Understanding the Child Welfare Experience from the Birth Parent's Perspective

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We talk a lot about the child’s experience in foster care, but what is this experience like for the child’s birth parents? You may be surprised! Join our conversation with Dr. Darcey Merritt, a professor at the University of Chicago School of Social Work who researches this topic.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What is a typical scenario, if there is such a thing, of how a parent finds themselves connecting with the child welfare system?
• What rights do birth parents have within the system?
• What are some of the challenges families face before the child is taken into custody?
• What are some of the challenges that they face once the child is in foster care?
• How can you become an ally to the child’s parents?
• How does poverty factor in?
• Who most commonly reports birth parents to child welfare?
• How does race factor in?
• Research in the area of working memory on parental decision-making.

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Please leave us a rating or review.  This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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