CIS Professors Step Up for Foster Children
This month, the Eugene Register Guard ran a story about the alarming increase in children living in foster homes: over 1000 children in Lane County. While others scratch their heads, or silently shed a tear, some CIS professors are doing something about it. Professor David Atkins and his wife, Nancy, started fostering infants over ten years ago. Since then, Dr. and Mrs. Atkins have cared for eleven babies, often from homes torn apart by drug use and domestic violence. The infants have come to their home as young as 23 hours old, and stay with them for anywhere from a few months to nearly a year. The goal of the foster care system, and the reason that the state intervenes in families is to insure the safety of children. Most of the babies that have touched the Atkins' lives have moved on to a happy adoption placement with a "forever" family. Although parting with a baby after the close attachment of months of 24/7 care is difficult, the Atkins' reward is knowing that they have provided a safe and loving start in life for these little ones.
David says, "Dealing with babies is easy compared to the older kids since they don't come with a lot of emotional scars. I am amazed by the foster families that can take on older kids coming from very stressful and unsafe domestic situations." Nancy is always asked how she can let the babies go, and she says, "I cry my tears but remember that what adults do is sacrifice for the sake of children."
Nancy, Curtis and David Atkins with one their many foster infants. The infants become integrated into the family despite the temporary nature of foster care.
The Atkins' son, Curtis, who is now 12 years old, helps out and likes being a big brother for the infants that come into their family. His parents see it as good training for Curtis being a dad some day.
The Atkins took a leave from fostering for the last year while they were in Egypt where David was teaching at the American University in Cairo, but now they are back home in Eugene and waiting for their next placement. David recently got a call from DHS about a baby born 20 minutes earlier that may need to go into foster care, but by the next day it turned out to be a false alarm. In any case, Nancy has readied their supply of baby equipment and baby clothes as they wait for the next call.
Jan Cuny with husband Steve Robinson. While Jan works at NSF, Steve is also in D.C. working on education issues as an Einstein Fellow in Senator Barack Obama's office.
Meanwhile, Professor Jan Cuny spends her second bicoastal year working at the National Science Foundation heading an initiative to increase diversity in computing by encouraging women, minorities, and persons with disabilities to pursue post secondary degrees. She continues her work as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) in the foster care system in Lane County. CASAs are appointed to children in the foster care system. They are legal parties to the case, representing the best interests of the child. As a CASA, Cuny gets to know the child and monitors their situation with visits to the parents, relatives, foster parents, teachers, doctors, case worker, and anyone else who impacts the child. She advocates for any needed services, and represents the childs interest in court. Regardless of whether the child ultimately returns to their parents or moves on to an adoptive placement, the goal is always to get them into a loving, permanent family as soon as possible. CASAs stay on a case until permanency is achieved, often providing a point of stability for the child through a number of transitions.
"We adopted our three children through the foster care system", she explained, "so I know how traumatic the whole experience can be for them. I try to make it a little easier for the kids on my cases now". She spoke from her office, liberally decorated with pictures of her children and grandchildren along with their artwork.