For your second multimedia assignment, we will use all the mediums we
used in the first assignment, but instead of having sorta irrelevant
topics, you will take all of or an aspect of one of your first two
out-of-class stories, and do a video/online preview/online recap/tweet
stream for it.
That would include:
... a 1-2 minute video, uploaded to YouTube, with B-roll and at least two source interviews on-tape;
...
a 100-200-word preview, posted to blogger.com and done in a journalistic style, taking a look at the
issue going into your reporting, with at least two relevant working
hyperlinks embedded in the text;
... a 100-200-word
recap, posted to blogger.com and done in a journalistic style, taking a look at what you discovered about
the issue/how it ended, with at least two relevant working hyperlinks
embedded in the text;
... and a tweet stream on Twitter with at least 12 tweets on the subject, and a unifying hash tag applied to each tweet.
For
this exercise, you may re-interview sources from your previous stories
or interview new sources. You may also use what you gathered and your
notes from your original stories in putting together your new media news
products.
Also, when I say you can do the entire
comprehensive story or just an aspect of it, this is what I mean: let's
say you did a story on the pros and cons of living off-campus vs.
on-campus. The video and tweet stream may just look at one aspect, such
as student opinions on the issue. The preview online story might look at
the experiences of on-campus residents; with the recap looking at
off-campus viewpoints. None of the mediums necessarily have to look at
the issue as broadly as you did in a traditional text story (though you
may do so if you so choose).
Your deadline for this will be 9 a.m. Thursday, July 30, via email to omars@msu.edu. Please put ALL your links to your work into a single email, with the subject line of MM2.
If you need any assistance, contact me ASAP. And good luck, everybody!
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
MM #2: Some Examples From The Past
Instead, look at the principles they're trying to establish: thorough interviews of a broad variety of sources -- everyone from direct participants to neutral experts. Good B-roll that shows what is being talked about. Frequent use of captions and attribution.
Let's take a peek, shall we?
The benefits of studying abroad, making nice use of still pics as B-roll.
Social media on campus. Good b-roll here. Preview sets up issue; recap get answers to questions. Twitter a good mix of main ideas, quotes and data.
Downtown restaurants. Look at how the neutral experts set the background and offer explanations. Plus, look at the variety of B-roll and the use of captions to highlight key points.
Roommate conflicts. In this video, instead of letting Subject A say everything in one shot, and then Subject B saying everything in one shot, we go back-and-forth between A and B. It makes the interviews more conversational in tone. After all, when we talk in groups, it's back-and-forth, without the need for any one person to say everything at once, right?
Pets on campus. Basic, to-the-point style.
Is 'Jersey Shore' degrading to women? We even have a neutral expert in this vid!
The Old Town neighborhood. Lots of varied B-roll. This was the first general topic vid project ever for a student who has since graduated and now is a reporter at a Grand Rapids TV station!
Do these give you any new ideas on how you'd like to do YOUR video, or the best ways to do it?
MM #2: A Reminder Of How To Tweet Non-Breaking News
Tweeting a breaking news story is easy, as you've learned. Just type
what you see, as you see it. But how do you tweet something that isn't
breaking? Like a trend story, or something about a topic without a
specific time peg or an actual event associated with it?
Actually, that's easy, too!
That was a situation a student in one of my past JRN 200 classes faced. She was doing a story about a rash of concussions among student-athletes. And here's her tweet stream, which I reversed so that you see her first tweet first and her last tweet last; the opposite of how it would appear on Twitter. Here we go:
#concussedathletes Over 300,000 sports related concussions occur each year, according to the Brain Trauma Research Center.
#concussedathletes The NCAA, the nation's largest college athletic association, has no guidelines for treating athletes with head injuries.
#concussedathletes The Big Ten is trying to implement its own regulations to deal with concussed athletes.
#concussedathletes Michigan State University is not pushing for the Big Ten to have the regulations.
#concussedathletes MSU soccer goalkeeper Liz Watza has had five concussions and said "The NCAA should create guidelines."
#concussedathletes Sports Specialist Dr. Homer Linard said the main concern with letting injured athletes back in the game is brain injury.
#concussedathletes Suffering a second concussion shortly after the first one can be deadly, according to the Brain Trauma Research Center.
