Foster Kid MIGHT Miss His Airplane Flight.

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5-7HEAVEN

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Aug 2, 2008
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I work for Child Welfare Services as an aide/transporter. While driving a foster child to his therapist today, he shared that he was flying to San Diego at 1:10pm tomorrow to visit his biological family. This was his first time riding an airplane. He asked if I was taking him to the airport, as no one from CWS had called yet, to confirm they'd be picking him up. He DID say that his social worker informed him 2 weeks ago that someone would pick him up at 11am. That raised several red flags for me. His house is 30 miles from the airport. With congested traffic and broken watermains and only one road into town, 2 hours 10 minutes was insufficient time. With airlines, it used to be that they wanted you to check in 2 hours. With good traffic, it'd take 35 minutes to reach the airport. THENNN, the aide has to PARK in the busy parking structure. With the holidays, who knows how long it'd take to find parking. THENNN they have to walk to the ticket counter, maybe 150 yards. After checking in, the child must be escorted to the gate. If you're lucky, it's another 100 yards to the gate. If unlucky, you catch a tram or walk a half mile.

If there's a traffic tie up, he'll miss his flight.
If there's a parking problem and congested traffic, he'll miss his flight.
If there's traffic tie up, parking problems and a tram ride to the gate, he'll miss his flight.

The child asked if CWS could pick him up earlier, to take him to the airport. I asked him if he'd mind waiting longer at the airport. He said no. The kid is 17yo, so he can wait at the gate by himself. I spoke with the child's social worker regarding the child's and my concern. She sloughed it off, said he'd make his flight, said she'd talk to the transporter about our concerns.

At 3pm today, I get a call from the kid's foster parent. The boy had expressed an interest in working part-time after school. He complained that the foster mom refused to let him work, saying he can wait until he becomes 18yo.....WHEN CWS CUTS OFF ALL SUPPORT AND KICKS HIM TO THE CURB!!!

I ask this foster mom if the boy can look for a part-time job. surprisingly, she said.....YES!!! just as long as it's within an 8-mile area! I told the aide who's taking him to the airport to relay the good news. While the boy's on his trip, I'll canvass his district for as many job applications as possible. Since I have ALL the boy's personal information, I can easily fill out the forms for him. He's in special education class and would need my asistance.
The boy lives in the most economically depressed districts on the island. It might be TOUGH to find him a job. A new Jack-in-the-Box restaurant opened this week, so I'll be sure to apply there.

Thanks for listening. If the boy misses his flight AND his trip, I'm bringing it up to the supervisor. She's a sweetie, so she'll fix this with no one's feathers being ruffled.

Please pray that this boy finds a job. At age eighteen, he's on his own. He is learning disabled, so no college for him. There's no family support here, as his divorced dad is in the military stationed elsewhere. I've been giving him father/son talks whenever I transported him.

Graduate from high school, learn a trade/skill, get a good job, save $$, find a place to rent. THENNNN, when you can live independently, find a decent woman, establish a loving relationship, get married.....THEN HAVE CHILDREN!!!dance1

Life is tough, but don't shoot yourself in the foot by doing this backwards!:-||
 
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dakota47l1

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Oct 2, 2011
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st louis mo.
i'll keep him in my prayers...sounds like the kid needs a break.sometimes we all do.god bless you for your concern and all you have done to help this child!
 

5-7HEAVEN

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Aug 2, 2008
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Yeah, he's a good kid, doesn't swear in front of me, asks politely to change the car radio, asks me to buy him lunch when I'm transporting him, orders the cheapest food and a McD's latte. Kid has a good attitude.

When he was 6 years old, the driver duct taped his mouth when he wouldn't stop talking and singing in the bus. He still remembers that incident, which made the newspaper headlines.

At a foster kids' teen event, his social worker requested that I FOLLOW him around all day. She shared that he bothers girls by asking to be their bf.

So I told him to behave himself, and I never saw him again all day.
 
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5-7HEAVEN

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Aug 2, 2008
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Two hour show at the airport with you should be all you need. Been doing it since 1985...Dan
Dan, that's what concerns me. CWS aide is picking the boy up 2 hours and 10 minutes before his plane takes off! They STILL have to drive to the airport, park the car, walk to the counter, then to the gate.

We are not swamped with requests for transportation. 75% of my time is spent behind the desk, filing papers, processing documents, etc. There are no back-to-back transports. What upsets me is the fact that the aide(who has 20 years' experience) has the discretion of leaving the office ANY TIME he/she wishes to. No one has ever questioned me if I leave the office too early to pick up a child. Honolulu traffic is EXTREMELY unpredictable. If it takes 45 minutes to drive to a location, I give myself an additional 60 minutes to get there. I do a "drive by" and find my location; then I find a nearby restaurant and have lunch. If traffic takes longer than 45 minutes, it cuts into my lunch hour. No big deal for me, because I get to my destination on time.

Our workplace is 30-something miles to the boy's residence. If the aide leaves the office late or gets stuck in traffic, the boy misses his flight.

We are not chained to our desk! It's all about time management, and I notice that many of my co-workers are late for their appointments. In the 7 years that I've worked here, I can count on one hand the number of times that I've been late for an appointment. This trip is so important to the kid. Why take a chance that you'll be late to the airport gate?

The airport is 2 miles west of our office. The kid's house is about 28 miles further west. The supervisor would not complain if the kid and I swung by the office and picked up another co-worker. Then that person can drop the kid and me at the airport curb. We could walk in and process the trip; the co-worker drives to a waiting area a half-mile away. I'd walk the kid to the gate and leave him there. By the time I get back to the curb, the coworker is awaiting me in the state vehicle.

I cannot fathom how workers would take a chance that the kid would miss his flight. If this was the workers' vacation trip, they would DEFINITELY give themselves more time to reach the airport.

It just doesn't make sense.:-||
 

birdmannn101

New Member
Oct 23, 2011
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Indianapolis, IN
Well 5-7 Heaven,

You might want to tell your aide that when I say 2 hours i am talking about a "normal" day at the airport. I used to be a captain for an airline and if I caused the flight to depart late they wouldn't just say, "Oh Well!"

Holidays and Spring Break I would give it 3 hours at the airport. You never know when they will change a gate and you have to run to it.

You can tell your aide that if your not at the gate 10 minutes before departure the doors to the aircraft will be closed and the aircraft prepared for the push back.... Dan
 

5-7HEAVEN

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Aug 2, 2008
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Thanks for responding, Dan.
I realize that being at the gate well before depature is prudent. I'm on vacation today, so I'll find out how everything went, when I return to work.

Today, my wife and I drove to three fast-food restaurants in the kid's area and received job application forms.