What Children in Care Don’t Need This Foster Care Awareness Month: Your Hope
By Erica Fischer-Kaslander, Executive Director
“Hope.” Such a lovely word, yes? Embroidered on decorative pillows, carved into wood plaques, and printed in swirly gold on inspirational posters, it gets tossed around like confetti: “Just have hope!” they say, as if hope alone fixes all.
Despite May being National Foster Care Awareness Month, forgive us here at Child Focus if we’re not big fans of hope now, or anytime throughout the year. At least not the rainbows and unicorns kind, anyway. It’s widely known in the office that “Erica hates hope!”
Hope cannot repair broken systems, heal generational trauma or – poof! – resolve the complex needs of children in foster care.
Hear me out before sending in the cavalry; although many leaders may be cavalier with their preferences, I’ve held onto this belief, and tightly, for many years. In child welfare, like most other things, hope without action is, simply, lip service.
Let’s be clear: We’re not anti-hope. We’re about the gritty, roll-up-your-sleeves kind of hope. The hope that fuels determination and sparks advocacy, the hope that keeps us going when the work feels overwhelming. That fluffy, in-the-clouds hope that people offer instead of confronting hard truths or puting in the work? No thanks.
Thing is, hope can become an excuse. At Child Focus, we hear a lot about hope in places with little action.
“I hope things get better for those kids.” Great! Do you know what would actually make things better? Becoming a CASA volunteer or financially supporting organizations like ours actively working to make things better.
“I hope the system improves someday.” Fantastic! Are you ready to vote for policies and people that prioritize children’s welfare by funding critical programs and holding systems accountable?
“I’m just hoping this works out.” Oh, okay. Well, while you’re busy hoping, we’ll be building relationships with kids; advocating in courtrooms, classrooms and the community; and making sure no child’s life is left to chance and pie-in-the-sky sentiment.
Let’s be real. Children in foster care do not have the luxury of waiting for hopeful feelings to become meaningful action. The clock is ticking. They need committed adults who show up, fight for their needs, and help build a future for them that doesn’t rely on wishful thinking.
Here at Child Focus, we believe in action-driven hope year-round. Resilience, tenacity, grit, and passion fill in the gaps left by hope. That means showing up when it’s uncomfortable, having hard conversations, and making decisions that prioritize children’s well-being over convenience or what’s always been done a certain way.
It’s not glamorous, and it doesn’t make a throw pillow pretty. It’s the kind of hope that changes lives. So, gently set down that sparkly, feel-good hope and instead roll up your sleeves. Join us to create the kind of hope that’s real and messy, but transformative. We don’t just hope things get better, we’re working every day to make it so.
Join us. There’s no time like the present. If National Foster Care Awareness Month spurs you into realizing you can do more for children living in care through no fault of their own, then terrific! Really, no matter the time we need you – because there’s actually no time to waste.
Learn about becoming a volunteer advocate here, and turn hope into life-changing work.