#concussedathletes Incoming freshmen athletes at MSU are given a specific concussion test, called ImPACT. impacttest.com
#concussedathletes Athletic Clinical Coordinator Brian Bratta said "ImPACT assesses memory, cognitive ability and function of the brain."
#concussedathletes Once a concussion occurs at MSU, the athlete takes ImPACT again to gauge the severity of the injury.
Now, please notice a few things. Look at the first four tweets. Each could be a lede, right? For many of you, in writing a story -- especially trend stories -- you may find that you have more than one good lede option, but you can only choose one lede. But in tweeting the news, each lede option can become its own tweet.
Second, the tweeter took telling quotes and made each a tweet, like that of the player giving her opinion on the subject. Just like a quote in a story, it's not YOUR opinion; it's what somebody who is a subject of your story thinks.
Third, interesting facts are offered as tweets, like those on what the effects of a concussion can be.
Fourth, a mini-series of tweets are used to explain a nuance of the story, like the half-dozen tweets that in total detail how MSU deals with concussed athletes.
Fifth, hyperlinks are offered via tweet. Notice the tweet that uses a bit.ly link. Bit.ly is a URL shortener that will take a long URL and convert it into a shorter one that better fits on a character-restricted service like Twitter.
Actually, that's easy, too!
That was a situation a student in one of my past JRN 200 classes faced. She was doing a story about a rash of concussions among student-athletes. And here's her tweet stream, which I reversed so that you see her first tweet first and her last tweet last; the opposite of how it would appear on Twitter. Here we go:
#concussedathletes Over 300,000 sports related concussions occur each year, according to the Brain Trauma Research Center.
#concussedathletes The NCAA, the nation's largest college athletic association, has no guidelines for treating athletes with head injuries.
#concussedathletes The Big Ten is trying to implement its own regulations to deal with concussed athletes.
#concussedathletes Michigan State University is not pushing for the Big Ten to have the regulations.
#concussedathletes MSU soccer goalkeeper Liz Watza has had five concussions and said "The NCAA should create guidelines."
#concussedathletes Sports Specialist Dr. Homer Linard said the main concern with letting injured athletes back in the game is brain injury.
#concussedathletes Suffering a second concussion shortly after the first one can be deadly, according to the Brain Trauma Research Center.
#concussedathletes Incoming freshmen athletes at MSU are given a specific concussion test, called ImPACT. impacttest.com
#concussedathletes Athletic Clinical Coordinator Brian Bratta said "ImPACT assesses memory, cognitive ability and function of the brain."
#concussedathletes Once a concussion occurs at MSU, the athlete takes ImPACT again to gauge the severity of the injury.
#concussedathletes Despite new technology, the biggest indicator is the presence of symptoms, said Bratta. http://tinyurl.com/6cq9dx
#concussedathletes When a head injury occurs, MSU athletes are immediately given SCAT, the Standardized Concussion Assessment Test.
#concussedathletes SCAT is a checklist of common symptoms and tests balance, said MSU Certified Athletic Trainer Yume Nakamura.
#concussedathletes When a head injury occurs, MSU athletes are immediately given SCAT, the Standardized Concussion Assessment Test.
#concussedathletes SCAT is a checklist of common symptoms and tests balance, said MSU Certified Athletic Trainer Yume Nakamura.
Now, please notice a few things. Look at the first four tweets. Each could be a lede, right? For many of you, in writing a story -- especially trend stories -- you may find that you have more than one good lede option, but you can only choose one lede. But in tweeting the news, each lede option can become its own tweet.
Second, the tweeter took telling quotes and made each a tweet, like that of the player giving her opinion on the subject. Just like a quote in a story, it's not YOUR opinion; it's what somebody who is a subject of your story thinks.
Third, interesting facts are offered as tweets, like those on what the effects of a concussion can be.
Fourth, a mini-series of tweets are used to explain a nuance of the story, like the half-dozen tweets that in total detail how MSU deals with concussed athletes.
Fifth, hyperlinks are offered via tweet. Notice the tweet that uses a bit.ly link. Bit.ly is a URL shortener that will take a long URL and convert it into a shorter one that better fits on a character-restricted service like Twitter.
Monday, July 20, 2015
Blog/Twitter #1: Let's Look At Some Posts And Tweets!
