Friday, November 11, 2011

Making human connections

Liz Murray writes in Breaking Night about being in the "system:" the juvenile system (truancy), the welfare system, the child protection system. Because her parents were addicts, she was left to fend for herself throughout her childhood. Various officials from the "system" paraded in and out of her life; some were well-meaning, some were not.

I'm halfway through the book. She is now in the eighth grade, and so far not a single official has had the skill or commitment to connect with her, human-to-human. What a damning indictment of the social work profession.

How do you make a human-to-human connection and still be professional? How do you overcome the resistance from a child who knows you have the power to take her away from the only parents she has ever known? It's not going to happen in one visit. She has to become convinced over time that you really are there for her, no matter what; that it is not just a job to you, but a real commitment to her long-term well-being.

1 comment:

Terri Wagner said...

We really don't take care of our young very well do we? Obviously a state system is NOT the answer but what is?