2016 Foster Family Survey and Feedback Form

Transcription

1 06 Foster Family Survey and Feedback Form How satisfied are you with your families overall experience as a foster family? How satisfied are you with the support you as the foster parent have received from your FFA Worker overall? Often Often 7 Rarely 7 Rarely 8 5 How satsified are you with the support you and your familiy (parents, children, other family members, etc.) have received from your FFA Worker in the past 6 months? Often 7 6 How satisfied are you with the amount and quality of the communication you have with your FFA worker? Often Rarely 6 7 Rarely

2 How satisfied are you with how connected you feel to Kamali'i Foster Family Agency as a whole? Often Rarely How satisfied are you with the communication with agency staff (i.e. issues with monthly checks; calling the Administrators for assistance; etc.)? Often Rarely 4 8 How likely are you to recommend a friend or family member interested in becoming a foster parent to Kamali'i Foster Family Agency? How likely are you to volunteer to assist with agency events? (i.e. help plan holiday parties; assist with decorating and/or cleaning up event space; etc.) Extremely Likely Extremely Likely Likely Likely 3 7 Unlikely Unlikely Highly Unlikely Highly Unlikely 4

3 Open-Ended Questions. What do you feel is the most rewarding part about being a foster parent? Watching the kids feel safe & loved & secure in my home. The love that I can give a child that s not feeling loved. Helping the Children. When the child tells us that they feel safe in our home. Helping someone in need. Welcoming a child /children into our family. I think I can give possible positive areas for growth in a child s life. We love giving foster children a safe fun and loving home. Their smiles and laughs say it all. They are all truly amazing. I have foster child that was only 3 months old when I rec d him. The unconditional love you get is beyond words. Seeing him grow & learn and be healthy is very rewarding. Just knowing I have been a part of his development. The most gratifying part of becoming a foster parent is seeing their smiles when they hug me and tell me that they love me. When the bio parents tell me thank you for caring for their children. I feel happy. To give the chance to the kids of different living, that is the pay off. When they give you a kiss and a hug. Being able to help nurture & teach children to become happy, productive members of society. Able to assist the children, giving them love and support, seeing a smile on their faces and knowing they are doing well while away from they re bio parents. Knowing you are keeping a child safe and showing them love in a healthy environment with a normal family. To have the capacity to help children in having a better life and to give them a normal family. To see the kids progress, when they arrive they look confused and without confidence and with little time they begin to learn and trust and be happy. For me it s when kids that have been placed with me in the past call me or come over and visit from time to time and thank me for what I did for them. For me that is the best gift they could ever give me and also when they remember my birthday or during Christmas they think of me. Giving the child a safe place to live. Helping them to trust people again. Giving them positive experiences. To receive affection and love and give it back to them and to show them to give affection to others and to know God and to teach them moral principles and to have the laughter of a child in your home is satisfaction. It s a blessing to have helped a lot of children in my experience. The most rewarding part about being a foster parent is hopefully to touch the kids hearts and show them there are different ways of doing things. Also that there are different family dynamics. Hopefully plant the seed of respect and love so that one day they can be successful individuals.

4 . What do you feel is the most difficult part about being a foster parent? Letting kids go back to their parents or being placed in another / forever home. Dealing with the paperwork. Not always knowing how to respond or what to do. Dealing with difficult bio parents. Having to say NO when a call comes in for placement. Dealing with the unknown. Getting children that have different life experiences and how to redirect thoughts and behaviors that will give positive effects on their lives. The most difficult for us is having so many people (workers) coming to our home, we have a very busy week and always on the go, it would be easier to meet when we are out or have both workers come over at the same time. Living with not knowing the child s future, how long will he be with me? Trying to prepare myself/heart for when he is no longer with me. When a child has tantrums and he/she hits you. Dealing with bad habits from the bio parents. When they are little to make sure they do not fall and that they do not fight with each other. To deal with the bio parents of the children. Dealing with what they ve been exposed to & the repercussions of that concerning behavior & habits. The adjustment to their new home at the beginning of their new placement. All the visits with birth parents. At this time I have not had any issues becoming a foster parent. God has given me the patience to help care for the children. I have not had any issues with the bio parents or social workers. It is a job that is not easy but gratifying. To gain the trust of the children. For me, it s the visits and paperwork. For me it s happened a couple of times when the bio parents look at us like people who want to take their children away from them. However with some parents I have also had really good conversations with them where they express appreciation. The emotional roller coaster of emotions we go through along with the child s emotions, all the appointments for therapy and other services can be a lot, time consuming. When a child has psychological problems and when they have anger towards a person who cares for them and when they see you as their enemy the first days that they are in your home. To be confronted with so many emotional problems. The first two months are the most difficult. A lot of appointments and the kids and us are getting used to one another. Also kids at the beginning are testing their boundaries. That s when we need to be more structure and be consistent.

