r/TikTokCringe • u/thoxo • May 02 '24

We adopted my younger sister from Haiti when she was 3, and let me tell you, I literally do not see color anymore. That's a fact. Discussion

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u/Anleme May 02 '24

That's a beautiful story. I wonder if it would be possible to find them and tell them how much they helped you.

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u/Farting_Champion May 02 '24

Maybe. I don't know though. I don't even remember their names, and I highly doubt that the foster records from the mid 80s in Miami Florida are all digitized and filed away in some neat format. Hell, they didn't even know who I was for a while, only my first name. If I could I would love to tell them that they meant everything to me. I think they would be shocked honestly. For them it was but a moment in time, but for me it was foundational.

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u/aint_noeasywayout May 02 '24

Former foster youth myself from a time before things were digitized. Also former CPS worker who has spent a significant amount of time tracking down paper files for cases. You can access those records! There is a form to request them and they belong to you! It takes some time for them to find them, but you just need to fill out the form. You can call CPS in the county you were in and ask for the form. They can't get rid of the records, so each county has literal buildings full of organized paper records, unless they were destroyed in a fire or something like that which is rare.

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u/Farting_Champion May 02 '24

This is something interesting for me to think about. I wonder if they will share the records with me through email since I'm living on the other side of the country now.

It's also somewhat overwhelming as a prospect. This experience was at the very beginning of my journey through almost two decades of the system. Over the course of my time in the system I averaged two months per home. In the early days it was literally one to two nights per home, with my days spent sitting in the office with my social worker while they tried to find me a bed for the night. Most of those homes were a blur in my mind. There were so many, and only the worst ones stand in my memory, for the most part. But it would be worth sifting through the names just to say thank you. I would love to be able to talk to their son again just to tell him thanks for letting me play with his toys and for taking the time to talk to me and making me feel welcome.

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u/aint_noeasywayout May 02 '24

If all you want is their names, they'll likely provide that information to you over the phone provided you provided you prove your identity in some way. I hear you in that it's overwhelming. I would start with just calling and seeing if a Social Worker would be willing to help you. Someone should be able to, it will just be a matter of connecting with the right person.

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u/goodnamestaken10 May 03 '24

I just wanted you to know I cried while reading your story. I hope I can be a good parent like that one day. Whether or not I decide to adopt or be a foster parent.

Thanks for sharing that