Here
are links to all our preview and recap posts, and tweet streams. Let's
compare the work of each other and see what we did well, and what ideas
we can get from others.
Also, examine how the mediums complement each other: the preview does just that; the tweet stream allows you to follow what was previewed, as it actually happens; and the recap wraps it all up.
BTW, unless you received an email from me noting a specific grade, your grade for the Web post and Twitter exercises was 4.0 on each, with each equaling a practice story in final grade weight. (Future assignments will be graded more specifically and be of higher weight, though).
Here we go ...
Meghan C.: kids of the office preview and recap and tweets #kidsoftheoffice
Three big problems with the blog posts: first, they are not independent of each other. A reader HAS to read the first one to understand the second one. While they should be interrelated, a reader should be able to start at any post and get the background without having to go backwards and revisit earlier posts.
Second, there are no hyperlinks; the minimum for the assignment was two per post. We could have hyperlinked to social media pages of the individual we were writing about or the company home pages, etc.
Third, we didn't follow AP style rules. Even if we're trying new mediums, we need to carry over the habits we learned.
The tweet stream was great, however. She took us through the day, event-by-event, and supplemented things with pictures. Nice work there.
*****
Rachel B.: birthday celebration preview and recap and tweets #todd's57th
The blog here is dead-on: you can read one or the other or both and not have any background questions. You have hyperlinks so you can explore the topic in greater detail. Good tweet stream., but don't use punctuation in a hash tag; punctuation cuts off the hash tag, so in this case it's reduced from #todd's57th to just #todd.
*****
Kenedi R.: parent visit preview and recap and tweets #momontherun
Good blog posts, but we're missing AP style in that we're not using first and last names on all first references. Again, even though it's a different medium let's use the same habits we've been developing this semester. Tweets are strong, but would have been stronger with Tweet pics like the ones in Meghan's tweet stream.
*****
Shannon K.: taking a trip preview and recap and tweets #jongoestoeurope
What an otherwise-solid tweet stream is missing is a lede tweet: we need to start with a tweet saying what we're going to start tweeting about, in the same way a news story needs a lede to say what they story is going to be about. (Like I said, we need to carry over the habits we learned this summer to the work we're doing in a different medium now.) A good blog with good hyperlinks, but the preview and recap should have been separate posts with separate headlines.
*****
Sakiya D.: TV show preview and recap and tweets #lawandordersvu
Again, we're missing a lede tweet that would allow the reader to know what they are about to see tweets about. Plus, the hash tag may be too generic; instead of giving the reader a specific hash tag that they could use to pick out this specific tweet stream from the crowd, it actually mixes in a lot of unrelated tweets using the same hash tag if one clicks on the hash tag itself.
*****
Rachel F.: golf outing preview and recap and tweets #notredamegolfouting
The Twitter stream here has a good lede tweet:
Now, people know what you're about to start streaming.
Plus, the blog posts effectively use many hyperlinks: more than the two per that were required. You caa't have enough hyperlinks. If readers want to skip 'em, they can. If they want to delve as deeply as they want into the topic, they can without having to go anywhere else.
*****
Kamen K.: A different golf outing preview and recap and tweets #therealopen15
Like Meaghan C.'s bog, we need to make sure that the second post doesn't assume that people read the first post; we need to reintroduce first references and just enough background so that someone who didn't read the first post will know what's going on, but not so much where someone who DID read the first post will have to revisit a lot of stuff they already know.
*****
Aundreanna J.-P.: baby's day preview and recap and tweets #babyzariahsday
Nice job of showing and telling with the tweets. She tweets about the baby pool; she shows us a pif of the baby pool. It's really that simple, folks.
*****
Penelope S.: Disneyland preview and recap and tweets #paint716
Again, two hyperlinks per post is the minimum; it's better to aim for far beyond the minimum. Same with tweets; we doubled the number of required tweets, and that's great! Use as many tweets and hyperlinks as needed to best tell the story.
*****
Natasha B.: Busy day preview and recap and tweets #dishwashingescapade2k15
Instead of using headlines of "preview" and "recap," let's come up with headlines that actually sum up each post, like, "David Blakeley Has To Work After Work" and, "David Blakeley Is Finally Finished For The Day," or something like that.
Plus, again let's be sure we're following AP style rules, like those regarding no first-person attribution outside of quotes.
