Maybe, this is your calling. To be topic based video maker. Your doing awesome. There are so many people doing fairytale videos about Foster/Adopt but showing the reality is so needed. Visits-trauma, advocating for your placement, what different trauma behaviour can look like, house rules, etc… You are truly doing a great job 👏

I have said it a thousand times but I would have LOVED to have an advocate like you when I was in the foster care system. I hope and pray that it has changed since I was in it.

Listening to you talk about how a child's behaviours don't define them...everybody who ever deals with children (even if they are not children in care) needs to hear that. Makes my heart happy every time you bring that up. (Still doesn't mean that every family is the best fit to help them through those behaviours, of course. But it's a fabulous reminder that the behaviours might be negative, but the child isn't "bad.") Also, you look stunning - as always - in this video!

About spit out my tea when you brought up what we were like as kids/teens and our behaviors. 😂 Part of why I want to foster eventually is because of what a total disaster I was as a kid/teen, I know what it felt like to feel like I was on the outside looking in and felt how powerful it was to be given support and love when I needed it, even when I was a “problem child.”

Great video Whitney! Really appreciate how you balance the needs of the kids in care with what foster parents are prepared and ready to do. ♥️

Saying no to some kids is important. By saying no when you know the child will not fit your family is only helping the child. It's better for them to get to a home where they can stay long term instead of being moved around all the time.

Completely off topic but your eye shadow looks super pretty in this video.

A lot of this sounds really familiar to me, but from a different perspective. I'm a nurse and I work in a ward where all our patients come directed from A&E and often only stay in our ward for maybe 8-36 hrs. Reading the notes, there is often conflicting information, and missing information. Depending on the patients ability to give precise information, you may not even have the patients name and address. Making decisions based on the information you have at hand, and info gathering from as many people as you can is our job. We don't always find accurate information, often info is missing that you really needed two hours ago! But you do your best with what you can. And that also includes refusing patients that you don't have the capacity to look after, due to their needs or staffing etc. A lot of parallels really.

It's nice to see you back in your office space

Good points to think about!

Perfect timing x

Great video! Thank you for being such a great advocate for foster children

In AZ we have placement centers in the big cities that take the children until they find a placement. The placement center calls us, not the caseworkers. Sometimes they can have 15-30 kids waiting for placement and sleeping in the placement center overnight which is meant to be a temporary place. It is very sad 😢

When I think about what would be in my file I'm like dang would anybody want to take me lol My poor parents And I was a "good" kid but on paper how would any of us look?

I was just watching your last video!

We just accepted our first placement and it wasn't great :( They didn't inform us the child had a cold (wasn't tested for COVID) and now we are all sick with a cold. That's normally not a big deal but I have a medically fragile child who almost always gets pneumonia with a cold. We had to ask for the child to be moved and felt really bad. I guess now I know to ask if the kid is sick.

Never been this early!

I have a question. You get a baby and he seems to have eating issues, special formula, etc... Now, are you allowed to ask CPS to maybe talk to the kinship family about medical issues, feeding schedule, meds, etc... Our grandson was taken within a matter of hours because CPS felt he was in immediate danger because his mom was sent to rehab, long story. We had from 5pm to 5am to get ready and spend the last few hours with him. CPS arrived at 6. They were clueless and we had no idea what to pack, to do. CPS ghosted us. We included what meds we had, bottles and nipples he drinks from, 250 diapers, 18 cans Elecare, his simethicone drops and a week supply of Nexium. We included a sheet that explains the current amount of formula he uses, schedule but since a demand feeder it could be 2 hrs or 4, maybe 6 hours. Our issue is we tried to inform CPS but they blew us off and I am sure the foster family could have had an easier job if they were allowed to do a conf call with CPS. CPS is now trying to put all the blame on us despite us calling emailing texting CPS to give info. CPS mindset is he is our child we dont need your help. I guarantee that the fosters went thru a rough time as we did for 6 months. I bet he laid in a bed due to tummy pains which caused him to need a helmet now. With us he had no sign of needing a helmet because he was up, sitting, lots of tummy time, special pillow and mattress. Ignorance on the part of CPS is what caused this child to suffer, not us nor the foster family. CPS simply denied a dialogue concerning his medial condition, share info.

Sorry missed you yesterday BUT we were getting the keys to our brand new home!

:-)