Pandemic Shutdown Separates Parents From Their Children in the Foster System

Michelle Chan - Truthout

In this article for Truthout, Michelle Chan describes her own experience of having her son removed from her care and placed in foster care and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on families like hers. "Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in most U.S. foster children losing their visits indefinitely, with little effort by child welfare agencies to reduce negative impacts on the well-being of foster children or on their families’ ability to reunify," says Chan. "Foster youth are being abandoned by the state during this time of crisis. Think about how difficult a time this is for any child. Now, imagine being quarantined indefinitely as a foster child where you have no idea when you will see your parents next."