And the tweets could have used a lede tweet, too.
*****
Nadia L.: TV show preview and recap and tweets #nightcrawler
Good Tweet stream, but the hash tag is a bit too generic. The blog posts are fine, but missing hyperlinks. If you're not hyperlinking, you're not doing online journalism.
*****
Courtney K.: Making dinner preview and recap and tweets #debbiecooks?
Hyperlinks aren't just for blog posts; the tweet stream includes one here, linking to the dinner recipe itself. But then the blog posts don't have any hyperlinks, which isn't good. Plus, let's follow news and AP style conventions: first attributions need a first and last name, etc.
*****
Hallie A.: wedding preview and recap and tweets #uofmwed
The blog posts have the same issues as Courtney K.'s: no hyperlinks, no adherence to the rules we've been working on the past 10 weeks. The tweet stream was fine, but some photos would have added some punch, no?
*****
Kevyn C.-R.: TV watching preview and recap and tweets #morningroutine
Lots of hyperlinks, which is good. Show us as much as you can. While in written stories for print we show and tell all in the same story and in text, with online journalism we tell in the text and show through hyperlinks. A better lede tweet would have gone to what the overall activity was: binge-watching TV, rather than just how the binge was about to start.
*****
Ray T.: lazy day preview and recap and tweets #traversecitylazysunday
Missing a lede tweet on an otherwise-good tweet stream.
Also, examine how the mediums complement each other: the preview does just that; the tweet stream allows you to follow what was previewed, as it actually happens; and the recap wraps it all up.
BTW, unless you received an email from me noting a specific grade, your grade for the Web post and Twitter exercises was 4.0 on each, with each equaling a practice story in final grade weight. (Future assignments will be graded more specifically and be of higher weight, though).
Here we go ...
Meghan C.: kids of the office preview and recap and tweets #kidsoftheoffice
Three big problems with the blog posts: first, they are not independent of each other. A reader HAS to read the first one to understand the second one. While they should be interrelated, a reader should be able to start at any post and get the background without having to go backwards and revisit earlier posts.
Second, there are no hyperlinks; the minimum for the assignment was two per post. We could have hyperlinked to social media pages of the individual we were writing about or the company home pages, etc.
Third, we didn't follow AP style rules. Even if we're trying new mediums, we need to carry over the habits we learned.
The tweet stream was great, however. She took us through the day, event-by-event, and supplemented things with pictures. Nice work there.
*****
Rachel B.: birthday celebration preview and recap and tweets #todd's57th
The blog here is dead-on: you can read one or the other or both and not have any background questions. You have hyperlinks so you can explore the topic in greater detail. Good tweet stream., but don't use punctuation in a hash tag; punctuation cuts off the hash tag, so in this case it's reduced from #todd's57th to just #todd.
*****
Kenedi R.: parent visit preview and recap and tweets #momontherun
Good blog posts, but we're missing AP style in that we're not using first and last names on all first references. Again, even though it's a different medium let's use the same habits we've been developing this semester. Tweets are strong, but would have been stronger with Tweet pics like the ones in Meghan's tweet stream.
*****
Shannon K.: taking a trip preview and recap and tweets #jongoestoeurope
What an otherwise-solid tweet stream is missing is a lede tweet: we need to start with a tweet saying what we're going to start tweeting about, in the same way a news story needs a lede to say what they story is going to be about. (Like I said, we need to carry over the habits we learned this summer to the work we're doing in a different medium now.) A good blog with good hyperlinks, but the preview and recap should have been separate posts with separate headlines.
*****
Sakiya D.: TV show preview and recap and tweets #lawandordersvu
Again, we're missing a lede tweet that would allow the reader to know what they are about to see tweets about. Plus, the hash tag may be too generic; instead of giving the reader a specific hash tag that they could use to pick out this specific tweet stream from the crowd, it actually mixes in a lot of unrelated tweets using the same hash tag if one clicks on the hash tag itself.
*****
Rachel F.: golf outing preview and recap and tweets #notredamegolfouting
The Twitter stream here has a good lede tweet:
Now, people know what you're about to start streaming.
Plus, the blog posts effectively use many hyperlinks: more than the two per that were required. You caa't have enough hyperlinks. If readers want to skip 'em, they can. If they want to delve as deeply as they want into the topic, they can without having to go anywhere else.
