Teenage Girl

[tammy826]

Well the meeting didnt go as I'd hoped. The foster parents are good people, but do not put up with drugs in their home (who can blame them really).

So I will place her in a new foster home on monday. It's not my first choice as it is esentially a group home, so I will likely move her again once I find a better place for her.

*Sigh*.....this job can be really hard sometimes.

Praying for you sister! I was a child just like you described,I felt lost, invisible, & had no stability whatsoever so please don't give up on her!!Love goes a long way & when she finally sees that you truely care what happens to her hopefully she will come around. You have a very difficult job & we need more out there just like you! just know someone in Ky appreciates what you do & is praying for this girl & you as well! Love In Christ , Tammy

[Guest]

[Scum_of_the_Earth]

Try to find a placement that will keep her no matter what she does. Whether it's a group facility or a foster home with parents that are adament about loving her, try to find a place that she can continue to stay. I can imagine being ushered around to various homes just leaves her feeling unwanted and unimportant. She needs discipline, yes. But she needs stability. She needs someone who won't let her get away with things, but will never give up on her. Chances are she feels like the world has given up on her as a lost cause... and she needs to know that isn't true. She needs to know she isn't a lost cause. She cannot respect and love herself if no one treats her like she's worth loving and respecting, regardless of her choices.

[Blien]

As most of you know I'm a social worker.

I'm having a lot of trouble with one of my 16 year old girls (she is a temporary ward due to behaviour problems-drinking, smoking up and having sex).

She was at a foster home that was working out but a younger girl moved in there which somehow stirred things up. Long story short, she ran away this afternoon and didn't come back to the foster parents place for 6 hours. The foster parent is convinced that she is doing drugs and wants her moved by monday.

There has also been rumours that she has been bring drugs from her home community into the foster parents community and selling it.

I have tried so many different methods of trying to get through to this girl- I've been nice, I've been tough, I've been understanding....and I'm really at my wits end.

Some workers would probably just take her out of care because she's too much trouble but I just feel like there's something about this girl.....

God is telling me to help her, but I am seriously out of ideas. I see something in this girl, I'm not sure what it is, but I don't see it in any of my other wards. She's different, and I believe she is so on the line of becoming a good person, but I don't know how to guide her into the right direction. I've spent so many hours praying on this...but nothing is coming to me. I know that I won't give up on her, but I'm wondering if anyone else has any ideas?

The last thing I want to do is make a mistake and push this girl away which could result in terrible things. How do you show love toward someone, but also (for lack of a better term) "give them crap" for what they've done. Discipline is really hard to enforce with these kids because they don't understand what it is. They don't understand that we discipline because we LOVE. They just see it as "mean" and go the other way.

Anyways, if anyone has any ideas I'm going to talk to her tomorrow in the afternoon. The foster parents are also upset and I wish that I could somehow patch up this placement (though I don't have high hopes). If you don't have any advice, could you at least just say a prayer that direction might be revealed to me? Thanks everyone.

Well usually when I pray for directions on something similar to your situation and God doesn't tell me anything or motion my heart in a certain way it is my understanding that we aren't to do anything. But just continue as we were... I could be wrong but this is what seems to me as the answer, whatever you are doing just continue in that way. Keep praying for her, keep thoughts about her in your heart. God has obviously revealed something about her to you. Perhaps He's just going to let you watch her so that you see how any person, even as dangerous as her can be saved by the power of God. Who knows... sometimes we need reminders and sometimes we need to see stuff like that so that we can really praise God for His mighty work! Anyway.. I'll pray too for ya.. you did good.

[Guest]