Successful Journey Through Foster Care

By Terry Azzouz MA LPC LSOTP CART

Over 20 years ago a vision was seen. A mission began. That journey today is to bring peace, joy, love, and light into the lives of millions. Terry Azzouz has worked as a therapist within the foster care system. She has worked with countless children, parents, foster families, CPS caseworkers, Attorneys and Judges. She has been called upon as an expert witness. And through it all Terry Azzouz has kept her focus to help those in need.
Successful Journey Through Foster Care is the continuation of Terry’s personal mission. She has taken content from years of working in the system to create stories you will relate to. You will find yourself knowing cases just like these stories. But Terry Azzouz didn’t just give you the stories. She provides you with the problem as viewed from different individuals involved in the stories. Then Terry Azzouz completes the journey by giving you practical solutions to so many of the cases that are faced every day within the foster care system.
You might also enjoy Terry Azzouz’s other book that offers practical help: “The Cheating Game: The Reasons People Cheat and What to do About It”

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 19, 2020
• ISBN: 9781728366968

Book preview

© 2020 Terry Azzouz, MA, LPC, LSOTP, CART. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 07/16/2020

ISBN: 978-1-7283-6695-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-6696-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020913219

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in

this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views

expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the

views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

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Preface

Chapter 1     A Family In Chaos

Chapter 2     Entering The Unknown

Chapter 3     The Emotional Roller Coaster

Chapter 4     Should I Stay Or Should I Go

Chapter 5     The Return Home

Chapter 6     My Forever Family

Chapter 7     Rejected And Unwanted

Chapter 8     Long Term Care … No Place To Call Home

Chapter 9     Leaving The Cps System

Chapter 10   Success Is Mine! Ending The Cycle

Chapter 11   My Personal Journey

PREFACE

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"It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important. You have to

do the right thing. It may not be your power, may not be in your time,

that there’ll be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right

thing. You may never know what results come from your action."

—Gandhi

The question needs an answer. The biggest question of why? Why did I write this book? Why take the time to speak on a topic that many would like to stay hidden? Why for those of you I have met in person, give this book away for Free? Why? Why? Why?

At the time of this writing, I have over 30 years of experience working within the Child Protective Services (CPS) in the State of Texas. I have seen a lot. Many things have changed … some for the better. And yet the same problems continue. I am so happy that CPS now has great programs in place to help the youths who have no place to go after high school. This shift alone has decreased the number of homeless youths on the streets. I am even more excited about the recent push to work with families instead of immediately taking children into care.

But still, the problems persist. We all know the difficulties of having to protect children from the people who are supposed to love them. The issue of dividing siblings causing them to live in different homes, sometimes different states. The issue of long-term care resulting in children moving from home to home until they age out of the system. The issue of not having enough foster homes and sometimes children living in the CPS office. Or worse, being placed in a psychiatric hospital until someone can find a placement. The list goes on and on of the problems that persist within the CPS system.

And yet, I haven’t answered why I wrote this book. Who cares that I have 30 years of experience? What’s important is that we continue to address the problems and find solutions. Well, my friend, that’s the reason for the book!!! To help provide answers.

Let me begin by telling you about myself and answer why I feel I am qualified to write this book. That might be important for you. Yes, I have all the right degrees and initials behind my name, as noted on the front of this book. Let me tell you what those initials mean: MA= Master of Art in Clinical Psychology; LPC= Licensed Professional Counselor; LSOTP=Licensed Sex Offender Treatment Provider; CART=Certified Anger Resolution Therapist. Yes, I went to school for a long, long time. My degrees and licenses allow me to help others while keeping me ethical.

As stated above, I have worked in this system providing counseling services to children and their families for over 30 years. I have worked closely with CPS Caseworkers, Attorneys, Judges, CASA Workers, and more. I have testified as an expert witness in many cases. I also supervise a staff of therapists who also work with CPS clients. My files have been subpoenaed more than I can count. Needless to say, I have many qualifications that aided me in writing this book.

Twenty years ago, I founded a program called Project KIDS. The mission was and continues to be "To provide opportunities for growth for young people that will strengthen the diverse family structure through mental wellness services that meet the needs of at-risk youth." I developed that program with the direction of giving convenience to families by providing home and school-based services. I am happy to say that our staff of therapists work closely with CPS to help the family unit. To learn more, visit our website at www.fbprojectkids.com.

In 2017 I was led to create a new program. Again, there was a desire to meet the needs of families. Our society is ever- evolving. There was a recognition that while the home and school-based services were working well, there was still a need lacking in the community of mental health and CPS. Enter Gateway 2 Counseling. The mission of this program is "To bring peace, joy, love, and light into the lives of millions with affordable online mental health counseling. Enter our gates for a brighter tomorrow." This new program has already experienced success in providing telehealth services to adolescents and adults. We have been able to again work with CPS in offering counseling to teens, parents, and families. CPS has been most excited about our ability to provide continuity of care for those youth who frequently move from placement to placement. To learn more about this program, please visit us at www.gateway2counseling.com.

It should be of interest that this book is structured to be solution- based. I recognize that many of you have vast knowledge about the system. But what is lacking are solutions. For this reason, I have structured the book by offering inspiration, telling the stories, reviewing the problems from different viewpoints, then concluding by providing possible solutions. You might not agree with my solutions. That’s ok. It is just an offer based upon my years of working in this field. I base e ach story I tell from my treatment of over 4000 clients. The stories will not be related to any one particular case or client to protect the innocent and to comply with ethics.

So why am I writing this book? I write this book to help our families and the most at-risk youth. My hope is for this book to help increase the understanding of the people who work with these families, decrease family separations, and increase unity, not only within the family units but also within the system. And I want to give back to my community by providing a road map, a Guide to a Successful Journey Through Foster Care.

If you should ever feel led to reach out to me, you can reach me by email at [e-mail] or by phone at 713-899-0614.

And thank you for taking this journey with me as we attempt to help those within the CPS system.

CHAPTER 1

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A FAMILY IN CHAOS

"You weren’t an accident. You aren’t mass-produced. You aren’t an

assembly-line product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted,

and loving positioned on the Earth by the Master Craftsman."

—Max Lucado

The Reality

I repeatedly hear children make comments that they were an accident. They believe their parents do not love them. It is genuinely heartbreaking to listen to young children say that they wish they were dead because no one loves them. It is heartbreaking to hear children question why they were born and why God has allowed so much pain into their lives.

First we should review the responsibilities of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services:

• investigate allegations of child abuse and neglect

• work with law enforcement on joint investigations

• take custody of unsafe children

• refer children to community resources that promote their safety and well-being

• assist in the fight against human trafficking

The bottom line is that CPS exists to help. In the state of Texas, CPS investigated 163,029 allegations in 2019 alone—21.9 cases per 1,000 children. That’s a lot of work performed by this agency.

As you can see, there are many families in chaos. But the reality is that no one lives in a perfect home—no one. When I was younger, I recall often thinking how I wished my parents were like my friends’ parents. They seemed so perfect! Their stay-at-home mom cooked them breakfast daily and had a full meal waiting for them when they got home from school. She was an excellent cook who loved being in the kitchen. It didn’t take much for me to want a mom like that. Then one day, I learned that one brother attempted to stab another brother. I learned that the youngest sister had been adopted as an infant from the mom’s sister, but no one knew it, not even the adopted girl. I learned that the mom had a problem with alcohol and marijuana. Suddenly my mom didn’t look so bad.

You may have similar memories of the grass being greener on the other side. The truth is that almost all families go through something. But we also