Family Forum / Parenting / Adoption / November 2003

 Subject: Nurse Callahan & " Memoirs of baby stealer" reviews
 From: fern5827@aol.com  (Fern5827)
 Date: 11/30/2003 11:46 AM Eastern Standard Time
 Message-id: <20031130114604.12215.00000836@mb-m25.aol.com>

 Subject: Ex-nurse "Memoirs of a baby stealer" reviews
 From: fern5827@aol.com  (Fern5827)
 Date: 11/28/2003 1:41 PM Eastern Standard Time
 Message-id: <20031128134118.05620.00001228@mb-m13.aol.com>

 From Amazon.com

  Opening our eyes to the foster care system, July 10, 2003
  Reviewer: A reader from Rockton, IL  
 Mary Callahan's "Memoirs of a Baby Stealer" provides a frank first-hand account
 of the challenges of being a foster parent and dealing with the foster care
 system in Maine. If the experience of being such a care giver is not daunting
 enough, the lack of support and hostility faced, at times, from those
 administering the rules of the child welfare system would have been enough to
 dissuade even the most ardent of caretakers. It seeems as if one did not ask
 questions regarding the well being of children in their care or question their
 authority, things ran as always. Ms. Callahan vividly chronicles the challenges
 in the lives of five of her foster children. Hopefully, through her
 perseverance in presenting their stories, those who are in a position to do so
 will be motivated to improve the plight and lives of all of those in foster
 care.

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 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

  Candid story of experiences in Maine Foster Care, July 2, 2003
  Reviewer: A reader from Portland, Maine United States  
 Mary Callahan is very candid in describing the difficulties and struggles she
 encountered in the Maine Foster Care System. She tells the interesting and
 frustrating story of her struggles to advocate for the children with whom she
 is entrusted. It is clear to the reader, that Mary's exposure of the system, is
 aimed at trying to improve life for children and families in need of services
 from the state.

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 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

  For anyone considering foster care, June 19, 2003
  Reviewer: Midwest Book Review (see more about me) from Oregon, WI USA  
 Memoirs Of A Baby Stealer: Lessons I've Learned As A Foster Mother by Mary
 Callahan is the personal account of a foster parent and her struggles to cope
 with an uncaring child welfare system -- one that, in the words of the author,
 is "taking kids from places that aren't that bad, putting them in places that
 aren't that good, and completely ignoring the bond that exists between parent
 and child". Callahan's struggles and effort to help children, defend herself
 against unsubstantiated charges, dealing with power politics, and relate the
 stories of those in her care make Memoirs Of A Baby Stealer very highly
 recommended reading for anyone considering offering themselves to their
 community as a foster care resource.

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 March this weekend in Maine from Ellsworth to Augusta, ME.  December 5, 03

 descriptors: ME, DHS, FOSTER CARE, IMMUNITY, ASFA, ADOPTION, FAMILY LAW, CAPTA,
 CHILD PROTECTIVE, CPS, MAINE, SOCIAL SERVICES, SOCIAL WORK, DCYF