Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Katie Fasola
Intermediate Composition
29 September 2017
Fasola 2
Adoption Day 2015. Adoption Day 2015. Hamilton County Job and Family Services, 16 Dec.
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
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.
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
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]
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
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
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
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).