January 24, 2020
by Maralee
Comments Off on You’ll Never be Good Enough to Have a Voice. Speak Anyway.
There are people in this world that won’t agree with you. That’s fine. This is life. Some of those people will want to silence you by telling you that you haven’t done enough, experienced enough, advocated enough, marched enough or … Continue reading
July 15, 2019
by Maralee
4 Comments
Can I be honest? Today I hate foster care. I hate what it has done to people I love– adults and children alike. I hate how hopeless it has made me about the government’s ability to do anything right. I … Continue reading
November 7, 2018
by Maralee
5 Comments
The other afternoon I locked myself in my bathroom with a cup of coffee so I could listen to a radio interview without interruption. The interview was with someone very important to me. He was once a child at the … Continue reading
May 29, 2018
by Maralee
1 Comment
In July of 2016 it became apparent to our family that there were some problems in the way the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services was interpreting the rights of siblings in our state when it came to their … Continue reading
May 17, 2018
by Maralee
Comments Off on Book Review: The “Who Loves” Series
It’s not often that a board book will make me cry, but that’s just what happened when I watched one of my kids (adopted from foster care) reading “Who Loves Baby” to one of my other kids. It was precious … Continue reading
April 27, 2018
by Maralee
Comments Off on Allow Your Kids to See the Reality of a Broken World
Yesterday was rough in all the best ways. I had three friends who contacted me to talk about frustrating situations they were involved in with foster kids and families in crisis. A friend whose voice I haven’t heard in over … Continue reading
April 10, 2018
by Maralee
2 Comments
I remember how hopeless it felt when I realized I had a problem I couldn’t solve myself. My daughter was being denied a right that seemed to be clearly present in our state law. I’m no attorney, but even I … Continue reading
April 17, 2017
by Maralee
3 Comments
*This is my actual testimony from the hearing before the judiciary committee debating LB 411. There were several child advocacy organizations that supported this bill (either in person or by letter) and the only person that opposed it was a … Continue reading
February 28, 2017
by Maralee
3 Comments
(I wrote this the day I found out my daughter’s brother was not going to come live with us or with his other biological siblings. I knew there was a lot of advocacy work for us to do before I … Continue reading
February 23, 2017
by Maralee
3 Comments
My Girls, I know I can be kind of a downer when it comes to inspirational speeches (or the lack thereof). I love you and I think you’re amazing, but I don’t actually think you can be whatever you want … Continue reading