Greg Dalton Staff asked 5 years ago
Has anyone had experience working with the Bikers Against Child Abuse group? I spoke with some of the folks at a recent event and found out more about their program and program requirements. Was wondering in anyone has partnered with this group in any way.
Thank you!
Greg Dalton Staff answered 5 years ago
Hi Greg,
I haven’t partnered with BACA directly, but my son is a BACA kid. They are a wonderful group!
Their primary objective, as I understand it, is to help foster kids feel safe.
In our experience, this played out in a number of ways:
- First, they had a “pinning in” ceremony with Ryan where a bunch of the members came out to the house and presented him with a jacket, a BACA bear, and a BACA blanket. The “pinning in” part was where each member took a pin from their own jacket and put it on Ryan’s jacket. Being a typical 10 year-old, he was more interested in looking at the motorcycles.
- They don’t ever use real names, neither their own, nor the child’s, but rather, they use call signs. Ryan was invited to pick his own call sign and a patch was already sewn to his jacket when they arrived.
- Ryan had two sponsors: one lead, who was our primary point of contact, and one backup.
- His sponsors would come visit every 1-2 months, take Ryan for a ride and treat him to a Starbuck’s.
- The Seattle chapter also held regular picnics and other sorts of outings and get-togethers to give the kids a chance to meet other BACA kids so they wouldn’t feel so alone or different. We went to one of these, and it was a very welcoming and fun day for Ryan.
- Our understanding is that they will go to great lengths to help foster kids feel secure: from posting a watch outside the home if asked, to escorting the child to court appearances. They will sit quietly in the courtroom and just be present to help the foster child feel safe and supported. They do not engage in any aggressive activities, and will not communicate with anybody involved in the dependency, least of all, the parent or family member accused of abuse.
- While we had direct contact with Ryan’s sponsor, BACA was very careful to establish and maintain good boundaries with us, and keep their focus on serving Ryan’s needs, much like the boundaries set between a CASA and the foster household.
In Ryan’s case, we did not have to call on them very often, although they did provide a motorcycle escort to the first hearing he attended. I can tell you that just knowing they were there and ready to help at a moment’s notice gave Ryan great peace of mind. Prior to that, he was terrified that his abuser would find our house and somehow get to him.
Overall, it’s my opinion that BACA provides an invaluable service to kids who are already feeling the stresses of foster placement. By working to help kids feel safe, they peel back a significant layer of anxiety and stress, which in turn, helps them settle in to their foster environment and focus on being kids.
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Our program has had association with them historically, and we were just invited to an event in Pendleton to learn more about them. I think their service is valuable, but due to sensitivity of cases, we would have to have the contact come from our side (either via DHS or foster with child’s permission and desire). We have had a few sex abuse cases where BACA support would be awesome.
We don’t work with them on cases, but they do support our work at special events.