Foster Care in Ogemaw & Roscommon

A conversation between Savannah Beth Withers Taylor and Lynsey Zawacki, community resource coordinator for Ogemaw and Roscommon for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

By Savannah Beth Withers Taylor

SBWT: What is the current state of foster care in Roscommon and Ogemaw counties?

LZ: Currently, the state is moving toward prevention. Removals are lessening, but we still have 23 children in Ogemaw and 51 children in Roscommon who are in foster care.

SBWT: What does it mean for foster care when you say the state’s moving toward prevention?

LZ: We have a prevention worker in the office who … can help [parents] with services such as housing, employment, parenting, and referrals for counseling. The state is also moving toward a “pod” structure. … CPS (Child Protective Services) and foster care, they’re going to be in a pod together so they can … [collaborate on] what works and what doesn’t work. … It’s more of a team approach, trying to keep kids in the home with the services that we have available. … [Parents] don’t have to have a referral. They can refer themselves. They can come into the office, call the number, email, and say, ‘I'm interested in this program.’

SBWT: What are the most common reasons that children enter foster care in Ogemaw and Roscommon?

LZ: It's a wide range — anywhere from substance abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse, and even abandonment. Parents just say they can’t take care of their children anymore.

SBWT: Are children in foster care in Ogemaw and Roscommon counties from those counties?

LZ: Any of the children we have in care for Ogemaw and Roscommon are from Ogemaw and Roscommon. But that does not mean [all children in foster care from Ogemaw and Roscommon] are placed in Ogemaw or Roscommon due to the high need for foster parents in our area. If we don’t have any foster homes for a specific age or gender, we have to look outside of our counties. We have kids placed from Grand Rapids to Marquette to Detroit.

SBWT: What are the most common misconceptions about being a foster parent?

LZ: I think there’s a stigma about teens. … Children are placed all over the state, but most of them are teen children due to the lack of resources we have in our own communities for these children. Coming from a rural community, there are very limited resources in general, but [especially limited] resources for counseling and parenting classes.

SBWT: What are some things you would want a brand new foster parent to know?

LZ: For new foster parents, your licensing worker is your person. You can call them at any time. They are going to be your buffer. They’re going to be your sound person. They will always be there for you because it does become very difficult taking in children who you want to help, but they might not want your help because they still love their parents. Don’t take it personal. They are going to know, ultimately, that you’re a safe space for them and that you want to do this because you care about them. … Be a mentor. [Fostering] teens, it doesn’t mean you have to be their parent, but you could be their mentor and teach them how to live independently.

SBWT: What is the training process for new foster parents?

LZ: When you’re interested in becoming a foster parent, you have to go to an orientation. The orientation kind of encompasses everything you will have to do. It'll tell you the rules of being a foster parent, what the expectations are, what the children can and cannot do in your home, what the court processes look like, what the standards of your home have to be, etc. After orientation, it’s an application, an online training, and a home assessment. Then they write a report and send it to Lansing [for approval]. If there are things with your home that aren’t up to standard, like if you need a different well or a different septic, DHS is able to help purchase those items.

SBWT: What qualities stand out amongst the most successful foster parents?

LZ: Everybody brings something different. I’ve had foster parents who were in foster care themselves, and people who were just church going members who truly wanted to help out their community. A lot of my foster parents who became general care, [parents who will] take in any child, or initially came into fostering because they had a relative in foster care.

SBWT: How do organizations like Rayola work to bridge the gap between the resources children and families in the foster care system need and what is currently available to them?

LZ: Rayola is an amazing provider for us because [they give] things that we, personally as workers, would have to purchase for the children otherwise. There isn't a magic funding source to go buy kids cake for their birthday. The blankets and the little things Rayola helps with is helping more than you can imagine. It’s not only helping that child, it's helping that worker build that connection with that child.

SBWT: What kind of first drew you to this line of work?

LZ: I had a lot of friends who were involved. Their family was involved with CPS, and I didn't even know it. … When I grew up and got a little bit older and a little bit wiser, I realized what was happening and what could have been done differently for my friends and other people that I associated with. I went to college, and … came back home [to Arenac County to] help the people I grew up with. I struggled leaving Arenac County actually, because those are my people. I want to help out my community.

SBWT: How do you stay grounded and motivated through such an emotionally demanding job?

LZ: I did foster care licensing and CPS for 10 years, and then I took a year break and did the help desk for our child welfare computer system because I needed that. It was a great break, but I truly missed helping out the people in the communities and being involved with with the children. In this role as a community resource coordinator, I’m able to have a little more balance. I am still involved and help out when needed, but I also am not a frontline worker enduring the trauma every day.

SBWT: What’s something people outside the foster care system might not realize about the children and families that you're working?

LZ: Sometimes people just need a little extra help. Some people are just down on their luck and try everything they can to do the best they can, and they just just need a little extra assistance. Everybody isn’t gory and horrible all the time, but also there are children that need a safe place to go while their family is working through whatever barriers they face.

SBWT: How do you think foster care has changed the way you see community and family?

LZ: Personally, it has completely changed my outlook on everything. I was very fortunate. I came from a two parent household, was able to do sports and anything I wanted. Not only did I do this job, but I worked at a residential beforehand in Pontiac. I worked for the tribe in Mount Pleasant doing foster care and CPS there. It’s very eye opening.

SBWT: Is there anything you’d like to add?

LZ: Prevention is huge for families, and I think that needs to be more spread out to the community. The need for foster parents is great. We have foster parents in other counties that these children can go to, but it makes it very difficult for [the kids] to be put placed in a different county. They’re removed from their school and all of their friends, and then they have to sit in a car for an hour each way to visit their parents. Having those, connections and foster parents in our own communities would be highly beneficial, not only to us as workers, but also to the children.