Broken

You know that feeling when you have been working on a 1000 piece puzzle and you are really making some great progress?  You are excited, you are nearing the finishing line, you are proud, and you know that you have really persevered in order to complete that sucker.  Then you realize there are pieces to the puzzle missing, very necessary pieces.  Without those pieces you know that this puzzle will never achieve the beauty that was intended for it.  That is when the frustration of all the hard work you have put into this beautiful puzzle sets in. You suddenly find yourself replacing the pride you had in your work with anger and irritation towards those who have ruined your attempt to create a masterpiece.

                I have been feeling that frustration a great deal lately; ever since the state cut funding for the Children’s Administration.  These children are beautiful master pieces that are in need of all the support and services they can get.  I am very much aware of the fact that budget cuts are a necessity in our state.  However, I have really been struggling with the fact that this area of budgeting has been hit so hard.  I am finding myself beyond irritated with our state and their decision that makes supporting foster parents and especially the vulnerable children so much more difficult. 

                Thad and I are blessed that we are licensed through Tacoma Youth for Christ. This is a private foster care licensing organization that has been a critical foundation and support system for our family and many others.  As we have worked with both the state and YFC, we have witnessed a drastic difference in the amount of support provided between the two.  Our state social workers are rarely available to discuss any of the situations that arise, they have very strict hours and less work days that allowed for us to contact them, and when there was crisis after  hours, on the weekends, or moments of complete frustration, behavioral issues, etc. they were not there as a support system.  I am sure this comes as no surprise but it seems as though the times you need to contact your social worker are the times they are not in the office.  For our family, YFC has been there in the middle of the night, after hours, and on weekends.  What a tremendous sacrifice these people make in order to support their foster families and the kids they service.  When we are burned out, frustrated and ready to throw the towel in, they are there. When we see a success in one of our children, they want us to share that with them.  This organization (as with other private agencies) is about the children, about the families caring for them, about supporting them, and fostering these children into the beautiful masterpieces they were meant to be.

                YFC has taken a 20% budget cut from the state.  Children’s Administration has been hit everywhere and the people suffering are these kids.  I am angry and frustrated because I would like to ask these state workers who they plan on having run this state in the next 20-30 years?  These children that are in our system, in need of Children’s Administrations services; they are our future. They are the future candidates of this country, the hopefully productive members of our society that will be independent and making differences in this world…….. Why then, is this where the state is cutting so much funding?  Why are they not thinking of the immediate effects of their decision, and even more so the detriment of our future if we continue in this direction; disregarding the needs of these children and the services that will aid in their growth and potential. 

                The harsh state of reality is that there is a much bigger problem in this picture.  Children’s Administration is not the only organization being hit with budget cuts and suffering. Truth is, the law enforcement agencies, health care, fire fighters, teachers, the elderly, the disabled, etc. are also receiving cuts and being gravely affected. The overspending of our government and individuals has created such a deficit that there is no clear cut answer.  Cuts have to be made, I understand that.  Someone will also suffer because of the cuts.  But my heart breaks as the children, who are our future, are sadly the imminent recipients of our broken state.

                In my frustration and venting, I ask for your prayers. Pray that organizations like YFC are able to receive outside funding in order to continue providing exceptional support, that their services are not hindered in any way and that the state is able to see the grave impact this budget cut has on the future of these children and our state.

Psalm 82:3

 Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.