Fostering Communities of Care as Practitioners
Young parents in foster care face unique challenges when navigating the child welfare system. While still developing cognitively, emotionally, socially, and vocationally, they are simultaneously guiding their own young child through critical stages of development. Accessing supports for themselves and their children can be complicated because of their own lived experience. As a result, they may be hesitant to ask for help and fear this would be interpreted that they are incapable of caring for their child.
The following considerations were drawn from conversations with Strong Starts stakeholders across six counties. These strategies and considerations are general recommendations for child welfare professionals and should be modified to meet each parent and child’s individual needs.