One of the best parts of producing a podcast is learning that someone is actually listening. And more importantly listening closely enough that they have a good grasp of what you’re actually trying to accomplish. This episode is the product of some feedback from one listener who really does get it.
I was asked: Why don’t I do something about foster kids in Polk County? Apparently, there’s a new project based in Saluda and it really deserves some attention.
Kim Wilson, who is the Senior Social Work Service Manager for the county has a long list of items in her job description. Among them is overseeing the care of foster children — those kids for whom family life hasn’t worked out very well.
Like most parents, I mostly focus on my own family and generally ssume that anyone’s else’s child is the responsibility of other parents. But there’s a good reason the old African proverb of “it takes a village” to raise to a child is so popular. There are more than a few reasons why a parent, or parents, might not be up to the task of providing the care that every boy or girl needs. Drug addiction, a history of prior violence, mental health problems, financial pressures — they all can mean that children don’t receive the love and attention that we all want them to have.
Of course, removing a child, against a parent’s wishes, from the home, should always be a last resort. But sometimes it’s necessary, and as Kim told me, the entire community needs to be involved if that kind of intervention is going to have a chance of doing any good.
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