Stephanie Helbush
Brian Hill and Keith Scherdt of Haiku had reservations about becoming resource caregivers (aka, foster parents) for children in foster care. Foster care is temporary; the goal is reunification. Given this, they wondered whether they could really make a difference in a child’s life in a short period of time.
They decided to give it a try, and Brian and Keith were licensed in 2010. They have provided a home to nine children. All but two were reunified with their families. The shortest placement was ten months, the longest two and a half years. Their first placement was a sibling group of two boys, ages 12 and 4. The 12-year-old had severe behavioral issues, but Brian and Keith were against putting him in a self-contained classroom. They convinced the school to give them time to work on it. At the end of the 10-month placement, the boy could control his behavior and was out of all special education classes. Brian and Keith are still in contact with the family, and the boy just sent them his college acceptance letter. As with other children who have been placed in their home, these brothers still call and want to be a part of their lives.
Brian says, “You have to go into this understanding that if they leave you, it’s a good thing. If their families can solve their issues and get their kids back, that’s a good thing.” Brian and Keith have had good relationships with the children and their families. They’ve had kids who applied for jobs and asked them to be references, and birth parents who have called asking for help. They’ve had the opportunity to be a resource to the children and to their families – the true meaning of being a ‘resource caregiver.’
“People have to remember that kids are in foster care because they’ve been abused, neglected, abandoned. Foster kids get a negative stereotype that they’re bad kids. They’re not. They’ve just seen and been through things they never should have. Bad behaviors are learned and they can change. Amazing what a little bit of stability and consistency can do for a child.”
So it turns out that the answer is yes. Yes, you can make a difference in a child’s life, even if it is just for a moment in time. If you are interested in becoming a resource caregiver to children in foster care on Maui, call Hui Ho‘omalu at (808) 268-5122 or visit www.pidf.org.
