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Fostering

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Is it time to give up on our "foster Child"?

25 replies

FamilyneedsHelp · 10/01/2019 00:28

Technically, this girl isn't our foster kid. she's a distant relative that no one in our family of 6 had either meet or heard of until the day she needed a home, so even though we didn't know her, we took her in. She still did come with all the issues that a lot of foster kids have. Both parents are alcoholics and drug abusers, her mother signed her custody away after receiving a felony child abuse charge for slapping her in front of a police officer. Her father is verbally abusive, manipulative and constantly blames everyone else for his issues. She refuses to talk to her father but for some reason idolizes her mother. Her father is currently homeless. Her mom is a "high functioning alcoholic" who can get up for work so she can pay the bills but still is always drunk or abusing drugs. She came to live with us when she was living with her father and he nearly drank himself to death, along with losing a place to live. So he signed over guardianship to us. That was 2 years ago. We have been told by her therapist and psychiatrist that she has "Reactive Attachment Disorder" along with PTSD. Both of her doctors have been working with her on those issues for the past 2 years as well (she sees her therapist once a week) and both have become frustrated with her because she tries to manipulate them into believing that her mother isn't drinking, that our family is abusing her, and that all her problems would be fixed if she could just move back to California to live with her mom (California is where she grew up) instead of talking about her real problems and how to move past them. Both of them have told us that she's not getting all that she could be out of therapy because of this (obviously none of them buy into what she says bc they know how to detect deception and manipulation). On top of all of this, she has picked on my youngest since the day she moved in(he was 10 when she moved in), thankfully he doesn't seem too bothered by it and tends to find ways to "get her back" like hopping in the shower she started for herself once she leaves the room to change, small "little brother stuff" like that. She has always gotten mouthy and started an argument over the simplest things. She's the worst out of all of the kids when it comes to doing chores but then complains about "how messy the house is". She latched onto my husband but constantly alienates me (her therapist says this is bc of the issues she has with her mother that she hasn't dealt with yet) and she takes up every single second of his time when he is home. He works long days outside and then comes home with paperwork that still needs to get done, usually its to argue or discuss the same issues (like having a curfew, not being able to have electronics out after a certain time bc otherwise she will be on the phone all night, why she needs to ask before leaving the house) over and over again. This happens almost every single time he steps in the door. She loves to think she is the parent and can control anything she wants and once she's grounded and privileges are taken away she says we "have no right". She constantly runs away during her tantrums, punches anything in sight, and plays the victim anytime she's in trouble, blames somebody else, or turns it around on us and says "you guys don't accept me, thats the real problem" which is absolutely her favorite card to play. This behavior has been constant for the past 2 years with it only slowly getting worse. Just this past month we discovered that she has been vaping (using a Juul) as well as selling them at school, tried edibles and smoked weed (we drug tested her and took her phone where we found the messages and videos), hacked into my husbands phone to read our messages, took pictures of the ones about her, sent them to her BOYFRIEND in CALIFORNIA (fantastic idea isn't it?) and she's been sending naked pictures to her boyfriend as well. And does she take responsibility for any of this? No. She threw a holy fit when we took her phone, ipad (bio grandma bought her that), computer (bio uncle bought her that), and her drivers lisence until she was 18 bc while smoking, she was in a moving vehicle where the driver was also high, and she's grounded from friends for a month. But she doesn't care about any of her punishments and thinks she can "do whatever she wants". Found messages on her snapchat where she logged into it on her friends phone while at school and told her friends thats what she had done. So we changed her password, our other kid that drives and takes her to school caught her vaping AGAIN, thinks she's still selling Juuls to her classmates and says she thinks one of her friends bought her a burner phone. So we called the school resource officer so she could search her bag and locker. All of my biological kids are done (two of them started seeing their own therapist since she moved in and one has been diagnosed with depression) and one even told her to pack her stuff and get out if thats how you're going to treat this family and she's been the one advocating for her to stay this entire time to my other kids and even she has hit her limit with her. Me and my husband don't know what else to do, we have followed everything the therapist(s) have recommended (even taking her on a trip to California to see friends, family and see what her mother is really like, and she just spent most the time with her friends and instead of family. To top it all off, her mother only seen her for less than two hours out of our 16 day trip) and nothing has helped at all. We've done family therapy, try to do family activities where she either finds a way out of them or bails out (like when we all went to a movie and she got up and went into a different movie without even asking), she either doesn't want a family at all or just doesn't want us. Are we just not the right people to be taking care of her with the issues she has? Is there anything else that the therapist(s) haven't recommended that we could try? Or is it just time for us to call it quits? The biggest issue we have with giving up is non of her biological family members are willing to take her or anybody else for that matter! So if we give up she really will end up in the foster care system. But is it the right thing to do? Me and my husband argue constantly now (about her), my kids have all become distant from him since she latches onto him and refuses to let them have their own quality time with him unless she is there. My oldest in college doesn't come home as often as she used to specifically because of this, my second oldest is about to leave and do the same thing, my third child has depression and is probably the one who's struggling the most. My fourth kid is the only one not seriously struggling but still doesn't want her here either. Please help, I'm open to absolutely anything as long as it helps put our family back together.

