A Child's Journey Through Placement

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A Child’s Journey Through Placement is virtually a textbook on the psychology of foster children for CASA volunteers. Written for child welfare workers, this book clearly describes the importance of attachment and the impact of separation and loss on children at each stage of their lives. Its chapter on child development discusses the impact of each stage on the parents and other caregivers as well as the child.

Throughout the book, Dr. Fahlberg uses case histories of children in the dependency system to illustrate her points. She has an important chapter about the traumatic impact of moves on children and includes practical suggestions for minimizing the distress created if a move cannot be avoided. She also discusses ways to help the transition when an adoption or reunification occurs.

Among the most valuable sections of A Child’s Journey are the descriptions of how to communicate effectively with children of various ages and how to help a child create a meaningful Lifebook. A Lifebook tells the child’s personal story, including all his moves and placements, so that he can have a continuous sense of his personal history. It should include an accurate chronology and can be illustrated with photographs and a family tree. The Lifebook can help a child understand his past in relation to his present and his possible future. A CASA may be the most appropriate person to help a child create a Lifebook. We have a sample Lifebook at the SFCASA office if you want ideas about how to get started on a project of this kind with your child.

A Child’s Journey contains too much essential material to digest in a single reading. A wise CASA would purchase a copy or borrow the office copy every six months or so just to dip into this valuable reference work for basic information about child psychology and for practical suggestions about how to handle situations that typically come up for children in “The System.”

—Libby Colman, Ph.D.