Broken Systems-Shattered Lives

by Gary W Reece

Overview

The Effects of Trauma on Children in the Welfare System

The children who enter the Los Angeles County Child Welfare System often come from violent and abusive families - only to be placed in another, sometimes worse, predicament. Too many of these children will die, as the system that is supposed to protect them fails to keep them safe. These children are a disenfranchised minority—abused by their parents and by the system, sentencing them to a lifetime of suffering. This book provides a rare insider’s view of the child welfare system. It takes an in-depth look at the effects on the children under its care, those who are mandated to help, and the homes in which they are placed. Ours is a broken system that often creates long-lasting, negative consequences for the children, families, and professionals who are a part of it. Author Gary Reece has been involved with hundreds of children over the past ten years as a psychologist and foster care social worker. He has seen and felt their pain and met their abusers. He’s gone to court and testified on their behalf. He has also worked closely with their surrogate families and the social workers who manage their cases. By examining the system and how it affects the lives of children who have the misfortune to become embroiled in it, perhaps key problems, issues, and solutions will become evident to the rest of the population.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781950850549
Publisher:	The Mulberry Books
Publication date:	08/14/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	356
File size:	1 MB

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................................................4
Chapter 1: PERILOUS JOURNEY: The placement process.
A child enters the system: The Children’s Law Center
and The Department of Children and Family Services—
Los Angeles, California ..................................................................................23
Chapter 2: TRAUMA AND DEVELOPMENT: The Effects of Placement ...................55
Chapter 3: ATTACHMENT AND THE EFFECTS OF TRAUMA
Chapter 4: TRAUMATIC LOSS:

Unhealed Wounds-Loss and Complicated Grief .....................................112
Chapter 5: MOURNING-HEALING THE WOUNDS .................................................127
Chapter 6: KATHY: Placement, foster home, birth family:
Issues—The process—How it Impacts the Child,
Foster Home, and Role of the Various Parties .........................................153
Chapter 7: SMITH FAMILY: A System in Disarray .....................................................165
Chapter 8: LYNN AND MARIA: Sisters Languish Because of CSW
Malfeasance, The Process of Placement Through Adoption:
The Roller Coaster and how CSW’s and Institutions
Contribute to the Trauma ........................................................................... 178

Chapter 9: FAMILIES WHO CARE FOR THESE CHILDREN:

Their Experiences with the Children and the System ...............................194
Chapter 10: REQUIEM: Children who Die in a Broken System ..................................226
Chapter 11: THE ELUSIVE SEARCH FOR IMPLICIT
IDENTITY SURVIVORS: Children who Grew
up in the System to Become Functioning Adults ......................................250

Chapter 12: Summary and conclusion-observations,

assessment, challenges ................................................................................ 302
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................333
INTERNET RESOURCES .............................................................................................................335
APPENDIX A ...............................................................................................................................336
APPENDIX B ................................................................................................................................341