5 3. How do you feel being a foster parent has changed your life and your family s life? I love being a foster parent & it has made me see that taking care of other people s kids in not easy but brings me joy to do it. Being proud of it. We love children and want to give a child a safe place to live. Our own children have seen how a child s life gets better when he/she stays with us. Foster children become part of our family. Helps keep in perspective what s important. It has added more dynamics some good and some growing experiences for myself and other family members. We became foster parents because we had so much love to give. We have since adopted 3 Kamali i foster children, they are amazing and we are blessed everyday. It has brought about an awareness of the foster care that is needed. It is very rewarding to see how other family members (adults & kids) accept & love & share with this gift. Satisfaction to know that you can help a child. Not in the absolute. I am more busy but at the same time there is a reward, my daughter has a companion and someone to play with. Yes, my life has changed because we see the need of the children and we worry about them. So far not much has changed enough to warrant a fair response. We have been able to understand what other kids have to go through in life. Our kids are more lovable to kids of other cultures and be more patient and thoughtful. We have grown as a couple. Our knowledge of what others in our community has grown, which has given us a whole new dimension of compassion. It is a job that is very satisfying because as a foster parent you feel that you are doing something humane for the children. Yes, we have become more understanding and become better parents. Yes, not only for me but also for my husband and my family in general. In certain situations it has change my life where I have had to limit myself in some outings and reunions, But I have also had good experiences like the arrival of girls and the best that I would want for them so to become great people and that would be my biggest reward/payment. It has changed it in many ways. At times it has made us feel good about what we are doing, some days frustrated, defeated and annoyed. Sometimes a lot more than I bargained for. But over all I know I m making a difference and would not give up on these kids. I think on extended family it is sometimes difficult, but they treat them like family. It is satisfying, although sometimes it is a little difficult to explain to a child that you are here to help them and care for them when they ask you or when they tell you that they miss their other mother or their grandparents. It doesn t change you but just takes away a little of your family privacy. By being a foster parent I have learned about drugs. How to detect them. Also my children are learning to share what they have.

6 4. What advice would you give a new foster parent? Hang on it is emotional but a blessing at the same time. Being patient. Go to all the classes you can. It gets easier. Be patient and organized. Be loving, patient and ready to change some areas of yourself. Be open to help and new ideas. Take a few deep breaths. It s not easy but it is very rewarding. You will love every child that comes in your home. Accept the child into your heart and family, treat them like family & give them the best care that you know how. To have a lot of patience with the children because a smile can help to calm them down whenever they have a tantrum. There is love to share and go for it. It feels good to be a companion and this way you are also helping kids. To prepare oneself emotionally, especially when the children are returned to their biological family. Make sure you are going to be patient, available & open minded to various obstacles & barriers those children will throw your way. Be very willing to have Plenty communications with the resources given. Have a lot of patience, look for resources at your city halls, parks and recreation centers. Don t over think things. Above all else these kids need love, respect and normal routine. Don t try to fix them. Depend on the Lord. You have to have a lot of love to give to the children, a lot of patience to work with the children. To have patience, humility and love to the children that we are to care for. All the children are different and they bring different problems. Being a foster parent is not only giving love but a lot of patience. Sometimes we don t understand why the bio parents behave the way that they do and we have to have a lot of patience. To really think about and be realistic in what to do because I have has several people ask me if it s worth it. To do what I do requires a lot of patience with the children and also with the bio parents. Don t worry about making visits work around the bio family and give them control of what works for them, take care of yourself and your family schedule first. Set rules and stick to them especially in the honeymoon phase. Kids are very manipulative, even the real young ones and they will try to take control. They all come from dysfunction. To try it and to be understanding because it s not the children s fault that they are angry and some cry a lot. Those kids could be your kids, your niece/nephews or grandkids. To really think about it before you become a foster parent because you need a lot of patience and a lot of love for these kids and not everyone has it.

