About the Video
ationwide, America’s foster care system is broken. Louisiana, like its sister states, is grappling with the monumental problems caused by parents unwilling or unable to care for their children. No one is happy with the present situation. Not case workers. Not frustrated adults trying to adopt. Not attorneys handling another hearing. Not judges with a backlog of cases, but especially, not the child who isn’t sure where he will be sleeping next month. Adrift in the System: Louisiana’s Children in Crisis is a 30-minute documentary that explores the complex issues surrounding foster care in our state.

Good intentions, family preservation programs and past governmental incentives have not solved all the problems. Nearly six thousand of Louisiana’s children are in the foster care system at any given time.

Adrift in the System provides a look at some of the problems and proposed solutions by telling the stories of two Louisiana children who came in contact with the foster care system. Jamie’s case is all too common: a lifetime of multiple placements until he “aged out” of the system. Abby’s story tells what can happen when the system works to the child’s—and society’s—benefit.

The fix isn’t easy. In this program, we’ll hear stakeholders voicing their opinions on proposals for change. We’ll look at how these proposals can be implemented. Leaders are calling for a shift in focus from “family preservation at all costs“ to a child-centered system. Such a system aims to expedite the permanent placement of every child into a safe, loving home.

Adrift in the System provides a forum for parents, children’s advocates, child welfare professionals, legal experts and others to share their ideas on how to make the system more responsive to the needs of Louisiana’s foster children.

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