I keep having questions from old sitcoms lately, but…
There is a Christmas episode of Bewitched where people check out an orphan like a library book for Christmas and then return them to the orphanage. The Stevenses check out Will Robinson and the Kravitzes borrow a kid, too. Was this an actual practice that used to happen? It seems like an especially cruel practice, sending a child home with random strangers for a couple of days and dumping them back in the orphanage as soon as the “feel good” moment is over, but it also sounds like exactly the sort of clueless thing that would gave happened in mid-20th century America.
It is still a thing. Not sure why you see it so negatively. It probably beats being stuck at an orphanage and getting cafeteria style Christmas Dinner.
There is a lot on the web about this practice and the vetting that is done. Also the orphans sign up for it. They’re not forced into a stranger’s home.
I don’t want to link to the many organizations that work with people to give orphans a little extra joy for the Holidays, but there are indeed many.
“renting” is a odd word to use. I’ve seen the phrase Orphan Christmas and Hosting an Orphan for the Holidays.
But yes, it is and was a thing.
There are also programs to host servicemen for Christmas. Kind of related. Lots of military people are stuck far from home and a little cheer can keep depression and home sickness away.
Wow, Anthony versus Samantha. That would have been the best Bewitched episode ever!
As for orphans going to people’s homes for Christmas: it would be interesting to know the way this was spoken of. One would expect it would be about the charitable nature of the act, rather than as renting a kid.
To be honest, I didn’t even know that orphanages still existed. I thought they were all abolished and replaced by foster parents. And if the kids are in foster homes, that would be where they would spend the holidays.
My father taught university and there was a tradition of inviting the international students still in town over the holidays or the Thanksgiving weekend to faculty homes so they could experience an American holiday.
Group homes vary, but many rely more on staff who probably want to be home with their families. I’m guessing it can be sort of bleak.
Even orphanages use to decorate. Hopefully the meals were better.
I do know some group homes, the older kids would do a lot of Christmas cooking and a fair amount of cooking in general. Their learning to cook was considered a positive part of the Group Home experience over the old orphanage system.
Damn. I wanted to go to an orphanage and have all of the kids line up by height so I could pick one to match the decorations. Maybe a couple of the little ones to play elves.
Right, it was acquiring them from a central storage location for a brief time and returning them when you were finished with them. Nothing like a rental.
Any facility or this sort still has to be staffed at all times. I spent many Christmases and Easters earning double holiday pay and doing festive activities in residential settings.
Doesn’t “renting” imply paying the central storage location for the use of the child? That isn’t how it worked. It was in theory a very nice thing to do for a child in a pretty unhappy situation. Can’t say selfless as probably a percentage were trying to make themselves feel better or show off how nice they were, but I’m guessing in most cases, it was a generous action.
Our experiences may differ. Mine was that holiday staffing was at the same level as weekend staffing, which was lower than weekday daytime but higher than night shift.
I’ve worked in child welfare in PA for 30 years. Our legal system/regulations allow for very limited use of congregate care (group home) placements. We have to make every effort to get children/youth into foster families or occasionally we can find home setting placements.
On holidays most children can be released for visits with family or possibly prospective foster homes. There are a few occasions where kids might need to stay in a group home.
This only applies to dependent children.
Children adjudicated delinquent and dependent often fall under different protocols for holidays. Additionally there are a few dual mental health/dependency placements which also have their own set of rules.
I have never heard of anyone renting children for holidays.
Orphanages were abolished a long time ago and the terminology we use is “dependent children”.
However, when a child is ready for adoption they have to go through Orphans Court. Sometimes systems take awhile to catch up with language.
The current federal law that we are required to follow is this:
The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) is a federal law that was passed in 2018 to help keep children in their families and reduce the need for group care.
The law is based on the idea that children do best in families, and that the child welfare system should work to keep families together.
My older sister retired recently from an organization that had group homes for special needs kids and adults. The Holiday staffing was generally the least.
No question that the Hospital was down to the least staffing. I was junior at the time and worked Thanksgiving and only avoided Christmas as my coworker was Indian and was willing to take it. Everywhere were younger staff and it was minimal.
I think the Christmas staffing outside the ER was basically the same as night staffing. It was a long time ago now, so I’m unsure.
You’re right about the group homes though, night staffing was often 1-2 people, I think the Holiday Staffing was slightly higher. But only slightly.