*****
Kamen K.: A different golf outing preview and recap and tweets #therealopen15
Like Meaghan C.'s bog, we need to make sure that the second post doesn't assume that people read the first post; we need to reintroduce first references and just enough background so that someone who didn't read the first post will know what's going on, but not so much where someone who DID read the first post will have to revisit a lot of stuff they already know.
*****
Aundreanna J.-P.: baby's day preview and recap and tweets #babyzariahsday
Nice job of showing and telling with the tweets. She tweets about the baby pool; she shows us a pif of the baby pool. It's really that simple, folks.
*****
Penelope S.: Disneyland preview and recap and tweets #paint716
Again, two hyperlinks per post is the minimum; it's better to aim for far beyond the minimum. Same with tweets; we doubled the number of required tweets, and that's great! Use as many tweets and hyperlinks as needed to best tell the story.
*****
Natasha B.: Busy day preview and recap and tweets #dishwashingescapade2k15
Instead of using headlines of "preview" and "recap," let's come up with headlines that actually sum up each post, like, "David Blakeley Has To Work After Work" and, "David Blakeley Is Finally Finished For The Day," or something like that.
Plus, again let's be sure we're following AP style rules, like those regarding no first-person attribution outside of quotes.
And the tweets could have used a lede tweet, too.
*****
Nadia L.: TV show preview and recap and tweets #nightcrawler
Good Tweet stream, but the hash tag is a bit too generic. The blog posts are fine, but missing hyperlinks. If you're not hyperlinking, you're not doing online journalism.
*****
Courtney K.: Making dinner preview and recap and tweets #debbiecooks?
Hyperlinks aren't just for blog posts; the tweet stream includes one here, linking to the dinner recipe itself. But then the blog posts don't have any hyperlinks, which isn't good. Plus, let's follow news and AP style conventions: first attributions need a first and last name, etc.
*****
Hallie A.: wedding preview and recap and tweets #uofmwed
The blog posts have the same issues as Courtney K.'s: no hyperlinks, no adherence to the rules we've been working on the past 10 weeks. The tweet stream was fine, but some photos would have added some punch, no?
*****
Kevyn C.-R.: TV watching preview and recap and tweets #morningroutine
Lots of hyperlinks, which is good. Show us as much as you can. While in written stories for print we show and tell all in the same story and in text, with online journalism we tell in the text and show through hyperlinks. A better lede tweet would have gone to what the overall activity was: binge-watching TV, rather than just how the binge was about to start.
*****
Ray T.: lazy day preview and recap and tweets #traversecitylazysunday
Missing a lede tweet on an otherwise-good tweet stream.
Job Shadows: What You Saw, Part 1
Here's
a
sampling of some of the various job shadows done by you all (this will
be updated as job shadow reports are turned in, so please check back
frequently). Take a look
and see what you can learn from everyone's visits. There's a lot of
good stuff here to help you decide what you want to do with your lives;
what you need to be doing to get there; and what to expect when you do
get there.
Please give each one of these a quick read as they come in, will you?
Please give each one of these a quick read as they come in, will you?
*****
I had a great time show shadowing for
this report. I shadowed Derek Kevra, a Broadcast Meteorologist for FOX 2 News,
Detroit. Derek graduated from The University of Michigan with his degree in
Atmospheric Science and Meteorology. After working in smaller markets around
the country for 4 years, Derek got the opportunity to come back home and join
the FOX 2 News team, where he had interned while in college.
When I arrived at the station, which is
located in Southfield, Michigan, Derek was standing at the back door waiting
for me. He showed me to his office, which was located at the back of the
station and had a bunch of computers and weather maps. We sat and talked for a
while about his schooling and how long he has been in the business. He also
showed me some of the meteorology programs and how he made his weather
predictions and graphics for his newscasts.
After, he began to tour me around. We
started in the newsroom, where there were at least two-dozen people huddled
behind computers, gathering information for the nightly newscast. Derek
introduced me to several people, including producers and news gatherers. We
then went to a small area off the newsroom, which had several different editing
bays. I got to see some of the editors working on different graphics and
designs for news programs and commercials.
