Dear Editor,
In the nineties I was part of a New York City Children’s Services quartet team that pioneered the development of administrative third party, bi-annual reviews of the casework service plans of all teens placed in Group Homes operated by the NYC in all five boroughs. Later our responsibility was extended to include all contracted private agencies, mostly of which were outside of NYC. We had access and authority to examine all records of each youth, particularly their educational, medical, psychological and psychiatric.
From their records we found that about half of the teens were diagnosed with suicide ideation, and the rate of suicide and suicide attempts was much higher than teens not in foster care. These foster teens were in group homes because they were not wanted by their parents, relatives, nor regular contracted foster parents. All of them, over the years, had been kicked around from one foster home or group home to another an average of twelve times, some as many as twenty. Teens are a particularly delicate, sensitive people who must receive and be given constant and continuous loving care, attention and assistance. Failure to receive these, they easily fall into depression. Those who were not “brave” enough to commit suicide, were inclined to play video games or eat or sleep themselves to death. Others promiscuously flirted with HIV/AIDS and almost all got into drugs which led to further depression. None of the five hundred cases, each of which we evaluated bi-annually for over five years, entertained any suicide ideation as a result of economic or cultural circumstances, as people are so ready to stigmatize, almost all from a feeling of abandonment, rejection, a sense of failure, and total loss of trust and confidence in anyone.
We found that irregular, short counseling sessions were useless. (That is why I declined an invitation to join a group involved in itinerant and distance counseling.) Kids with suicide ideation need a permanent big brother/sister, a nurturing home, stable, lasting relationships, involvement in sports, forgiveness and allowances for mistakes. It is cruel to treat and expect a teen to think and behave like an adult, and worse to treat them as children. I can go on and on. As a social worker with a masters in psychology who has spent nearly two decades working with troubled teens, and whose final years were engaged in writing policy and procedures for New York City troubled teens in foster care, I would be happy to lend services to the Guyana Child Welfare Agency.
Sincerely,
Gokarran Sukhdeo