OP posts:
Grannyannex · 10/01/2019 00:46

I would give her up but maintain a relationship with her, so meeting once a fortnight

DioneTheDiabolist · 10/01/2019 01:08

I hate to say it OP, but yes. RAD is a very serious disorder. It is way more than all the issues that a lot of foster kids have.

Babymamamama · 10/01/2019 01:11

Please ask to have this thread deleted OP - there are too many details included which relate to other people. I really sympathise but imagine if she read all this when she's older?

BartonHollow · 10/01/2019 01:17

For the sake of this poor girl please do find her somewhere reputable to live where she can get mental health support.

I know the American system is not as thorough as ours and it's easier to fall through the cracks

I would not want any young person with serious mental health issues and parents who have checked out to have to live with distant relatives who make it apparent by their every interaction that they detest them and their presence in their home.

Areyouongluedear · 10/01/2019 01:30

She is your family and your responsibility now. No way should you put her in care any more than you would one of your biological children.

Keep showing her love and assurance and make sure she knows that she is a part of your family unconditionally.

Teenage years are hard let alone for one with her background.

DioneTheDiabolist · 10/01/2019 01:33

Barton, you are not being fair. And neither were the authorities when they placed this child with the OP's family.Sad

BartonHollow · 10/01/2019 01:37

Oh I am being fair.

The contempt for this girl drips off every word of the post.

They could not have placed her in OPs home without OPs consent in the first instance

Racecardriver · 10/01/2019 01:41

I don’t really think she is your responsibility. She cane to you as a teenager. You didn’t raise her the way she is. You gave her an opportunity to fix her life but she didn’t take it. You can’t put her before your family. Is there anyway should could continue loving with you without excessive contact? Perhaps you have an annex that you could put her in and live separately? Or just stop trying to parent her and let her do what she wants?

DioneTheDiabolist · 10/01/2019 01:46

With RAD, chances were that any placement would have broken down. The child would have been much better served in a specialist MH unit. The OP should never have been asked to take her, particularly with younger children in the house.

LittlePaintBox · 10/01/2019 01:54

She's having a bad effect on the home environment for three of your four kids, and it doesn't sound as if she's getting a lot out of life herself at the moment.

It sounds as if you could end up estranged from some or all of your other kids, while this child remains your main focus. How is she ever going to learn to take responsibility for herself?

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but it sounds like a situation where good intentions simply aren't enough to solve her problems.

Dvg · 10/01/2019 01:58

I agree this is a case that should not have been passed to you, it should be specialists only to deal with it. I feel sorry for her that she had no choice to enter this world and yet her life is now like this but that is not your fault and I wouldn't feel any responsibility for her if I was you ( as harsh as it sounds

Butterflycookie · 10/01/2019 02:00

I think it’s time to give her up for the sake of your children.

Bubs101 · 10/01/2019 02:05

Your going to get a lot of posters here telling you she's family and she's your duty and how you owe it to her etc. The poster above who made the comment about you detesting her is being dramatic, ignore it. I didn't get the vibe at all, you sound like a woman at wits end.

I think here you have to put your own DC first and from your post it seems like her behaviour is having a real impact on their mental health. I can understand you feeling like you have a responsibility towards her, but you also have a responsibility to you DC, to provide them with a safe home, a sanctuary from the world, to me it sounds like the relationship with their Dad is breaking down due to her attachments and they fear being in the house, how is that fair on them? You're a far more admirable woman than me OP, as I hate to say it but wouldn't be as willing to open my home to a very troubled stranger (I'm aware she's related, but she was a stranger to them) at the detriment of the life I have worked so hard to create.

Not everyone is Mother Theresa and not everyone wants to be, in reality, nobody, including the MN comments above, knows your situation and nobody has the power to make you feel bad about putting yourself and your DC first, I would.

