All he was able to tell me was that there would be a court date held for my brother at Family Court in the next couple days and that I should attend if I wanted to see him. On the morning of the hearing, I arrived at the courthouse looking for someone to help direct me to whichever room he was in. After about 30 minutes of being directed (and confused) by all sorts of people back and forth between court houses and rooms I approached a window hoping to get more information about my brothers case. The man gave me a blank stare as I was choking back tears, trying to explain to him what my situation was and asking if he could help me in any way. I didn’t know who my brother’s social worker was or his case number so he wasn’t able to release any information to me. As I left the building I was overcome with the feeling of hopelessness. I just wanted to see my brother. I wanted to have custody of him. I didn’t want him with these strangers who knew nothing about him. I was frustrated and couldn’t do anything to help myself but more importantly my brother.

I was advised to go to the Human Services Agency and find where the Child Protective Services office was. As I approached the building I remained skeptical. A woman at the front desk began to assist me as I explained everything I had just experienced trying to find my brother. I left her with my contact information and walked away feeling slightly relieved.

I received a call from a woman named Wilma Owens the next day. She is my brother’s caseworker and has been managing his case for the time he’s been in foster care. She told me I had to get approval from my father for an official Release of Information. Faced with yet another obstacle to overcome, I luckily reached my father that same day and he was able to let Wilma know that it was ok to release information to me. I found out that my brother was still in Merced, attending school and that he was allright. Wilma arranged a visit for my brother and I a week later.

[pullquote_left]The man gave me a blank stare as I was choking back tears, trying to explain to him what my situation was and asking if he could help me in any way. I didn’t know who my brother’s social worker was or his case number so he wasn’t able to release any information to me. As I left the building I was overcome with the feeling of hopelessness. I just wanted to see my brother. I wanted to have custody of him. I didn’t want him with these strangers who knew nothing about him. I was frustrated and couldn’t do anything to help myself but more importantly my brother.[/pullquote_left]

I appreciate Wilma and all the help she gave me. She was very understanding and sympathetic, she assured me that contact between my brother and I would be restored and helped to ease my worrying.

Nationwide, more than 463,000 children live in foster care. In California, which has the largest foster care population than any other state, the number of foster youth has tripled in the last 20 years according to childrenunitingnations.org.

Tags: family, foster care, spotlight