Foster Care Simulation - Big Country CASA

FOSTER CARE SIMULATION
“Could You Survive a Month in Foster Care?”

In 2020 the question was asked what “we could do to fix the foster care crisis?” And there wasn’t a great answer. This question inspired a thought about how we, as part of the foster care system, could inform, engage and inspire local communities to join in efforts to not only better serve children and families experiencing foster care, but to better support foster families.

The vision for a “Foster Care Simulation” was birthed from that thought. Surprisingly, there was nothing like this to be found anywhere across the nation. As a result, a team of local professionals from agencies involved in the foster care system and process were asked to join arms in creating the “Foster Care Simulation – Could You Survive a Month in Foster Care?”

This process began with brainstorming the experience. What do we want participants to experience? What do we want them to take away? After much thought and discussion our vision was created; to provide a realistic, interactive experience of a “month” in foster care with the goal of:

- - - - Increasing awareness & understanding of the foster care system
        
        Providing many different perspectives – from that of the child, parents, foster families and those associated with a foster care case
        
        Engaging the community to serve and support those involved in the system or caring for the children
        
        To increase our capacity to better serve children, families and foster families

Planning included writing realistic “case studies” and supporting documentation, creating realistic tasks for each participant to complete throughout the four-weeks of their case, with interactions from real-life professionals experienced in the process. The four-weeks are broken down into four 15-minute sessions followed by a fifth session of “case” discussion on the obstacles and challenges each participant encountered and how we as a community can be part of the solution to those obstacles.

The simulation concludes with a large group debriefing with local stats, discussion regarding available resources and brainstorming on ways to provide more resources to children, struggling families and those who foster. The hope is that each person will take away ideas on how they can be part of the solution to the foster care crisis through volunteering, fostering, beginning a career in a related field, or providing resources.

Consider experiencing the Foster Care Simulation for yourself to see if you have the resiliency and creativity to not only survive the experience but to help create the best possible outcome for those involved and explore the many resources that Taylor County has to offer.
View our promo video: https://youtu.be/7LlBEBk_igE

Want to make a difference in supporting a child or family in need? Here is a list of ways you can get involved to whatever level you feel comfortable! Be a CASA volunteer… provide a meal a month to a foster family… help build a bunk bed for a foster kiddo… check this list out to find a few of the ways you can impact our community!
Visit the FCS Resource page by clicking here

And here is the FCS Resource List in a PDF to download /print:
Take Away Sheet Foster Care Simulation 2023

For more information on how you can offer this event in your community, please reach out to info@bigcountrycasa.org