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A Young Mother
Alicia*
entered the YFS Therapeutic
Foster Care program at 16
years of age, a scared
little girl who had never
taken care of herself and
now she had a brand new baby
of her own. She and her
family had been displaced
following Hurricane Katrina. She talked
about her biological family
and how they sustained
themselves with drugs,
violence, and prostitution.
She too, had been involved
in that way of life as long
as she could remember. She
cried when she looked at her
child and promised her child
never to let him live like
that. She begged anyone to
take her child and raise
him, not because she did not
love him, but she was afraid
she could never raise him by
herself. The option of
putting the baby up for
adoption was explored with
her counselor, but
ultimately, the goal became
to teach this new mom how to
raise her own baby and care
for herself in the process.
We requested that mother and
child be moved into one of
our therapeutic foster homes
together so that this young
mother could learn to raise
her child in a stable,
healthy environment. She was
enrolled in parenting
classes and child care
classes and found employment
in a day care center where
she could take her son with
her and cares for him as she
worked. This young mother
aged out at 18 years old, a
capable mom with a healthy
son. She kept her promise to
her child, but with
assistance, she was able to
do it herself instead of
placing this child in the
system.
*Names
have been changed to protect
confidentiality and privacy.
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