Rise - Issue 19 - Summer 2011 - Making the Most of Visits

Aug 22, 2026

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Rise magazine, written by and for parents involved in the child welfare system, focuses on helping parents advocate for themselves and their children. This issue highlights how families can make visits meaningful despite supervision stress and the pain of separation. It addresses visiting conditions, supports for reunification, guidance on advocating for visiting hours, and personal accounts describing heartbreak, coping, and the efforts of parents and parent advocates to strengthen bonds during visits.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

In This Issue

Fostering Connections

Handling the Heartache

Visiting Hours

Words That Heal

Your Actions Are Setting You Back

A Focus on Visit Hosts and Coaches

Standing in Your Child’s Shoes

Closer Than Ever

The Comforts of Home

Eat, Play, Love

Rise magazine is written by and for parents involved in the child welfare system. Its mission is to help parents advocate for themselves and their children. I S S U E N U M B E R 1 9 , S U M M E R 2 0 1 1 BY AND FOR PARENTS IN THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM Making the Most of Visits When children go into foster care, visits are a chance for families to maintain and strengthen the bonds they share. But visits can also bring out all the stress, sadness, and anger that families feel. In this issue, parents show how they’ve made visits a special time despite the stress of supervision and the pain of saying good-bye. Parents and parent advocates call on the system to further improve visiting conditions and supports so that more families can successfully reunify. IN THIS ISSUE 3 FOSTERING CONNECTIONS Understanding the importance of visits. 4 HANDLING THE HEARTACHE After years of relapse, I reunited with my son. 5 VISITING HOURS How to advocate for time with your child. 5 WORDS THAT HEAL 6 ‘YOUR ACTIONS ARE SETTING YOU BACK’ Losing my temper in visits hurt my case. 8 A FOCUS ON VISIT HOSTS AND COACHES Supports to help parents bond with their children. 8 STANDING IN YOUR CHILD’S SHOES How to meet your child’s needs during visits. 10 CLOSER THAN EVER I’m learning to handle my children. 11 THE COMFORTS OF HOME Visits at the agency felt like jail. Eat, Play, Love Visits helped me become a good mother. BY ANONYMOUS When my daughter was 18 months old, she was removed from home because my husband and I were using drugs. At our first visit, my husband and I were very anxious. I was scared that my daughter would forget me or feel that I did not want her anymore. Waiting in the hallway for our baby, we saw a Spanish man holding a little girl. The girl looked like my baby but she had bangs. Could that be her? My husband said, “It is her,” and he grabbed her from the guy’s arms, saying,“Sweetie.” She grabbed him back and put her little head on his shoulders. When I saw my daughter’s haircut, I was so upset. She did not look like my daughter. I confronted the worker and she told me that the foster parents could not see her eyes. I told her,“They should have put her hair up!” “I’m sorry,” the worker said. “It will grow back.” Sad and Confused During the visit, my daughter would not let go ofus and was quiet. Her eyes gave a blank stare, moving ever so slowly. We tried to play toys with her but she just wanted comfort. She wrapped her body around me and rested her head on my shoulder. Her father and I rubbed her back and told her that we loved her very much and would fight to get her home. At the end of the visit, it was hard to say goodbye. My daughter was crying so much. Her face was full of agony. She screamed,“Mommy! Daddy!” I can still remember her arms stretching out to us. When I looked into her eyes, I felt despair and guilt. I cried and hugged and kissed her and told her we would see her again. A Mom, But Not a Good One Before my daughter was removed, I had a very bad addiction for almost 20 years. At times, I barely slept orate. I wandered the streets looking for my next hit. I had six other children and didn’t raise any of them. Two of my sons ended up in foster care and were adopted by their foster mom, who I asked to take my daughter when she went into foster care. When I got pregnant with my daughter, I was determined to raise her. I stayed clean for six months. But Irelapsed, even though I loved my daughter with all my heart. While I was using, I tried to take care of my daughter. I put her to sleep by laying her on my stomach and rubbing her back until she fell asleep. I held her and comforted her when she cried. My daughter liked to be tickled on her tummy and she liked rolling a ball back and forth. When ILLUSTRATION BY YC Rise FIRST PERSON she was old enough, I would take her to the park and push her on the swing and help her climb the jungle gym. The best

FAQs

What is the purpose of Rise magazine for parents in the child welfare system?

Rise is written by and for parents and aims to help them advocate for themselves and their children within the child welfare system.

Why does the issue emphasize visits when children enter foster care?

Visits are portrayed as opportunities for families to maintain and strengthen bonds, even though they can also bring stress, sadness, and anger.

How does the issue suggest parents can advocate for visitation time?

It includes guidance specifically under “Visiting Hours” on advocating for time with your child during the visitation process.

Aug 22, 2026

Upload by Himbo