Lifebook for Children in Foster Care

This Lifebook is appropriate for children currently in foster care. Once the child’s permanency plan is decided, easily add a new chapter by purchasing our Going Home section or My Adoption section.

Keep Track of Important Memories

• Fill-in-the-blank format makes it easy for children to complete.
• Record placement history with the “Path of My Life” section.
• Attach photos and write down memories of birth and foster families.
• An extra envelope is included to store items that don’t fit anywhere else.

Answer Questions About Birth Family

• Pages like “Why I Don’t Live With My Mother or Father” offer the opportunity for children to explore questions and reasons why they are in foster care.
• Pages like “What Others Say” provide a safe way to share alternative perspectives on why the child is in foster care.

Build Self-Esteem

• Children discover their strengths through pages like “I am Special.”
• Pages like “My Firsts” celebrate the child’s achievements.

Lifebooks Give Insight into a Child’s Behavior

Jennifer Shaw, foster parent, describes the benefits of Lifebooks:

“I think [Lifebooks] helps the bond between the foster parent and the child, because it kicks open that door for them to be able to let things out that they have felt the need to hold back or hide for so long. And sometimes, it helps give the foster parent insight into some of the behaviors we may be seeing in the child.”

Lifebooks Help Foster Children Craft Their Identity

Mary Sue Waite, former LSSI Lifebook Specialist, explains the impact of Lifebook work:

“Many foster children lose [his/her own history] after being separated from their original families, and the emotional damage can deepen, if children have to move to more than 1 foster home. Lifebooks help children reconnect with people and fill in the gaps in their personal histories.”