Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter (Week 2)

This week, I am continuing to read the book Three Little Words and am currently on page 232 out of 304 pages. As I said in the earlier entry, this book is about a young girl that is separated from her mother and brother and is taken from door to door, from one foster home to another. She is finally sent to her grandfather and Ms. Adele. Ashley loved it there but her paradise came to an end when her caseworker figured Ashley was unsafe in that household only after one small incident. The caseworker didn't know the truth about the home and where it would be best for Ashley. When Ashley was being taken away from Ms. Adele, Ms. Jamison said, " Honey, we need to keep you safe" (Rhodes-Courter 46). Did the caseworker really know what was best for Ashley?

This quote is important because it shows how caseworkers seemed to try to do what was best for the foster children, but instead made their lives worse and more miserable. Ashley thought, "Adele fussed over us even more than our mother had...It seemed logical to me that Luke and I would be safest with someone who actually loved us" (Rhodes-Courter 47). When the children were taken away from Ms. Adele who actually took care of them, they were sent to separate homes where they were just another piece of furniture added to the household. They were ignored or treated harshly. When they said a "cuss word" or did something by accident, they were severely punished by being hit, forced to drink hot sauce, do squats or run laps. When the caseworker said that they were doing everything to keep Ashley and her brother safe, I felt anger start to build up in me. It bothered me that they believed that they were right and what the children said or wanted wasn't important. Isn't it the children who know best what will be best for them or where they feel safest? Ashley finally found a great home with Ms. Adele, yet she was taken away.