The first 24hrs in foster care: A child’s perspective A quick google search of what ‘a child’s first day in foster care’ may look like and the results are the same, all from the perspective of the carer. The voice of the child lost in the system, in the chaos and upheaval, through the paperwork and the need for physical safety.  As a child in care (CIC), too often do we have questions related directly to our personal situation or feelings, with only a constant revolving door of caseworkers and social care professionals alike to turn too. Another face of the system, a foreign object, around for a few fleeting weeks then gone, on to the next. We ask what to expect and the adults answer. We can tell sometimes even they don’t know, but they’re the adults, they’re supposed to have answers, so they offer them anyway. I am here to illustrate the perspective of the child; to provide an insight into the feelings, emotions and understanding that we have when the system takes over and we are ‘removed’ from family, ultimately leading to some of the do’s and don’t for foster parents in these first critical hours. One in four CIC suffer Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the removal process, let alone the details/events leading up to and beyond this. By putting the child at the forefront of this process, we can work towards avoiding any unnecessary trauma from the removal process. You may be questioning what exactly I mean by the ‘removal process’. This is used to describe when the Local Authority has to get involved in separating a child/children from their parent/guardian, placing them in temporary or permanent foster care; the term itself feeling cold and detached.  There are, of course, various paths that may lead to a child ending up within the care system, but for the purpose of this article we are talking about an ‘Emergency Care Order’ or ‘Emergency Protective Order’. These orders are issued with the intention of immediate removal of the child where social services have deemed the child at risk of ongoing/imminent physical, mental or emotional harm. The very nature of the ‘Emergency’ intervention means that no one in the scenario is aware of what is happening until it actually takes place, despite whether or not there has been previous support from social services.   Here, I am going to outline my first 24hrs in permanent foster care after such removal via an Emergency Protection Order – for myself much like many others, this isn’t the first time in care, but unlike before, this time we won’t be going home again.  So, what happens? I was out picking blackberries with friends, when my friend’s Mum drives past, she sees me and has this pale, concerned look on her face. “They’re looking for you, out by yours’”. I nod and my stomach sinks. I know something is wrong, so we take my friend’s Mum car and as we walk up the hill and around the corner we see 2 ambulances and several police cars. I run towards the house and am stopped in my tracks by a policeman- ‘you can’t go that way you don’t want to see that’… but I am looking for Dad. ‘He’s gone’ I am told. Gone where, with whom and why? “He’s in an ambulance, he’s ok but your neighbour isn’t”. This is often where people start talking over you, literally above you, my head moving back and forth, like watching a tennis game but instead, it’s the adults, discussing the next steps in your life. All plans to get you sorted, find out what’s happened and what happens next, decided without you in the conversation and as if you’re not even on the scene.  The social worker does her best, but she too has questions, so many questions and the chaos brings no answers. At this stage, where we will live from now on is usually a mystery. The social worker will be told an address, likely to be temporary foster carers, until you get moved on to a permanent home. Otherwise, if you’re lucky I guess, like myself and my brother, you get moved straight to your new foster parents, where you’ll live for good. Maybe. The car journey is silent, just you, the social worker and the black bag of clothes that has been collected for you. Before leaving, I tried to get into my house, I remember screaming for Dad and trying to get down the steps and into my home, before being stopped by the police. I’m not allowed in, the house is a mess and I’m told I don’t want to see it. Besides, it’s now a crime scene. So, the social worker collects what belongings she feels suitable, they are loaded into the car, my brother and I are loaded into the back seat and off we go. To the unknown, away from the life you know and are used to; it feels like a kidnapping.  It’s important to consider that in this situation, when the child comes from an unstable home environment, where their life is likely to have been filled with neglect or abuse, they are often met with the assumption that they’d be pleased to get out. Thankful and grateful to be rescued and taken to a safe space. This isn’t the reality, our parents are our parents and our home is just that, our home. We will still crave their love and approval, as dysfunctional as this may seem, we are used to the home life environment and will therefore probably want to stay. The reality for many children in care is that we are used to an uncertain and temperamental home life, often balancing between the mental state and emotions of our parents. We’re used to things being a bit ‘on edge’ or having to change our behaviours depending on those around us. For us, it’s safer than the unknown of a new family