.JPG)
THE "BEYONDER QUEEN"
I was AWOL for a year. Herding rugrats. That's time-consuming and it's dangerous to be on the computer while the little ones are running amuk.
But I'm back, and it's been an eventful year. This summer, we took our whole family ( kids and grandkids) to Branson. Mo. We've been there 16 times...it's my favorite place. There were 30 of us. The theaters and restaurants loved to see us come ...AND GO. The photo at right is a SMALL part of our group at the Branson Belle Waterfront
ALSO, this year...after being in foster care since 2000, we had our first false allegation placed against us. It is a devastating ( but survivable) experience.
You see, I know that child abuse does happen in foster homes. BUT it is an abberation. Otherwise, it wouldn't make the news. The reason that kids are placed in foster care is that they need a TEMPORARY safe place to live. In most cases, foster care is a safer place than their own homes, OTHERWISE, THE KIDS WOULD NOT BE PLACED.
And, we have two visits a month from DSS. We are required to have 20 hours of continuing education every year.
DID YOU KNOW that the first year a foster home is in existence, chances for false allegations are about 1 in 8? By the time you've been fostering 5 years, your chances are 50/50.
It is not a question of IF you'll have false charges made against you, but WHEN.
And the state and county governments are getting so gun-shy with all the liability. So, out of all the false allegations that are placed, 2/3 are classified " unsubstantiated." Not "unfounded," but just "not proven."
We had two counties investigating us ( we live in one county but are certified by the other) and they both considered the claims false. Unfounded. Without merit. But the state changed the report to read "unsubstantiated." We were lucky enough to have caseworker supervisors who wanted to get in the last word. on our recore, it does say "unsubstantiated," but then the county added...WE feel the charges were unfounded. That made us feel better, but WE STILL ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND A DE-ESCALATION CLASS.
Oh well, after it's over, we'll go back to Branson.
