wexwimpy
November 15th 04, 04:49 PM
Anita Creamer: Foster care role-playing isn't just playacting
By Anita Creamer -- Bee Columnist Published 2:15 am PST Sunday,
November 14, 2004
Juvenile Court Judicial Officer Carol Chrisman banged her gavel again
and again, trying to get the attention of the circle of people in
front of her pretending to be family members, child advocates,
attorneys and social workers - members of the cast of a role-playing
exercise acting out parts in Sacramento's foster care system.
"If you have an outburst again, you'll be removed," Chrisman said,
looking stern, standing behind a lectern adorned with a plastic
American flag.
"Yes, ma'am," replied Joyce Gorrell, a Neighborhood Accountability
Board volunteer, playing the part of a mother whose kids were in Child
Protective Services custody.
Gorrell sounded appropriately abashed - frightened by the prospect of
not being able to reunite with her children. Even if her kids, little
Floyd and Sara, were only imaginary creatures being played by two
women with name tags pinned to their sweaters.
And so went another evening of Foster Care City - this role-playing
exercise for community members who attend CPS' twice-annual Citizens
Academy. It's the highlight of the seven weeks of classes.
"They've been learning about what we do," said Sharon Saffold,
ombudsman for the Sacramento County Department of Health and Human
Services. "Now they actually participate in the system for
themselves."
The main conference room in DHHS' East Parkway administration building
was crowded, filled with fairly confused Foster Care City participants
carrying binders outlining their roles.
Gradually, they got into the spirit of the exercise.
Against one wall were tables filled with people assigned to represent
attorneys, social workers and service providers. At a table against
another wall, a CPS social worker named Lashawnda Barker played a
school administrator trying to deal patiently with the needs of - yes
- people playing CPS social workers.
"They come and ask me questions and look at me like, 'Why don't you
fix what's wrong?' " she said. "And I look at them like, 'Well, why
don't you fix it?' "
Just like in real life.
And over here, in one corner, was a table labeled "Jail," where a
woman named Adelina Stone, who in reality is studying to be an
addiction specialist, sat alone. She played a man accused of molesting
his girlfriend's daughter.
"Don't tell nobody," she said, breaking into a grin. "But they should
hang me."
The 42 Citizens Academy members had diverse reasons for participating.
For example, Jesender Strong is a grandmother whose grandkids are in
the system. She said she'd like to get custody of them. Rosalia
Cabrera works in alumni relations at California State University,
Sacramento, but she'd like to go into law enforcement.
And Vivian Hudspeth is a CPS veteran, a success story. She was
reunited with her children more than two years ago and now she mentors
other parents whose kids have been removed. This night, she played
troubled foster child Floyd, 7.
"This gives me a lot of empathy for kids going through the system,"
she said. "I have feelings for this little boy I play. I think this
will give all of us a new perspective."
That's the point. The fictional lives spelled out in binders echo the
difficult lives and competing issues of real-life foster system
clients. Chrisman sees the process every day in court.
"There are so many things going on with foster children and their
families," she said. "There's the overlap of criminal matters and
dependency issues. Someone's car breaks down, so they can't get to
court, and they're going to school, and their social worker's voice
mail is full.
"It's a chaotic system, and our job is to organize the chaos. This
helps people see that it's not as easy as society thinks it is. We're
dealing with serious issues."
But Foster Care City is meant not only for education; it's for fun,
too. And so Chrisman banged the gavel again.
"I don't usually use a gavel in court," she said. "I've been waiting
all my judicial career for this."
Defend your civil liberties! Get information at http://www.aclu.org, become a member at http://www.aclu.org/join and get active at http://www.aclu.org/action.
By Anita Creamer -- Bee Columnist Published 2:15 am PST Sunday,
November 14, 2004
Juvenile Court Judicial Officer Carol Chrisman banged her gavel again
and again, trying to get the attention of the circle of people in
front of her pretending to be family members, child advocates,
attorneys and social workers - members of the cast of a role-playing
exercise acting out parts in Sacramento's foster care system.
"If you have an outburst again, you'll be removed," Chrisman said,
looking stern, standing behind a lectern adorned with a plastic
American flag.
"Yes, ma'am," replied Joyce Gorrell, a Neighborhood Accountability
Board volunteer, playing the part of a mother whose kids were in Child
Protective Services custody.
Gorrell sounded appropriately abashed - frightened by the prospect of
not being able to reunite with her children. Even if her kids, little
Floyd and Sara, were only imaginary creatures being played by two
women with name tags pinned to their sweaters.
And so went another evening of Foster Care City - this role-playing
exercise for community members who attend CPS' twice-annual Citizens
Academy. It's the highlight of the seven weeks of classes.
"They've been learning about what we do," said Sharon Saffold,
ombudsman for the Sacramento County Department of Health and Human
Services. "Now they actually participate in the system for
themselves."
The main conference room in DHHS' East Parkway administration building
was crowded, filled with fairly confused Foster Care City participants
carrying binders outlining their roles.
Gradually, they got into the spirit of the exercise.
Against one wall were tables filled with people assigned to represent
attorneys, social workers and service providers. At a table against
another wall, a CPS social worker named Lashawnda Barker played a
school administrator trying to deal patiently with the needs of - yes
- people playing CPS social workers.
"They come and ask me questions and look at me like, 'Why don't you
fix what's wrong?' " she said. "And I look at them like, 'Well, why
don't you fix it?' "
Just like in real life.
And over here, in one corner, was a table labeled "Jail," where a
woman named Adelina Stone, who in reality is studying to be an
addiction specialist, sat alone. She played a man accused of molesting
his girlfriend's daughter.
"Don't tell nobody," she said, breaking into a grin. "But they should
hang me."
The 42 Citizens Academy members had diverse reasons for participating.
For example, Jesender Strong is a grandmother whose grandkids are in
the system. She said she'd like to get custody of them. Rosalia
Cabrera works in alumni relations at California State University,
Sacramento, but she'd like to go into law enforcement.
And Vivian Hudspeth is a CPS veteran, a success story. She was
reunited with her children more than two years ago and now she mentors
other parents whose kids have been removed. This night, she played
troubled foster child Floyd, 7.
"This gives me a lot of empathy for kids going through the system,"
she said. "I have feelings for this little boy I play. I think this
will give all of us a new perspective."
That's the point. The fictional lives spelled out in binders echo the
difficult lives and competing issues of real-life foster system
clients. Chrisman sees the process every day in court.
"There are so many things going on with foster children and their
families," she said. "There's the overlap of criminal matters and
dependency issues. Someone's car breaks down, so they can't get to
court, and they're going to school, and their social worker's voice
mail is full.
"It's a chaotic system, and our job is to organize the chaos. This
helps people see that it's not as easy as society thinks it is. We're
dealing with serious issues."
But Foster Care City is meant not only for education; it's for fun,
too. And so Chrisman banged the gavel again.
"I don't usually use a gavel in court," she said. "I've been waiting
all my judicial career for this."
Defend your civil liberties! Get information at http://www.aclu.org, become a member at http://www.aclu.org/join and get active at http://www.aclu.org/action.