contact her at 541-564-
efforts to keep in touch that
4534 or jramakrishnan@
are sometimes hampered by
eastoregonian.com.
Photo contributed by Robert Luke
The Hermiston High School choir placed first in its di-
vision at the district regional competition in La Grande
on Wednesday and will perform in the state compeiti-
tion at George Fox University on May 4.
tual song.
The Hermiston High
School Chamber Choir has
38 students, ranging from
sophomores to seniors.
Several choir students are
traveling to Disneyland over
spring break for a choir trip
that will include performing
at one of the Disney parks
and recording music. When
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they return, they’ll continue
to practice for the state
competition.
“They’re super excited,”
Bemrose-Rust said. “The
kids have been working very
hard.”
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