Suffer the children....
Dear Diary,
Woke up. Went to gym. Got kids to school. Sent emails. Cleaned shower. Cleaned self. Had a cup of tea. Sent emails. Called a few people. Had another cup of tea.
Hello there. It's day one of my election campaign for the federal seat of Fisher (not THE election campaign, by the way, because SOMEBODY doesn't seem to want to set a date).
Anyway, so far, so good. I've had heaps of offers of support and it all feels pretty positive at the moment.
If you're a community group or mother's group or business group and you would like me to come and have a chat about why I'm running and why I think you should consider sending your vote my way, I would absolutely love to do it! Or if you want to check me out, www.votecaroline.com.au
In the meantime, I thought this was worth sharing.
You might know my involvement in Foster Care on the Sunshine Coast through IFYS (Integrated Family and Youth Service).
Sometimes, people tell me they are reluctant to consider foster care because of the bad publicity foster parents have been known to receive.
The Courier Mail today run a letter from a foster father who watched three children returned to an unsuitable family situation, through an administrative error.
If you want the whole story, check out www.news.com.au
Young flowers blossom with a little love.
THE hug is so tight, so strong, as she leans into my ear and whispers "I love you Daddy boy".
Such a moment would warm most people's hearts. It ripped mine to shreds.
"Purple" is my little rainman, she is what is called developmentally delayed. Purple marches to the beat of a different drum but has other ways of communicating, almost telepathic at times.
Until recently, along with her siblings "Pink" and "Blue", I was Purple's foster father. They have spent most of their lives in foster care but an error led to them being removed, overnight, from the place they knew as home, and returned to their biological mother.
They have been placed into a situation where, to most professionals who know the case, they are at an unacceptable level of risk of harm. When Purple, Pink and Blue first came into care, they were virtually catatonic. We were told at the time that experienced police officers went outside and vomited before going back into the stench to rescue them in the middle of the night.
As with most kids coming into care their health was poor. It was tough but with the support and help of so many good people their strength and confidence grew.
Then the magic happened. Like the recent rain that brought Brisbane gardens back to life, after a shower of love these little flowers blossomed.
Purple, Pink and Blue lit up my life, as they did for everyone who came to know them. The only trauma in their lives was access visits with their biological mother.
This isn't a story of how the Department of Child Safety messed up. The Queensland Government changed the focus from reunification of the biological family to making the welfare of the child paramount. The mantra is so true – kids only get one chance at childhood.
Unfortunately, some people connected to "the system" haven't embraced the message. It's hard to agree with wiping the slate clean for the fourth or fifth time when tiny babies have been badly neglected or sexually abused.
We were allowed to go see the kids a few times after they were returned. It's hard to describe how difficult it was to stand by as the children were constantly berated, to meet one of the men showing an unnatural interest in them.
We visited one afternoon. Blue, who had been labelled as stupid many times by the mother during access visits, was now the favourite but looked totally confused.
Pink had been in "timeout" since breakfast – about five or six hours earlier – but was allowed out to see us. The ashen face and the thousand-yard stare were there, as though this bubbly child was back at square one.
Purple's strength astounded me. After a while, when she knew nobody was listening, she whispered the words that broke a strong man's heart, "I love you Daddy boy".
Woke up. Went to gym. Got kids to school. Sent emails. Cleaned shower. Cleaned self. Had a cup of tea. Sent emails. Called a few people. Had another cup of tea.
Hello there. It's day one of my election campaign for the federal seat of Fisher (not THE election campaign, by the way, because SOMEBODY doesn't seem to want to set a date).
Anyway, so far, so good. I've had heaps of offers of support and it all feels pretty positive at the moment.
If you're a community group or mother's group or business group and you would like me to come and have a chat about why I'm running and why I think you should consider sending your vote my way, I would absolutely love to do it! Or if you want to check me out, www.votecaroline.com.au
In the meantime, I thought this was worth sharing.
You might know my involvement in Foster Care on the Sunshine Coast through IFYS (Integrated Family and Youth Service).
Sometimes, people tell me they are reluctant to consider foster care because of the bad publicity foster parents have been known to receive.
The Courier Mail today run a letter from a foster father who watched three children returned to an unsuitable family situation, through an administrative error.
If you want the whole story, check out www.news.com.au
Young flowers blossom with a little love.
THE hug is so tight, so strong, as she leans into my ear and whispers "I love you Daddy boy".
Such a moment would warm most people's hearts. It ripped mine to shreds.
"Purple" is my little rainman, she is what is called developmentally delayed. Purple marches to the beat of a different drum but has other ways of communicating, almost telepathic at times.
Until recently, along with her siblings "Pink" and "Blue", I was Purple's foster father. They have spent most of their lives in foster care but an error led to them being removed, overnight, from the place they knew as home, and returned to their biological mother.
They have been placed into a situation where, to most professionals who know the case, they are at an unacceptable level of risk of harm. When Purple, Pink and Blue first came into care, they were virtually catatonic. We were told at the time that experienced police officers went outside and vomited before going back into the stench to rescue them in the middle of the night.
As with most kids coming into care their health was poor. It was tough but with the support and help of so many good people their strength and confidence grew.
Then the magic happened. Like the recent rain that brought Brisbane gardens back to life, after a shower of love these little flowers blossomed.
Purple, Pink and Blue lit up my life, as they did for everyone who came to know them. The only trauma in their lives was access visits with their biological mother.
This isn't a story of how the Department of Child Safety messed up. The Queensland Government changed the focus from reunification of the biological family to making the welfare of the child paramount. The mantra is so true – kids only get one chance at childhood.
Unfortunately, some people connected to "the system" haven't embraced the message. It's hard to agree with wiping the slate clean for the fourth or fifth time when tiny babies have been badly neglected or sexually abused.
We were allowed to go see the kids a few times after they were returned. It's hard to describe how difficult it was to stand by as the children were constantly berated, to meet one of the men showing an unnatural interest in them.
We visited one afternoon. Blue, who had been labelled as stupid many times by the mother during access visits, was now the favourite but looked totally confused.
Pink had been in "timeout" since breakfast – about five or six hours earlier – but was allowed out to see us. The ashen face and the thousand-yard stare were there, as though this bubbly child was back at square one.
Purple's strength astounded me. After a while, when she knew nobody was listening, she whispered the words that broke a strong man's heart, "I love you Daddy boy".
1 Comments:
Hello Caroline,
Best of luck with your campaign. You are just the kind of sensible, family orientated hard worker we need in Canberra.
Thanks also for sharing the story of the children... and thanks for fighting the good fight on behalf of the little people who have absolutely no voice ...
Kind Regards
Elizabeth
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