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After the hearing we signed papers to quit being foster parents, we had, had enough. IN these last 5 years we did take in more children some of them were for short term some a little longer. We did what was called emergency receiving, which meant that the police bring the children to your house at all hours of the night. This was a sidetrack for the mess we were in with the girl’s case. Until the last baby we took in. Her name was Bridgett; she was 3 months when she came to us. She was born to an addicted mother and was what they called failure to thrive. I had to almost force her to eat; she was just a little stone sitting in her little chair. Bridgette became a part of our
Family pretty quick. Everyone just loved her. She was so tiny and so loveable. Her mother didn’t show up for visits for quite a while. Bridgette seemed to just flourish in our home. She became a part of our family, after a while her mother started to become involved with the case. She was showing interest in Bridgette, I had figured that the best thing for Bridgette, was for me to become a somewhat friend to mom. I would sit and talk to her about Bridgette and her [mom] life. I guess mom felt comfortable with me enough to inform me that she was pregnant again. Only this time the baby was not doing well, the doctors felt that the baby had some problems with the brain. The doctors were not sure if she would carry it full term. I had learned it was due to the drugs mom had been taking when she first got pregnant.
So, here I am once again I am put in a difficult position, ride it out and play blind, or bail out. Bridgette's worker wants out from underneath the case, at the staffing and review board everyone agreed that the visits were going too fast for Bridgette. She has one hour visit a week for one and a half years, now the worker moves into overdrive. She has had one four hour unsupervised visit and then a two hour. Now she wants to send her home for a weekend. The problem I see looking me in the face is. The reality of what happened to Fawn with visits accelerated. A potential for real shock to Bridgette, The worker is so eager to get rid of, this case is over looking the best interest of Bridgette. It seems she doesn't care. The choices I see that I have at this point are, telling her if she intends to over look Bridgette's emotional being. I'll pack her stuff now and they not need to return her, I will not help the system that has workers who think they are God to ruin another life. I don't feel emotionally I can handle another ordeal that Fawn went through. The more the visits go on at this fast pace Bridgette will need me to rescue her, this in turn will be having her bond even more to me. This will cause her more problems in the long run. I want out too but am I as willing to over look Bridgette's well being? If so I choose to bail out sooner then they want me to. I have family to look after; they are bonded to Bridgette just as I am. The longer she is here the more bonded they all become. The longer she is here with the reactions she will likely have will only disrupt them all. Maybe even set off Fawns past, and I, we don't need that. What we decided to do was; at the next scheduled meeting Mike and I both told the worker that Bridgette had to go home with her mother that day.