A Letter to My Dad From a Student in Foster Care

I was speaking recently to one of my students who is in a foster care placement. She had a visit with her mom and dad about a month ago. Both of her parents are addicted to meth and have been in and out of jail. They are currently out of jail and she claims they continue to do meth. The visit she had did not go well. They are allowed to be in public places together, but unsupervised. The student believed that her dad was high during the visit. On a different day, he came into her place of employment and got high in the restroom so he was asked not to return to that place.  She shared with me a text she sent him and I thought it was very well written and showed her feelings appropriately. (Please note, the incident was reported her her Family Case Manager from the Department of Child Services)

I wanted to post this because it shows the raw feelings of a student who has dealt with a (short) lifetime of pain, and of parents who cared more about their additions than their children. Getting help for additions takes courage, and if someone really wants to get help, they will admit themselves to a facility- maybe insurance doesn't cover everything, but if they are court ordered and in the system, it will get paid for one way or another! Many teenagers go off the deep end with parents like hers, but she has goals and there are kids out there who break the cycle of their parents.