Week Three

Arturo was removed from his mother when he was 6 months old. He was placed with a local family who took him in with love and care. Arturo’s mother was granted visitation by the court and has been a part of Arturo’s life, even though the visitations had to be supervised by the Department of Social Services. Arturo’s mother tried hard to provide him with all that she could of her Catholic faith even in the short time that she saw him. She was certain to express to the foster family in her broken English that she really wanted Arturo to be raised Catholic. Still a migrant worker, Arturo’s mother vowed to do all that she could to get Arturo back.

Now, at age 2, Arturo has known only English as a first language, and he regarded his biological mother as a kind stranger. For the most part, Arturo was a relatively healthy baby and had developed into a healthy toddler. Once he was placed in foster care, his parents got his immunizations up to date and took him regularly to his appointments with the pediatrician.

What Arturo’s foster parents found out in the first year and a half that they had him was that he suffered from many, many ear infections. In fact, the doctors were waiting to see how he did during the Winter to decide whether or not to put tubes in his ears. There was a fear that Arturo had some hearing loss; this would explain his relative lack of verbalization at age two. Arturo had only a few “words,” and those were far from clear. In spite of this, Arturo seemed to be “at home” with his foster parents, and they were able to soothe him when he was having difficulty.  

1) What are the major developmental milestones for a 2 year old? What should Arturo be doing physically, cognitively, and emotionally at this point?

2) How are foster families identified? What kind of screening is done to assure that families are suitable to care for children? What is the percentage of children who are in foster care who are eventually reunited with their biological families? What percentage are adopted by the first foster family with whom they live?

3) What kind of services are typically provided for families whose children are removed (if any)? What services are typically provided for foster families (if any)?

4) What kind of therapy are appropriate for Arturo given his hearing loss and relative lack of speech at age two?

5) What else is important for you to know about Arturo’s family at this point? (Hint: Think about all that you don’t currently know about the family that could be helpful for you with regard to demographic information.)