Editor’s note: These stories are shared to tell the tragic realities of child abuse. The Cherokee Scout does not name crime victims.
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About 142,000 children receive foster care services nationwide every year, according to the American Society for the Positive Care of Children.
Foster care is a temporary living situation for kids whose parents cannot care for them, according to kidscount.org. When a child is placed in the foster care system, a biological family member or kinship placement is typically sought for them according to adoption.org.
Many people don’t realize that a kinship placement does not always have to be a relative. In some instances, kinship caregivers can be a close family friend, a teacher or anyone who has a relationship with the child or their family can be considered for a kinship placement.
A local example is the story of a brother and sister who were victims of abuse by their mother and her boyfriend. The children were getting beaten everyday, told they were the cause of all the problems in the home and strangled at the hands of their own mother.
The sister was sexually assaulted by the mother’s boyfriend over three days, when it got to the point where the young girl was afraid of something terrible happening and reached out to a family member. The family member took the child’s word, and some proof of the beatings and strangulation – as well as proof of illegal drugs in the home – to the Cherokee County Department of Social Services, and the children were immediately taken out of the home.
The children’s family member said HAVEN Children’s Advocacy Center in Peachtree made the children feel safe and comfortable through the whole ordeal.
“They gave us gift cards to buy the kid’s clothes, and they were helpful during the forensic interviews of the children,” the family member said.
The children were placed in kinship foster care over the summer. Since then, the children have gotten counseling to help them move forward from the trauma.
The sister is doing really well in school and hopes to graduate early. The brother is in a Christian Youth Home, where he has made friends and is doing well academically.
The family member wanted to advise anyone in a similar situation of being called and told about abuse to make sure the child is ready to leave the home and to report it immediately.
“Put your whole heart and soul into saving them from that environment,” they said. “You definitely have to fight because if you don’t, nothing gets done.”