Interview with Jessica Johnson, August 10, 2018

Partial Transcript: I am here on Friday, August 10th interviewing Jessica Johnson here at the Bair Foundation in Lexington, Kentucky.

Segment Synopsis: Jessica Johnson is introduced and discusses her personal background and career path. She talks about how she recruits foster parents as the Director of Social Services for the Bair Foundation, and the process potential parents have to go through before becoming a foster parent. She also discusses trauma-informed parenting classes that potential parents must take before fostering.

Keywords: Foster care; Social work; Trauma-informed parenting

Subjects: Opioid abuse; Social work and counselling

Partial Transcript: Okay, now I'm going to ask you about what your thoughts are on the opioid crisis, just generally before we get into specifics...

Segment Synopsis: Johnson discusses how Kentucky's foster care system is the most affected in the nation by the opioid epidemic. She recalls seeing a huge increase in the number of children needing foster parents about 8 years ago. She says that in the state of Kentucky there are over 9,000 children living in foster care. Since 2012, the numbers of children that are removed from their household and become wards of the state has increased dramatically. Johnson explains that if foster parents can't be found, children stay in emergency shelters. She recalls 3 young girls having to stay in a shelter because their mother overdosed, and they had no other family.

Keywords: Foster care; Opioid abuse; Social work

Subjects: Opioid abuse; Social work and counselling

Partial Transcript: So I think that what I want to ask you about now is kind of that story.

Segment Synopsis: Johnson recalls having to remove a tiny newborn baby from a drug house in downtown Lexington at three o'clock in the morning, with the mother under the influence when they got to the home. She describes seeing the baby covered in urine and feces. She says it was one of the most heartbreaking things she's seen. She describes how easy it is to get burnt-out as a social worker, and how the average 'lifespan' for the job is two years. She also describes the secondary trauma from working in the foster care field.

Keywords: Drug addiction; Foster care; Infants; Lexington (Ky.)

Subjects: Opioid abuse; Social work and counselling

Partial Transcript: Um, so you were saying--okay, you worked in Child Protective Services and then you switched to foster care.

Segment Synopsis: Johnson talks about how stressful it was to make decisions affecting children and families when she began her career in her twenties. She talks about how the Bair Foundation is a private child placement agency, and contracts out with the state and the city of Lexington. She also discusses how there may be many more foster-type cases that the state doesn't know about where children have been taken out their homes and are cared for by others, without contacting the state. Johnson also gives advice for people that are thinking about becoming foster parents.

Keywords: Bair Foundation; Foster care; Lexington (Ky.); Social work

Subjects: Addiction in America; Opioid abuse; Social work and counselling

Partial Transcript: Um, and I, I don't know if this--you know, this is more again just your subjective opinion...

Segment Synopsis: Johnson talks about how many of the kids she works with have mental health issues, addiction issues, and learning disabilities. She also talks about placing kids with substance abuse issues into foster care, explaining that these children have to complete a drug treatment or detox program before they can go into a foster home. Johnson also recalls having to remove children from their homes because they were using drugs with their parents.

Keywords: Addiction; Drug treatment; Foster care; Mental health; Social work

Subjects: Addiction in America; Opioid abuse; Social work and counselling

Partial Transcript: Um, what are your thoughts on, um--let me see how I want to phrase this.

Segment Synopsis: Johnson talks about the changing perception of foster care and substance abuse treatment, and about how the current need for foster parents is huge. She also talks about the urgency involved in certifying parents because they have a waiting list of children that need a home. Johnson also describes the work and pressure involved in placing children in a home. She describes loading up mattresses in the back of her SUV, and putting together bunk beds and baby cribs to get a safe home set-up for children to sleep in.

Keywords: Drug addiction; Foster parenting; Opioid abuse; Social work

Subjects: Addiction in America; Opioid abuse; Social work and counselling

Partial Transcript: Um, do you ever keep contact with--uh, you know, I'm assuming you probably do keep contact with the foster parents...

Segment Synopsis: Johnson describes the tight-knit foster care community. She talks about one of her clients who had a major opioid addiction, and who hit rock bottom and had her children taken away from her. Johnson remembers visiting her in jail, and the hatred in her eyes when Johnson told her she was going to take her baby away. The client finally went into treatment. She is now in recovery and reunited with her children. The client reached out to Johnson several years later to thank her. Johnson calls this client "my starfish."

Keywords: Drug addiction; Foster care; Opioids; Social work

Subjects: Addiction in America; Opioid abuse; Social work and counselling