Abstract
Reviewed by: Korie Leigh, Oakland, CA, USA
Monique B. Mitchell, an interdisciplinary professor in the College of Social Work at the University of South Carolina and a qualitative researcher, notes in her introduction that her book “is about children who believe that change is possible and that their voices can inspire change” (p. xiii). Mitchell then takes the reader on a journey into the lives of children who have experienced living within the foster-care system. As many of us may only know at a perfunctory level, she details a foster-care system which is inherently ambiguous, without consistency, lacking in transparency and communication, and devoid of opportunities for children to express their creativity and individuality. She ruthlessly makes her point that these conditions create a situation in which children are not afforded the chance to gain the agency and autonomy necessary to cope with and navigate such the life changing experience of being taken away from their primary caregivers and being subject to the whims of bureaucracy.
Adapting her dissertation research at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, her book is meant to be a step-by-step guide offering practical and understandable ways to apply developmentally informed knowledge to a sometimes brutal system. Building on the foundational work of Boss’ ambiguous loss theory (1999), Doka’s disenfranchised grief theory (1989), Lazarus and Folkman’s stress and coping theory (1984), and Neimeyer’s work on meaning making (2001), Mitchell creates a compelling portrait of the maddening dearth of support, resources, and understanding that ambiguous loss ravages on youth who are placed in foster care.
Written primarily for child welfare professionals who work directly with foster care youth, this volume can also be utilized by other practitioners who are involved in supporting foster care youth in educational, healthcare, or community settings. Mitchell states My intention is to amplify the voices of children so that readers, using their own knowledge, wisdom, and expertise, can consider the efforts needed within their respected profession to make meaningful change in the lives of children entering foster care (p. xiii). Imagine you arrive home one day to unexpectedly receive a court order that states you must leave the premises immediately. Induced in the proviso is the notification that you will be losing your home and your primary means of transportation, will be separated from your family and will be placed into a system referred to as “foster care.” (p. 29)
In keeping with the narratives of foster care youth, her final Chapter 7 “Building a Relational Home for Children’s Experiences of Loss, Ambiguity, and Trauma in Foster Care” summarizes the how “A relational home is one that creates space for tears, for fears, for love, and for healing” (p. 98). It presents a powerful summary of the necessity of building a relational home for foster care youth and offers a guide for professionals in how to integrate these lessons into practice.
In all, this book is a welcome contribution to document the experience of likely millions of foster children who otherwise have not been given much of a voice in contemporary discourse. Anyone who wishes to understand the experience of foster youth better will be well served by reading this book. Once they do, they may find a great deal of compassion for the children and families who navigate this system, and an urge to correct and reform a system that imposes injustice upon already traumatized and marginalized families and individuals who are really only in need of greater support.
Footnotes
Editor’s Note
Korie Leigh, PhD, CCLS, CT, is a graduate professor at Mills College, Oakland, CA, USA. Her private clinical practice is focused on children and families who have experienced the death of a loved one or who are living with chronic illness.