It sounds like she has a lot of issues and your not getting the required help, maybe it for the best if she is referred to a MH unit, or young adults living unit of some sort where she can access the help she needs, you can still see her regularly to ensure she knows she has support but if it makes your home life more bearable for your DC, it sounds like a win-win situation to me.

I really sympathise OP and I hope you make the choice that's best for your family, and its ok to feel frustrated and like you've lost hope, we're all human after all.

iaskMNeverything · 10/01/2019 02:06

I think it will be an absolute disaster for her if you give her up but probably better for you.

I don't really see a happy ending either way round.

It's which one you're prepared to sacrifice really. I'm guessing she'll be the one who loses out here tragically.

I'd probably do it for my biological child's sake, but my heart utterly breaks for that girl

SleepWarrior · 10/01/2019 02:23

If she's 17/18 (or have I misinterpreted?) could you help her find a house she could lodge in and then have her round for dinner every day, take her our for coffee and a chat regularly, basically treat her like more of a grown up and see if she responds better to a relationship that is less parent/child.

It would be such a shame for her to lose you from her life, but at the same time you don't want 4 children with mental health difficulties as a result of the current situation. If there's a solution whereby she can maintain a good relationship with you then you may be invaluable to her having a successful adult life - don't just give up on her. But I agree, not in your house.

Maryjoyce · 10/01/2019 02:33

How old is she

flapjackfairy · 10/01/2019 02:59

I have lived with a foster child with attachment disorder and it is incredibly hard ( and RAD harder still ).
It is impossible to explain to anyone how draining and exhausting it is to try and maintain control rather than letting the whole family be manipulated and controlled by the child. By the time the young person left ( voted with their feet ) I felt like an empty husk sucked dry of anything positive . You can give and give and still it won't be enough sadly. The damage this poor girl has sustained at the hands of her birth family has made it impossible for her to adjust to a normal family life and as you already know her issues are so deep and complex that even professionals are at a loss as to how to help her.
I agree she should never have been placed in a family with other children and it may be that she would settle better in a small group home or similar ( not sure of US systems). She is at risk of destroying your entire family and is already alienating you and your children from each other ( a common scenario as the young person tries to recreate the chaos they are comfortable with) .
It m sound like you have tried your v best so ignore people who say all she needs us love etc and family is all. Sadly it is not enough in some cases. My heart goes out to you all, especially her as she has been destroyed by the v people who should have kept her safe and v likely the damage can never be undone now. How awfully sad for you all. But really I would protect your birth children now and get her moved to a more suitable placement. You can still love and support her from a distance . Good luck x

justilou1 · 10/01/2019 03:28

You poor thing. You have been set up to fail from the beginning and to feel terribly guilty no matter what you do. You know she's a child, and she is not to blame for her situation, but she is never going to be normal. You have a responsibility to protect your biological children as well, and they are hurting too. I think it's time to accept that her behaviour has escalated beyond your limits and is going to continue to do so. The help you have been offered is not nearly enough and you are going to unravel very quickly. I think you are asking us almost for permission to accept that you have done as much as is humanly possible and I think we are almost all in agreement that you have probably done more and you, your husband and your children are going to probably bear the emotional scars of what you have already done as it is. It is time.

AlbertWinestein · 10/01/2019 03:47

I think you should probably just accept you are not the right people to be bringing this girl up. And you’re encouraging your son to act like a tool as stealing the shower from someone who is still very young, who has genuine problems with controlling their life is mean and dumb.

Mummyoflittledragon · 10/01/2019 05:10

It sounds as if you cannot save her. Perhaps someone else can. She came to you too late. Poor girl. Flowers

lovely36 · 18/01/2019 20:34

This is really tough. I'm sorry you're going through this.

Weightsandmeasures · 18/01/2019 20:49

Hi OP, is she really to blame for all the problems you and your family are experiencing? Is that fair?

It does sound like she is better off where her needs can be more adequately met. I'm sure it's not lost on her that she is not wanted and is seen as a problem. Neither your family or her are happy.

Good luck

Sarahandduck18 · 27/01/2019 09:58

Have you tried love bombing?

Behavioural techniques like punishments don’t work for dcs with RAD.

I’d have a shot at ignoring undesirable behaviour and rewarding the good.

If that doesn’t help then can you support her into independent living?

Yulebealrite · 27/01/2019 10:18

How old is she?

FabriqueBelgique · 20/12/2021 00:02

I think you’ve done far more than anyone could ask. I can’t believe it’s even a thing that they placed a girl with such distant relatives and that you had it in you to say yes! I’m amazed.

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