Vol. 2, No. 2 • Spring 1998

What Would You Do? Shane
a fictional case example

Shane is a 10-year-old boy who has been in foster care since
he was a baby. He has been with his current foster parents,
Rick and Nancy Porter, for eighteen months.

The Porters love Shane--he's smart, funny, energetic, and
makes friends easily. Like everyone else, Shane also has
things he needs to work on, too. Rick and Nancy feel confident they can help Shane with all but two of his troubling behaviors. But these last two--stealing and lying--are big ones, and they worry that if they can't help Shane soon he's headed for big trouble.

Shane has a habit of coming home with things that don't belong to him. He'll go to a friend's house after school and return with a walkman or a new pair of shorts. When Nancy or Rick ask him about the appearance of the new item, Shane lies. Sometimes he says the item is a gift, sometimes he claims he found it. He won't admit he's done anything wrong, even when the facts are clear.

The Porters have tried everything they can think of: they've explained that lying and stealing is wrong, and warned him that this behavior could lead to suspension from school or worse. They've also tried punishing him by taking away privileges. Nothing seems to work. He'll be good for a little while, but then things that don't belong to him start showing up again.

Have you had similar experiences with your foster or birth children? What happened? How did you help your children change their behavior?

I could put something here asking for help and add the email address, but since it is years old, I thought not. What do you think? To read the response, see the next issue's "Response to Shane: Children Who Lie and Steal."

Copyright � 2000 Jordan Institute for Families