We then exited the newsroom and he took
me to the first of 3 production studios. The first was the set for the nightly
news, which I immediately recognized. The second was a more hip, flashy set he
said was used to target a younger audience. The third was set up to look like a
church for a show that airs on Sunday mornings. To get from set to set, we had
to go through the prop warehouse, where I got to see all sorts of different set
pieces and studio art.
After we finished touring the sets, we
went back to his office, where I was able to continue asking him questions
about his job, what his favorite part is and his likes and dislikes of being in
the public eye. He offered me some really great advice about where to look for
my first job when I’m ready, how I should be prepared to start small and
relocate, and how much he loves his career. He suggested I take a look at
TVJobs.com and that after graduation, I should consider getting an agent. He
also gave me suggestions on putting together a good reel and told me how
important it is to get a lot of field experience in school.
Overall, I learned a lot about the news
industry and what goes into making a newscast/forecast successful. Derek was an
exceptional person to shadow and I look forward to keeping in contact with him
in the future.
Derek.Kevra@foxtv.com
Sunday, July 19, 2015
JRN 200: The Monday 7/20 Homework
Nothing new to add, other than the stuff that's already been assigned. That includes your first blog/tweet assignment due no later than 9 a.m. Monday, July 20 via email to omars@msu.edu. Please see previous blog posts for details.
Also, you have your first video assignment due no later than 9 a.m. Wednesday, July 22 via email to omars@msu.edu. Please see previous blog posts for details.
Plus, you should have your graded second out-of-class story back to you by now. The rewrite for that will be due no later than 9 a.m. Monday, July 27 via email to omars@msu.edu.
If you are unsure about your topic or fuzzy on some of these concepts like B-roll or captions or whatever, or if you have any questions whatsoever, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
I will be in between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays at 517-432-3009; omars@msu.edu, and/or 435 E. Grand River Ave. (The State News Building, at the corner of Grand River and Division, next to the SBS bookstore and across the street from Berkey Hall).
Good luck, everyone!
Also, you have your first video assignment due no later than 9 a.m. Wednesday, July 22 via email to omars@msu.edu. Please see previous blog posts for details.
Plus, you should have your graded second out-of-class story back to you by now. The rewrite for that will be due no later than 9 a.m. Monday, July 27 via email to omars@msu.edu.
If you are unsure about your topic or fuzzy on some of these concepts like B-roll or captions or whatever, or if you have any questions whatsoever, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
I will be in between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays at 517-432-3009; omars@msu.edu, and/or 435 E. Grand River Ave. (The State News Building, at the corner of Grand River and Division, next to the SBS bookstore and across the street from Berkey Hall).
Good luck, everyone!
Out-of-Class #2: A Good Example
July
16, 2015
Out-Of-Class Story #2
Foster
Children
The number of children entering
foster care in Colorado may have decreased over the past decade, but the number
of available foster parents still does not match up.
According to a report from the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and
Families, 4,820 children entered foster care in Colorado in the 2013 fiscal
year.
This totals 5,851 total children in
foster care for that year in Colorado, according to the report.
This is a significant drop from the
7,782 children entering foster care in the 2004 fiscal year, which ended up
with a total of 8,196, also indicated in the same report.
Those numbers do not even take into
account the children whose cases are assessed and dismissed. The Colorado
Department of Human Services Community Performance Center’s report on Logan
County’s child welfare situation clearly shows this.
According to that report, from
January to March 2015, out of the 124 reported cases only 41.1% SPELL OUT PERCENT STED % SYMBOL, PER AP STYLE were accepted for
assessment. WHICH MEANS WHAT? EXPLAIN IN
LAYMAN’S TERMS
“There’s a ton of kids. We thought
it was going to take time for us to get our placement, but the night we signed
our last paperwork they told us, ‘We got two boys that need a placement,’” said
first HYPHEN HERE time foster parent Meghan Harms from Sterling,
Colorado.
There is a demand that
does not match up to how many foster parents are available. It does not help
that foster parents are limited in what they are allowed to do with the
children or limited in how they can provide the stability these children need. ACCORDING TO WHOM? ATTRIBUTE!
“I think the hardest thing is having to keep in
the back of your mind that he’s got other parents. He’s got rules and stuff,
silly things like I’m not allowed to cut his hair. I can’t make those decisions
for him. Sometimes it feels like babysitting more than anything else,” said
Harms.
