The Life Book is a service-learning project at the heart of Human Development and Human Service class. Human Service Students were assigned to a child who is involved in Washington State Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). The child is the process of being adopted into a safe, “forever” home. The Life Book is scrap book of the child’s life:
A Life Book is the story of the child’s life. The book may contain pictures, letters, documents important to the child, and an on-going narrative of the important events (such as graduation or a new sibling) that have occurred in the child’s life (Korsmo, n.d).
Research of case study notes and family interviews built an image of children involved in DCFS. It is through collected data that we build the Life Book. The Life Book project provides real world examples of family attachment, non-normative development and resiliency in children.
Over three million children are abused or neglected in America (Perry, n.d). A study in 2006 showed about 510,000 children were in state custody, according to Child Welfare Information Gateway Center. This is the story of one of those children’s development. My assigned child, who I will call Max to protect his identity, is an energetic six year old boy. Max is the second youngest of a family of five. He was taken away from his biological mother care at the age of one after his youngest sister showed to be positive to cocaine at birth. Sometime later he was returned to his mother’s custody. Max was a witness to his father’s domestic violence toward his mother according to DCFS files. There is no evidence that Max experienced physical abuse from his father. The second time Max reentered DCFS custody was when his mother abandoned Max and his sister at a relative’s house.
Max had evidence of physical and psychological neglect. Max was not given proper nutrition while under his mother’s care. He was underweight. His former foster parents communicated that he had food hording behavior. The social worker remarked on his file that behavior is “very typical of children in the system”. His skin had a terrible rash all over his body which took awhile to heal. He also had untreated cavities. Max was sent to doctor for hearing test only to discover a rock had been in his ear channel for a “long period of time.”
Max had been in numerous foster homes and an unsuccessful adoption placement prior to his current residence. The main reason reported in his case file for several placements was due to his behavioral issues. Max would often throw emotional fits that resulted in biting his caregivers and teachers. Educators identified that his behavior could be related to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. ADHD is a “disorder characterized by attention difficulties, impulsive behavior, and overactive or fidgety behavior” (Sigelman & Rider, 2009, p. G-2). The foster parents took Max to a physician who recommend medication. His foster parents did not follow the recommendation stating that they were “against medicating a five year old” (case study notes, 2009).
The case study notes show how Max had limited amount healthy adult bonding. I felt anger after reading that several foster families and an adoption applicant had seemingly rejected Max due to his behaviors. It was frustrating to be able to recognize that his behavior are rooted an unstable family environment. Evidence from Max’s counselor notation showed a possible diagnosis of Reactive Attachment Disorder. RAD is often “markedly [by] disturbed and developmentally inappropriate social relatedness in most contexts, beginning before age five” (DSM-IV). Behaviors associated with Reactive Attachment Disorder according to the International Child and Youth Network range from “needy” behavior, food hording to antisocial behavior. It is also common disorder among children involved in DCFS
Research has shown that up to 80% of high risk families (abuse and neglect, poverty, substance abuse, domestic violence, history of maltreatment in parents’ childhood, depression and other psychological disorders in parents) create severe attachment disorders in their children (TCYN, para. 2).
I learned that children require bonding with an adult to feel safe. Max mother was unable to bond successfully since she was intoxicated, or simply not in his life. Max’s numerous foster families also lacked steady care giver bonding.
I learned that early education is important to a child’s development while working on the Barton Family case studies. Max is receiving specific services for being behind academically to his peers. It appears through his file that Max did not involve in Head Start Program prior to preschool attendance. It appears that Max’s mother did not provide a home environment that encourages learning. His time with his mother was marked with being chronically homeless beyond his foster family experiences. Max jumped through various day cares and schools in short life.
It is my personal experience that has shown that individuals can overcome academic challenges. Education ability seems to be influenced primarily by the person’s nurture not by their nature. Max’s adopted parents are both school educators. If the adoption goes through, they will provide an environment that encourages education. The adopted parents can be proper advocates within Max’s education systems. Various Development Psychologists seem to recognize that human develop as on spectrum range. Max’s DCFS numerous files did not provide any development milestones information. That is frustrating because the majority of his life has been under DCFS care. I presume that it is difficult to encourage a child’s development when you struggle to provide basic human services.
I was struck by Max’s birth parents. His mother was a young teen mother. She was a young teenager when she gave birth to her oldest child. Her oldest daughter is also a young teen mother. All of her five children have been taken away from her. The children range from early twenties to five years old. She struggled with chemical dependency, poverty and domestic violence with various partners. I learned through the social worker notes that she tried at various times to follow service recommendations. My group was supposed to meet with Max’s biological mother to take pictures during a monthly visitation. She did not show up for her visitation. Max and his sister did not seem upset or shocked at her behavior. It makes me wonder what happened to Max’s mother when she was his age.
A strong theme during classroom discussion was over the question why people abuse or neglect children. It seemed like a majority of people in class recognize that victims often become abusers. Was his mother evil? Many people would make that judgment. Why would she act in a way that was so against nature? It is nature to want to provide and nurture your children. Is it safe to say that she experience similar traumas of Max’s? Max’s mother still deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. Max is not the only victim.
The interview with Max showed us that he was very friendly, out-going child. Class lectures always emphasized that children were resilient. Max’s level of resilience in the face of trauma is beautiful. Could his difficult childhood experiences influence positive personality traits? The enormous amount of case study notes failed to include any of his strengths. Max is highly attached to his youngest sister. He has “play dates” with her. His adoptive parents told us about a boy who loved his Native American heritage, fishing, eagles and love of superman. His new parents have him attending a school district that has a high native population although they do not live in the school district. I made sure to create a history page about Lummi Nation, and Lummi language in his Life Book.
I come into the Life Book project with a lot of negative feelings toward DCFS. I have numerous personal experiences with the agency. I did not agree at first that Max was being adopted out of his culture. Many people view those interracial adoptions results in cultural genocide of American Indian culture. I felt more eased once I met the adopting couple. I quickly felt dishearten to learn that his adoption cannot be finalize due to the tribe has banned non-Native adoptions. This project has shown me that child welfare is a complex issue without obvious answers.
References
American Psychiatric Association (APA). (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV-TR. Washington, DC