The System

One day after school I went to meet my sister at the library because that is where we always meet. She wasn't there...so I waited for a little while. As I waited a police officer came in and approached me. He asked me questions about me and my sister and I was really surprised because he knew all about me. He said my sister sent him to come get me, and I was supposed to go with him. I got in his car, and he took me to my sister's school. We were put in two seperate rooms and questioned, then we were taken to the local police office and questioned seperately again. Though they asked many questions they didn't actually tell me what was going on. I was taken to a large facility with lots of kids and dropped off with my sister. We stayed there for a time. An aunt arrived from out of town to pick us up, she had gotten word of our situation, and a police officer escorted us around our home to gather our things. My sister and I moved in with our aunt; things were tough financially and the check from the state helped out only a little. Social services came and removed me from the home and placed me with another family. I had never met them before, nor did they know much about me. I still have no idea why they came to get me that day...they have never told me. I have an idea, but no exact answer. My social worker has a million rules, she seems to pull the from the sky sometimes.
A few weeks ago I asked to go to my friend's house to plan a party for another friend. I was given permission to go, and I didn't feel the need to check in because of the conversation we had. In the middle of party plans I received a phone call demanding to know where I was and why I had not called earlier. I replied that I was where I said I would be with whom I said I would be with...why did I need to call..? "I don't know where you are, that's why," said the voice on the line. In the background I recognized the voice of the social worker, "I am going to pick her up, ask her where she is." "Oh I know where she is, I can give you directions," says this woman who is supposed to be my "Foster Mom," whatever that means.
As my social worker drove me back she explained that this Foster Mom confessed that I was being rude and disrespectful. I boiled until we arrived...when have I ever been rude or disrespectful, I'm too shy and frustrated to do that. I'll admit I raised my voice to her as we walked into the house, "When have I ever talked back to you.?!" I took my social worker by surprise and she reminded me that she was present. "I don't care if you are here..!," I said to her, "If I have been disrespectful I want her to tell me." I looked at her with painful furry, "When have I ever been disrespectful to you..?"
I am sure that story made it into her file. I met this BEAUTIFUL girl last weekend, a victim of social services. Many arguments that would not faze a nuclear household haunt Foster Kids. I have gotten in worse conflicts with my mother; in some cases we didn't speak for a few days...but it never haunts me. This girl will be haunted by a manila folder forever. Her sister is legally an adult, able to emancipate from the system, but is still living under its control. Her biological parents no longer live in California. If -hopefully when- she is free of the system, where is she to turn..?
I understand why the system was created, and I do not want to discredit it's honest roots. For extreme cases it is helpful and hopeful; however the majority of kids that end up in the system are not there for extreme reasons, and it can do more harm than good. Amending the system seems to be a long way off...until then, I URGE YOU...ALL OF YOU...TO STEP UP NEXT TO A FOSTER KID, AND DEMONSTRATE LOVE. Show them what it means to love, present a foundation from which they can grow, mature, and shine. Be JESUS to kids who have only shattered hope in their hands and who hide it behind rough exteriors and masks.
I hope I run into her again, she was such a blessing to interact with...and most people look right past her. What would she look like if she was given the confidence and value to shine instead of blend in..?