The Importance Of Culture In Foster Care

Culture provides people with a sense of purpose and belonging. It helps people create an identity and forms their morals and values. Social workers need to include culture in their practices when working with First Nations clientele, as it is a large part in which they are and can help the healing process. Elders are an important aspect of First Nations culture. Elders can work with social workers to ensure guidance, spiritual and cultural advice, and teach philosophies and traditions of the people. Social workers must allow children to participate in their cultural traditions. Social workers should allow their clients to regularly attend ceremony and give them the resources they need to connect with their culture. Another important aspect
Culture is a major part of a person’s identity and it helps people form a sense of self, including the formation of morals and values. It is especially important that social workers working with children in foster care have adequate access to cultural events and have every opportunity to practice their culture when they need. It is important that the social workers ensure that the foster parents support this. Many foster parents will force the children to abide by their culture and their religion, which is unfair to that child and the child’s family. It should be a part of the foster parent application that they must allow the child to practice their culture any time they please. It is the social workers responsibility to make sure that this is set into place and doesn’t become an issue with the child and foster parents. The social worker should have knowledge of ceremonies and First Nations traditions. It should be mandatory for all social workers working with First Nations children to participate in ceremonies such as a round dance, pipe ceremony and smudging to ensure they understand the importance of each ceremony. Clients should have full access to ceremonies as well as other cultural practices such as beading classes, dance classes and other cultural programs within the community. In doing this, the clients are able to connect with their culture and their spirituality while meeting new people
The medicine wheel has four quadrants: mental, physical, emotional and spiritual. To be balanced, a person must be whole in each aspect of the medicine wheel. Social workers should know and understand the medicine wheel wholly so that they can implement it in their practice with their clients. This can be used for any concern a person may have whether it be addictions, trauma, abuse etc. The knowledge that each person must be whole in all areas of their lives (mentally, spiritually, physically and emotionally) can help social workers work with their clients on their healing journey. If a person is unwell physically, a social worker and recommend and set up physical activities for their client whether it be a gym membership, signing up for a sports team or getting them medical help. Social workers also need to look at the mental aspect of the medicine wheel. If a person is mentally unwell their entire wheel will be imbalanced. Social workers need to ensure that they are doing well and being positively challenged in their client’s school and work lives. It is important that the clients are mentally well and must exercise their brain to ensure mental health. Emotional health is also important in balancing a person’s wheel. The clientele social workers work with will most likely have an unbalance in the emotional quadrant of the medicine wheel. It is important that the