We've all heard the complaints about not getting paid time off from work, but a recent article on AlterNet gives that particular argument an entirely new twist.
Mary Lou Eckart gets no paid time off, no vacations, no sick pay. She's in the same boat with "nearly one-fourth" of the American population (Moberg, 2007). But this is where things get interesting. Mary Lou Eckart cares for a "severely disabled teenage girl" and is paid by the government of Illinois to do so (Moberg, 2007). She is a foster parent.
"I just had an incident two weeks ago," she says. "I had an inner ear infection that I didn't know about, and I passed out. My 17-year-old daughter covered for me while I recovered. I get no paid vacation, no time off, no sick leave. But if they put these clients in a nursing home, I know that is very expensive. I'd love to have a vacation. I'd love to be able to get away. I'd love to have someone fill in for me. I feel like we deserve more than what we're getting" (Moberg, 2007).
A foster parent is, first and foremost, a parent. Parents don't get paid time off, or sick pay. If we're lucky, we get a baby sitter every once in a while so we can go out without the kids. If you're the parent or caregiver of a disabled child, you get a nursing agency with personnel trained in the care of disabled patients so you can go out. And if you need a break, you use respite care.
The fact that paid time off from being a foster parent has even come up is just a tad scary to me. We already have a problem with our foster care system. We're giving children into the keeping of people who view them as a quick pay check. We're giving children into the keeping of people who lock them in cages, starve them, molest them, beat them, ignore them, and other equally atrocious things. That shouldn't be an option. But, for some reason our system allows it.
And that is by no means saying that all foster parents are bad. I know they aren't. Those many good foster parents have my utmost respect and gratitude. But, the fact that there are good and great foster parents out there does not at all negate that we have a problem with bad foster parents or a problem with the system itself.
We should have a plan in place when these people need a break because let's face it, giving them a break today may mean not finding the kid in a cage tomorrow. Good foster parents give a heck of a lot and should be recognized for that. But paid vacations from parenthood? That's a tad much. If you're viewing foster parenthood as just another job... you should probably reconsider what you've gotten yourself into.
When you take responsibility for a child, be it through reproductive means, through adoption or through foster care, you assume full responsibility for that child. Being a parent isn't a 9 to 5 (or 8 to 5 as it usually happens) gig. It's a 24/7 responsibility. Sick pay and paid vacations just don't happen in parenthood. And it shouldn't happen in foster care, either.
Reference:
http://www.alternet.org/workplace/54681
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I didn't realize that foster parents even got paid. Maybe they shouldn't. What's wrong with taking care of a kid for the sheer enjoyment of parenting? Does there actually need to be payment? Maybe that would stop people from treating them like keys to paychecks.
www.progressiveu.org/blog/americangirlinchina