As youth in foster care who are grieving, we have the right to:
- Know the truth about the separation, the person and/or people from whom we’ve been separated, and the circumstances surrounding the loss.
- Ask questions and have them answered honestly.
- Be heard and listened to without receiving unsolicited advice.
- Be silent and not share our thoughts and emotions out loud.
- Disagree with your perceptions and conclusions.
- See the people who we’ve been separated from, if we choose to and if we’re legally allowed to do so.
- Grieve in our own ways — without hurting ourselves or others.
- Feel all the feelings and to think all the thoughts of our own unique grief.
- Not have the “Stages of Grief” imposed on us. This material is inaccurate and outdated.
- Be angry at being separated from people we care about; the people we’ve been separated from; ourselves; and others.
- Disagree with people who are insensitive, especially those who use everyday expressions to talk about our unique grief.
- Have our own beliefs about family and separation.
- Be involved in the decisions about our visits with family and friends.