You are on page 1of 9

Fasola 1

Foster Care System in Cincinnati, Ohio

Katie Fasola

Intermediate Composition

Professor Lisa Beckelhimer

29 September 2017
Fasola 2

Adoption Day 2015. Adoption Day 2015. Hamilton County Job and Family Services, 16 Dec.

2015. Web. 27 Sept. 2017. <https://youtu.be/JvZIxx6oPvk>.

This source is a live video from the 2015 Adoption Day. It is a fascinating source

because you are able to hear the answers that foster parents give to the judge, live. This is a

primary source because the families being questioned are directly involved with the foster care

and adoption process. The audience is able to observe the interactions and reactions. We are

also able to hear from the discourse communities of the federal court system. This genre

portrays excerpts from each family and the background behind each child. The foster parents

give their reasoning behind making the decision to become a foster care parent. This source is

important to reference because the audience can hear various discourse communities

perspectives.
Fasola 3

Haffey, Richard, Paul Haffner, and Lauren Frooman. "Lighthouse Youth and Family

Services." 2016 Impact Report (1 Jan. 2017): n. pag. Print.

This is an excellent primary source used to analyze the discourse revolving around the

foster care system in Cincinnati. Lighthouse Youth & Family Services serves as an agency

dedicated to providing the best services to children, youth, and families in need. The

organization as a whole serves as a civil discourse community, looking for new and innovative

ways to prevent homelessness and ultimately end youth homelessness in Cincinnati by 2020.

This source includes a 2016 annual report by Lighthouse Youth & Family Services. The

statistics portrayed in this primary source provide an unbiased view to the discussion.

This source gave me great insight into the factual numbers behind the homeless youth

and those children in the foster care system in Cincinnati. I am able to hear from Richard

Haffey, Board Chair, and Paul Haffner, President and CEO, of the agency. Additionally, there

are personal testimonies from individuals who are foster children and they discuss their

perspectives on the situation. It is good to hear first-hand accounts from those directly affected.
Fasola 4

Hamilton County JFS Adoption & Foster Care Recruitment Facebook Page. N.d. Social Media.

Hamilton County, Cincinnati.

The other day, I was driving home and saw a sign on the side of the road encouraging

individuals to become foster parents. I believe this is a good secondary source as it portrays

recruitment techniques used by foster care agencies. The sign was from the Hamilton County

JFS Adoption and Foster Care Recruitment Agency. The above source is their main Facebook

page. Advertisements, such as the sign as well as this Facebook page, are important to research

in order to understand the dynamic understanding of the foster care system in Cincinnati.

Hamilton Country JFS Adoption and Foster Care Recruitment serves as a discourse community

that recruits individuals. This is an important source to research because it makes you think

about the people that are not necessarily directly involved yet. It is important to understand the

language of those not affected and what their opinions are before judging the foster care system

in Cincinnati as a whole.
Fasola 5

Jackson, Dashun. "From Victim to Victorious." Dashun: From Victim to Victorious - National

CASA - CASA for Children. National CASA Association, 2017. Web.

This source is a personal testimony by a former individual in the foster care system by the

name of Dashun Jackson. I think it is important to hear a personal account of life in the foster

care system. The discourse language is coming directly from Jackson himself, which serves as

an amazing primary source to reference. Jackson speaks for the rights of foster children as an

advocate in state and federal government settings. Even though there are negatives to the foster

care system, Jackson discusses his past abuse in a positive light. I was able to gain a perspective

from a successful individual who went through the foster care system his entire life, which gives

me insight into what other foster care kids endure. Firsthand accounts are important for the

discourse community to understand the lasting effects the foster care system has on individuals.
Fasola 6

London, John. "Heroin Abuse Causes Heavy Strain on Foster Care System." WLWT [Cincinnati]

15 Feb. 2017: n. pag. Print.

This source is important because it discusses the opinion the news media has on the foster

care system in Cincinnati. This is a primary source as it discusses the viewpoints experts from

child care agencies are seeing in Cincinnati lately. It portrays civil discourse as it discusses the

similar viewpoints both leaders in the medical and child care field have concerning the

worsening state of addiction in the foster care community. Statistics are stated in this article to

portray the unbiased facts concerning this discourse. I was able to better understand the Job and

Family Services viewpoint on the matter and hearing firsthand accounts from foster parents

helping me notice the similarities between discourse communities.


Fasola 7

National CASA Association - National CASA - CASA for Children. N.p., 2017. Web.

This source is a website for CASA, or Court Appointed Special Advocates. A CASA is

an individual who volunteers to stand for a foster child under the age of eighteen in court. These

advocates serve as a discourse community because they fight for the voice of the children. This

is an important primary source because the advocates are directly involved in the legal foster

care process, and they work to transform the lives and perspectives of those children negatively

affected. Just something to note a girl in my sorority, Dana Drage, is training to become a

CASA for a child, so this discourse community has also affected me personally.
Fasola 8

Prosser, Hilary. Perspectives on Foster Care. Windsor, Berks.: NFER, 1978. Print.

While researching the foster care system in Cincinnati, I came across this book in

Langsam Library. It gives a different perspective on the foster care system because it was

published at an earlier date. The book source is another primary source because it has direct

quotes from various discourse communities including foster children, foster parents, social

workers and agencies, and those not involved. It is important for us to understand all the

discourse involved with this topic, and this book provides great quotes from both high-level

executives and government officials. There are also personal accounts included.
Fasola 9

State of Ohio vs. Liz Carroll. Supreme Court of Ohio. 19 Feb. 2008. UC Library Database. Web.

25 Sept. 2017.

This source is a court case titled State of Ohio vs. Liz Carroll. A young boy by the name

of Marcus Fiesel was murdered in 2006 by his foster parents at the age of three. Although this

might be an odd choice of a source, I believe it gives insight into the negative effects of the

corrupt foster care system in Cincinnati. As his foster parents traveled to an out of town family

reunion, they left Marcus tied up in a closet with no food or water for over two days. This court

case followed Marcus death - finding his foster mother, Liz Carroll, guilty of murder and

sentenced to 56 years in prison.

This serves as a primary source because it discusses the horrors of the foster care

system. Through reading this source, I am exposed to uncivil discourse. There were lies,

murder, and broken trust all involved in the determining court case. The court system serves as a

discourse community as they fight for justice for the kids in the foster care system. On the other

hand, foster parents serve as a discourse community as almost all want the best for the children.

However, there are obviously some foster parents who foster children solely for their own

personal monetary benefit.

This is a great source to use while analyzing discourse because it portrays what executive

government officials are saying about the issue. Additionally, two sides of the discourse are

discussed through the Plaintiff (State of Ohio) and the Defendant (Liz Carroll).

You might also like