The Community Performance Center’s report on
Logan County also showed that three years tends to be the longest a child stays
with a foster family. In January to March 2015 alone, 88.3% SPELL OUT PERCENT STED % SYMBOL, PER AP STYLE of the 5,318 children in foster care stayed with
their placements for 35 months or less.
Foster care is also not always beneficial for the
child involved.
Rochelle Fraenig, put into foster care less than
two years from being 18, said that there had been many frustrations to being
placed in foster care, although she did not dismiss the ways she benefited from
it.
“I had to take time out to talk to case workers
and go to court and talk to this person and that person and see a therapist,
etc. What was even more frustrating was the fact that I wasn’t legally allowed
to talk with my mom. Granted I didn’t follow this rule and I got in trouble,
but nobody seemed to care that I wanted to have that ability,” said Fraenig.
“The positive things about being in care though
were the financial perks. Now I essentially have my four years at my university
paid for. I get help with living costs like food, bills, housing, etc,” said
Fraenig. “My life was improving—foster care turned it into a mess. But then
again without it I wouldn’t be able to go to the University of Michigan free,
have access to good funds, or have amazing life-changing opportunities.”
The emotionally beneficial nature of foster care
seems to relate to the severity of the situation the child is being removed
from.
“From my
experience or from studies I've read, it seems that it only benefits children
to be separated from their family if there are situations of severe physical or
sexual abuse, of themselves or others, or other factors that may give highly
unsafe environments like drug addiction or prostitution within the family,”
said David Blakely, A mental health
professional. Blakely has had 20 years of counseling experience, dealing with a
range of clients from addicts to children to couples. SOLID NEUTRAL EXPERT
“If there
are signs of some abuse or that there's some violence in the family not
directed toward the children or that the children feel safe, there are
indicators that show children are more stable remaining in their homes,” said
Blakely, “which doesn't mean they should be left in an abusive situation, but
the kids don't necessarily fare better being taken out of the situation.”
Foster care does not always benefit the child’s
development, which is a problem if the child will grow developmentally
challenged whichever situation they end up in.
Blakely
said, “If foster care happens in the first few years of a child's life there's
a lot of chance of attachment difficulties in that child's life as they grow
up, meaning the child will have a hard time building intimate relationships and
maintaining intimate relationships.”
“There's a growing amount of research that shows
the first 5 years of a child's life is when they develop their ability to form
healthy attachments, basically to trust people. There's evidence that shows if foster
care happens there's greater risk of depression, addictions, relational
difficulties,” said Blakely. “It doesn't mean foster care is bad it just
means foster parents need to be conscientious in giving the children stability
and security.
(860 words)
Source Sheet
Meghan
Harms, first time foster parent
David
Blakely, licensed professional counselor; (970) 520-8314, davidclareb@gmail.com
Rochelle Fraenig, ex-foster child; (810) 986-0416
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’
Administration for Children and Families; http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/research-data-technology/statistics-research/afcars
Colorado Department of Human Services Community
Performance Center; https://rom.socwel.ku.edu/CO_Public/MyHome.aspx
ASSIGNMENT GRADE: (REDACTED)
INSTRUCTOR COMMENTS: A SOLID JOB HERE.
NICE JOB OF GETTING A NICE RANGE OF INTERVIEWS (THOUGH A FEW MORE EXAMPLES OF FORSTER
PARENTS AND FOSTER CHILDREN WOULDN’T HURT), GOOD NEUTRAL EXPERT AND GOOD DATA THAT
YOU GOT FIRST-HAND FROM A RELEVANT AGENCY. I KNOW YOU HAD TROUBLE GETTING A
HOLD OF LOCAL FOSTER OFFICIALS, BUT YOU WORKED AROUND THE PROBLEM AND STILL GOT
A BROAD RANGE OF PERSPECTIVES. FOR REWRITE I WOULD SUGGEST CONTINUING OT TRY TO
GET A HOLD OF LOCAL OFFICIALS; CONTACT STATE-LEVEL FOSTER OFFICIALS; AND GET
MORE FOSTER PARENTS AND KIDS TO GET A RANGE OF PERSPECTIVES WITHIN THOSE
PERSPECTIVES. STILL, NICE WORK.
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