Another heartbreaking story of a teen in foster care. Meet Emily, a 13-year-old Wisconsin girl needing a new foster home. Her story is familiar; her trauma is prevalent. Yet, her wish for a loving home continues.
Most Wisconsin foster kids ages 11-18 are placed in group homes or residential facilities. Older kids of the same age range and gender live together in a house with staff and 24/7 supervision. Sadly, these kids would heal best in a family environment. A home with a loving parent or two, possibly with other children, pets, and opportunities for healthy, structured family activities.
Emily lives in a Wisconsin group home, hoping to move to a loving, nurturing family home.
Dozens of teens like Emily are referred to CCR each month. Emily does not have contact with her biological family. She has one brother who lives with an aunt in southern Wisconsin. She also has a half-brother, but his location is unknown. In addition, Emily is a victim of severe neglect and prolonged sexual abuse by more than one individual. As a result, she struggles with not feeling worthy or loved and has difficulty forming healthy relationships.
Youth like Emily can thrive when placed with nurturing foster parents. With the right tools and 24/7 agency support, foster parents can see tremendous growth and healing with their children.
Kids like Emily come to us with a long list of challenges. Teens with significant trauma often struggle with emotions, behaviors, relationships, and academics. Our goal is to help them heal. CCR foster parents are trained to help kids like Emily who are challenged and burdened with a variety of diagnoses, such as:
Emily is engaging, willingly participates in household chores, likes animals, and loves younger children. Her favorite activity is baking cookies. She says she can't think of negative things when focused on baking. She is not fond of dressing up or polishing nails but prefers using her creativity to draw and paint.
Emily admits she doesn't like school and often does not try her best. She has few friends at school but gets along well with other girls in her group home. Yet, for all, she has been through, she has a positive attitude and wears a smile most of the time.
We were disappointed that we could not place Emily in a loving home. Unfortunately, we did not have the right home in the right location to meet her higher needs.
Emily will remain in her current group home until the referring county locates a home for her. On average, CCR receives 40-45 child referrals each month. Unfortunately, less than 20% of kids will be placed in a stable foster home.
We do not have enough foster homes, especially for teenagers like Emily.
Please get in touch with us to learn how you can get started.
