The Cradle and Bough

"Rock-a-bye, baby..."
by Mother Goose

Rock-a-bye, baby,    In the tree top: When the wind blows,    The cradle will rock; When the bough breaks,    The cradle will fall; Down will come baby,    Cradle and all.

Like the simple words of this Mother Goose nursery rhyme, youth in the foster care system found that the wind blew strong enough to break the bough they were on –the foster care system—and their cradle fell with them still in it.

The system that was intended to be a temporary place for them to rest from abuse and/or neglect until they were unified with their parents became permanent.   Foster care’s initial intent did not change, but because many children are never reunified with their parents, they live their lives in the foster care system until they reach the age of maturity, which are 18 or 21 years of age according state laws in which they live.  Many children the same age as those in foster care are still at home with parents, attending college or working part-time jobs while still at home because they do not have the resources to be able to live on their own.    These children have a safe haven and are given time to grow up, but youth in foster care are expected to venture out into the world sooner than other children their age.  These youth deserve our support and in not doing so, the costs to the public are not only monetary, but emotional, mental, and material. 

Quality programs over quantity are a beginning.  Quality programs must be created and designed specifically in support of these youth, who associate stigma and isolation with being in “the system.”   Success Beyond 18 is an initiative designed to help youth in foster care succeed.  When we all come together in unison focused on support, the cradle that fell holding the child can be repaired, the child comforted and the cradle returned to the tree of support…on a different bough.