by Jennifer Jacobs, PhD
Stephanie* is a teenager in Virginia who moved through 12 foster placements in six years following the adoption of her biological sister by the foster family they shared. Finally, Alicia, a social worker, used Connect Our Kids’ software tools to find Lisa, a paternal aunt, who works in the mental health field. Lisa was able to connect with Stephanie and provide her a stable home with the support and understanding of her trauma-driven behaviors that Stephanie desperately needed.
This sounds like an incredible story about the success of technology in solving a foster placement problem. But it’s not.
I am the CEO and co-founder of Connect Our Kids, a nonprofit that builds software and other tools and trainings to improve foster care outcomes. I’m always deeply heartened when our tools help youth like Stephanie. So you may be surprised to know that I regularly counsel our potential software users that technology is not the answer!
This may seem counterintuitive. To explain, let’s take a closer look at Stephanie’s story.
Sadly, Stephanie’s story started with a number of failures driven by humans misunderstanding her need for connection and for an ongoing relationship with her family – her sister, her birth parents, perhaps neighbors and friends. No technology can ever replace the role that human connection plays in an individual’s life. This is especially true during childhood when the brain is forming physical connections that will shape how that child reacts to the world for the rest of her life.
But technology could have played a supporting role. Skilled and caring team members could have used software to help Stephanie’s birth parents meet important requirements, surround them and Stephanie with a known network of support, or even help Stephanie’s unfortunately long chain of caregivers build a cloud-based lifebook of childhood memories. Technology might have helped humans mitigate some of the hurt Stephanie experienced. But in each of those steps, thoughtful humans need to be in the driver’s seat.
Alicia’s use of Connect Our Kids’ software is a good example of technology as an appropriately applied tool. I like to compare our tools to a bridge over a wide chasm on a path. It can make a world of difference to the path-walker’s ability to continue. But Alicia had to be trained and committed to the goal. Aunt Lisa and her specialized abilities didn’t drop immediately into Alicia’s lap. Instead, Alicia first found dozens of relatives, drew them in through human connection about Stephanie and her journey, and eventually brought them together in a meeting. Then, Aunt Lisa’s suitability for Stephanie became apparent – and, crucially, Stephanie herself decided to try again–this time with her family.
It is important to acknowledge that used inappropriately, technology can be harmful. Tools that find people and information can be invasive, intruding on a family’s life. This isn’t the fault of the technology itself, however. Take, for example, a power saw. It can be used to build a safe warm house or it can cause a very serious injury. No tool is inherently good or bad – it depends on how and when it is used, and the skill and intent of the one wielding the tool.
Consider, for example, a difficult case of substance-addicted parents. They love their child and want to parent him, and he is deeply attached to them despite their difficulties. Yet the parents constantly fall short of the county’s requirements, despite their genuine efforts. Technology helps the case manager discover a wonderful former neighbor who wants to start a family and would like to adopt this vulnerable child. For the overwhelmed case worker, termination of parental rights and adoption might seem to offer a cleaner, easier path than trying to find a way to keep the child in a relationship with his struggling parents as they fight their addictions.
Child welfare professionals wield a life-changing government power – to dismantle a family. When technology is brought to bear, it should be done with the full awareness of how it can affect decision making. Professionals should not reach for technology as a shortcut to clearing cases, but instead as a bridge to preserving and strengthening relationships. When this happens, we have seen the results be the difference in a youth choosing life over death.
Many foster care professionals are drowning in cases, and can be forgiven for hoping that technology will be the magic solution. But the real magic is in the pairing of skilled and caring team members who understand the vital role of relationships, with thoughtfully designed technology, applied as needed. A commitment to this combination with every child’s case could completely change child welfare and, most importantly, the outcomes for children and families.
*Name has been changed to protect privacy. Stephanie represents an example for the purpose of this article.
Jennifer Jacobs, PhD is the CEO and co-founder of Connect Our Kids, a nonprofit that believes Relationships Matter — crucially so for child welfare affected families. Contact [email protected]