7 To sit and really think about the rules and procedures they have as a family. Type them and have them ready when the kids arrive. Day or no later, go over the rules, procedures and expectations. Make a calendar so that everyone knows their chores. 5. What would you suggest the Agency add/emphasize in training? Be more positive when going to foster parent s homes. How different all the kids come to you. Explain more about the courts & biological visits Don t burn yourself out. Take some time I wish we could do on-line classes and when classes are mandatory I wish there was childcare for our foster children so they were easier to attend I feel the training I rec d and the support from all at Kamali i has been excellent To have a person provide daycare whenever there is foster parent training classed for two hours. Often times one cannot attend the classes because there is no daycare available Offer psychology classes for the foster parents and cultural classes too I believe that the foster parent training classes cover the important information Videos that can be taken home and where one can review certain themes: children that lie, children that are violent, children that have nightmares, children that are abused physically and emotionally. Felt satisfied with the training provided. As Foster Parents we would like to get to get trained or advise about the stress when we deal with children with behavior problems. The frequency/length of visits. How to deal with the cps worker. To give opportunities to the families that cannot defend themselves or speak English in the certification process of becoming a foster parent. For us everything is fine. No concerns. If you could give more training for the first couple of days of when the kids come into your home. Not just with papers and appointments (doctor & dentist) but in regards to what to do or how to treat the kids the first few days. For me the classes you offer us are really good. You guys do the best for us. Something I would like to see is that you (the agency) continue to help out with the supervised visits. I feel we cover a lot of topics, maybe just reminding parents about respite to give them a break and recharge ourselves. In terms of adding, I would like to see child care at all the meetings/trainings. It s disruptive and I am sure they might not have someone to watch the kids. Observe/supervise the kids very well, look at the ones that need help therapeutically so it s not as stressful for the foster parents. To also observe the parents and to give them the attention and respect that the minor requires. I would like to see more classes/reunions in Spanish to be able to talk and express things because sometimes you don t know anyone. I would like the agency to add tutoring to at least once a week.

8 6. Is there any other information you would like to share? Please use the space below. Feel free to write on the back or to add additional pages as needed. I almost gave up because the worker that came to my home was not at all positive. Teach the kids more to better their lives, for themselves! Maybe group meetings at the agency, Like AA meetings. Where they can talk & open up among themselves? With supervision. We love Kamali i We have had a few different workers from Kamali i, each and every one has been very patient, caring, compassionate and always asking if we need anything. They laugh with you and cry with you. They are definitely Family. I just wanted to add that our worker Tracy Enalen is awesome. She is one of the best workers that we ve had, my whole entire family loves her and is so excited when she comes over. She takes the time to talk to all my children and make them laugh. She is truly like family. Everything that I need I tell her and she gets it right way. Thank you Tracy for Everything Thank you Kamali i for doing what you do. I have been very impressed with the workers dedication & consistent home visits to check on the child s well being. Thank you! To Receive assistance on being able to travel to Mexico or information on how to begin the process. We are working with the best agency. We have worked with different social workers from the agency and they have been very professional, supportive, and lovable to us and to the foster children. When we go into the office we feel very comfortable when everybody receives us with a smile. More classes on resources for kids like the medical passport so that we are more informed on who some providers might be for like different doctors, dentists, therapists, schools and other resources that are available for the kids. For me it was a great help when you used to help out with the visits. I have turned down some placements because of the visits Overall I have been pleased with my experience with Kamali i. I have had 3 different social workers and they all have been good, professional and my kids have like them as well. I do feel at this point my social worker is very busy with her case load and I feel sometimes my phone calls or texts are not returned quickly. Sometimes not until the next day or a few times not at all but I like her and just feel maybe she s over loaded. I do appreciate all Kamali i does for us! I am not satisfied with this agency. Social workers make a big difference. Having workers who have experience and love for their work. If I had to nominate, I would select Jennifer Hyatt.