MovieChat Forums > Short Term 12 (2013) Discussion > Movie left out significant facts.

Movie left out significant facts.

posted 9 years ago by oceena
6 replies | jump to latest

I've worked in the foster care field for many years. One major issue I have with this film was the handling of Marcus' fear of leaving the facility. First of all, children are no longer dumped out of care when they turn 18. They have an option of staying until they turn 21. If they stay, they must work or attend either a vocational school or college. Most kids choose to stay because they get their tuition, room and board, books, travel expenses and allowance completely paid by the state.
Also, there is the Independence Act of 1999 which assists foster kids into making a smooth transition into the 'real' world when they leave care. The kids start going to meetings at the age of 14. It's a great program. Even after the kids leave care, the Independence workers remain in contact with them by helping them find jobs, apartments, etc. So, it angered me knowing that Marcus didn't have to be thrown out at 18.
As far as Jayden is concerned, if the County Caseworker/Supervisor (not Grace, she was just a child care worker) knew of any abuse by her dad, there wouldn't be any weekend visits. There would be supervised visits. Dad would also need to take parenting classes. Only after he complied with everything he is expected to do and with a therapists recommendation, they would start with a few hours unsupervised visits. He might get an overnight visit after awhile.
I wasn't impressed with this film. It was all about Grace and her reactions. Fairly tepid stuff. In the real world, foster care stories are far more dramatic.

[–] alliemack30 9 years ago

I don't know enough about the system to comment on Marcus's situation, but the issue with Jayden and her father was that no one knew of the abuse. Jayden wasn't telling anyone, and all Grace had was a gut feeling. At the time, her supervisor thought she was just projecting her own emotions and situation onto Jayden.

As for the movie being tepid stuff....I have to admit I'm kind of at a loss here. Grace was visciously abused by her father and was a recovering cutter, and Jayden was at the very least being beaten by her father. The movie even shows Grace having a mental breakdown over what happened to her and the pressures of working with a girl so similar to herself. I wouldn't personally consider that tepid.

[–] ToHelenBackAgain 9 years ago

Though they didn't go into detail about Marcus' situation, I presumed he was still receiving services of some kind. He had a job, was starting college - he'd need a place to live, at minimum, to be taking on all that. I took it that he just couldn't stay at this specific house, with the younger kids, anymore. The change was traumatic for him, but it didn't seem like anyone thought he'd be sleeping on the sidewalk.

This would tie in with his seeing the slightly older girl again, as well. How else would he ever have got in touch with her? They're probably both in the same young-adult transitioning program at the film's end.

It wouldn't have killed anyone to give us a line or two of exposition about this, but I didn't think it was a huge problem to let the viewer fill in the blanks either.

Regrding Jayden's abusive father, Grace's supervisor didn't take her impression seriously. No one else had heard a word about it. The dialogue explicitly told us that Jayden lied to her social worker, denying any abuse.

Perhaps you found it tepid because you weren't really watching it.

"You are NOT the boss of me... SHE is."

[–] oceena 9 years ago

I can see how people would be impressed with this film having never worked with foster children. I have and I've never known a foster care worker, such as the one in the film, flip out as she had done. If that ever happened in the real world, she would have been fired. I said it was tepid because I've seen children come from situations far worse than what was depicted. Yes, there is physical and sexual abuse, cutting and neglect, which, unfortunately, is usual in the foster care system. This is terrible in itself but I've seen situations that can only be described as coming from the depths of hell. If those children's stories were ever made into a film, it would be classified as horror.

[–] ToHelenBackAgain 9 years ago

Well, if you want to change subject completely, okay. Have fun with that conversation. I'm out.

"Ich bin ein NERD!"

[–] oceena 9 years ago

I don't know how you could have construed that what I wrote was an attempt to change the subject completely. I suggest you re-read it, slowly this time. Bye.

[–] 9 years ago

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