How do those impacts show up in daily life for these children?

It can show up in so many ways and, and sometimes it, it's counterintuitive to an adult, but it's so real to the child.

This child is at every transition, at every move, at every visit perhaps from a stranger, even if they're in the same house.

We're creating this sense of trauma in a child's life because we've interrupted that notion of stability, that notion of comfort, that notion of ease.

Is that adult coming into my house because they're gonna move me again? You know, the child doesn't know until something's explained to them.

And so I think the result can be behaviors that then too often force a foster family to say, "I can't cope with these behaviors." So perhaps this child would be better served in another home.

And so we create yet another layer of trauma, and perhaps another layer of, of course, another layer of instability for the child, and then the child doesn't necessarily ease into the next environment quickly, or as quickly as perhaps the foster parent or the caseworker would like.

Yeah.

Hmm.

I was terrified to talk to him because he was this international celebrity icon.

Um, but, but we spent a few minutes and, and I learned a little bit about his drive, and that's what it was.

Because I said, "What do you want me to tell the board? We're gonna be meeting next week." And he said, "Just tell them to get this job done." And that's, that's what's behind this.

It, it always astounds me.

It, it, you know, as much as I know his story, when I hear Denny talking again about it, he, he internalized exactly...

He, Dave, internalized exactly what our children feel, especially our teenagers in foster care.

I know you're an expert in, in the field of, you know, child issues and, and family and youth services, but how did this all come about? Like where did you learn? And, and even not just you, but your board.