WEEK #4 . . . continuation . . .

   I thought it would be quite fun to take much of what I wrote about last week and update the changes that a week can bring.

This week has been both a challenge as well as insightful. The challenge came       from finagling my way through the Leatherby Library and finally figuring out what I was doing, in part! I spent quite a long time searching books and journals.

 

   Learning to finagle one's way through the system, the times that came after were rather quick since familiarizing myself with the system.  I continue to find numerous resources that pertain to my area of research.

The knowledge I gained is rather discouraging. My focus and intent is to learn what the reality is when an LGBTQ teen is placed in a foster home within the foster care system. The books, and there were many, really did not touch upon the child/teen but rather the parent(s) who, they themselves, might be part of the LGBTQ community and the effects, if any, on the child. This is quite the opposite of what I am looking for.

   I've come to realize that the more specific I wanted to go in this study the more irrelevant the end all would be.  Foster care, as I am coming to learn, is difficult for anyone.  I do not see a specific reason to focus in on the LGBTQ community of teens.  I do know, from other studies, that teenagers across the world have the same types of issues. The relevancy within the foster care system differs not according to their sexual preference, but more so to that of being in foster care.

On the other hand, I found numerous Academic Journals that were broader and more detailed with information than any of the books I have researched up to this point. These were found through my initial visit to Leatherby Library and a further search which led to EBSCO. Now I was feeling a bit more hopeful.

   I requested a couple more academic journals and articles using the process suggested in this weeks readings.  Spent a bit more time on the EBSCO time and fiddled around there.  I'm loving the 'snowball' effect and delight in the 'knowledge of knowledge'!

The hope comes from the additional information that I will find when reading the journals that I have emailed to myself. Additional hope comes from the contact to the professor I heard speak last week at a training and his contacts. I have also placed a couple of calls to social workers within my county who work within the foster care system. Since the assignment is to ultimately find a book and use as a resource - I MUST remain hopeful!

   Awwww!  HOPE is an amazing belief!  Through scanning the information and sources I have received and knowing how to continually access further information, there really is quite a bit of information out there!  I continue to await return phone calls from the social workers in the county that I have contacted.  Within the week, I anticipate additional resources from the professor I contacted.

   A wonder to behold - I actually found a book that appears to be quite information!  This is an eBook that I will actually download if feasible.  The eyes of this 55 years old struggles with continuous reading from a computer screen and the inability to highlight and make notes in the margins!