Letter: Positive experience with foster care
The Honorable Robin M. Kent assists Eleanor Haas-Colwell,3, with signing her name on the finalization paperwork as the Nassau County Department of Social Services and Nassau County Family Court host a ceremony in which the adoptions of 13 children in foster care were finalized. (Nov. 18, 2013) Credit: Steve Pfost
Please allow me to tell you about some unsung heroes who work among us: staff members of the foster care and adoption unit at the Nassau County Department of Social Services.
My husband and I went through foster care and adoption training, and soon we welcomed three tiny siblings into our home. Their problems from extreme neglect became our problems. However, training from the social services team kept us going. This is not just a job for this team, it is a vocation.
When another sibling group was in an emergency situation, we took in the children, and the social services team continued to drive them to their schools, which were far away.
This team is strict about monthly home visits, separate home checks and meetings at certain intervals. Staff members accompanied me to school meetings and asked to see our vacation pictures. The list goes on and on. This dedicated group of people quietly eases children into better lives, and it makes our community a much better place.
Patricia Flynn Schwarcz, Syosset
