2010 Ohio Budget Planning and Management Commission

*Figures 1-3 from Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Ohio will be facing a budget deficit of approximately $6-8 billion dollars in the next biennium.

In order to begin exploring ways to address the shortfall, the Ohio General Assembly has appointed a group of legislators to serve on a Budget Planning and Management Commission.

The work of the commission will be to identify a menu of options to address the big picture structural changes that must occur in the budget in order to achieve long-term sustainability.

The commission met for the first time on Tuesday and began with a presentation from the Ohio Legislative Service Commission (LSC) that provided legislators with a big picture overview of key revenue and expenditure data.

To view the LSC power point, please visit: www.lsc.state.oh.us/research/bpmc062910.pdf

Last month, the Center for Community Solutions released a report entitled, Thinking the Unthinkable, Finding Common Ground for Resolving Ohio’s Fiscal Crisis.

It explores a host of very difficult options in order to address Ohio’s impending budget shortfall, including a model which contains a possible 10%-20% reduction in most human services in the next biennium:

http://www.communitysolutions.com/assets/1/AssetManager/Thinking_the_Unthinkable_Begala_WEB.pdf

Ohio Reach Summit and Voices of Foster Care Youth

Rewriting the scripts in a child's life

What the movie Martian Child teaches about trauma and food hoarding

Boy in a Box: What the movie Martian Child teaches about responding to child trauma

My So-Called Emancipation: From Foster Care to Homelessness for California Youth

Human Rights Watch has released a new report about California youth in foster care with some startling results: At least 20 percent of the 4,000 who are released from foster care each year end up homeless.

Through interviews with 63 young people who became homeless after leaving foster care, it was evident that factors leading to homelessness include "missed opportunities to learn skills, lack of ability to support themselves, a shortage of second chances, and the fact that no one cared what happened to them."

We Can Do Better: Child Abuse and Neglect Deaths in the U.S.

Every Child Matters released a 2009 report titled We Can Do Better: Child Abuse and Neglect Deaths in America which predicted that abuse and neglect deaths of U.S. children would continue to increase unless the federal government made the issue a priority.

U.S. cuts will perpetuate child abuse highlights the growing child abuse epidemic in America:

• The United States has the highest number of child abuse fatalities of the world's richest democracies, with death rates that are three times higher than Canada's, and 11 times higher than Italy's.
• Three million reported cases of child abuse and neglect result in 2,000 deaths in the US annually. 
• Since 2001, 30,000 American children have been killed in their own homes, taken their own lives or been murdered in their own neighbourhoods.
• This does not account for the fact that up to 60% of child abuse goes unreported. 

To sign a petition asking Congress to hold a hearing on child abuse related deaths, please visit Homeland Insecurity: Why new investments in children and youth must be a priority for the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress.

Funding Career Pathways for Out-of-School Youth: A Federal Policy Toolkit for States

The Funding Career Pathways and Career Pathway Bridges Toolkit is designed to help inter-agency state teams identify and facilitate "braiding" of federal resources to design and develop career pathways and bridges into them for adults and out-of-school youth.

Available federal programs that might support this state initiative include:

• The Workforce Investment Act
•  The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act

Both of these program's eligibility requirements include youth/young adults with a foster care history.

Economic Prospects for Young Adults During the Recession

Findings by the Economic Policy Institute, published in their May 2010 Briefing Paper:

• Since the start of the recession, an additional 1.2 million 16-24-year-olds have become disconnected from both formal schooling and work. 
• The class of 2010 will be entering a labor market with the highest rates of unemployment in at least a generation.
• Unemployment rates for both college graduates and non-graduates younger than 25 are nearly double their pre-recession levels.

The rock is too heavy for Sisyphus (or emancipating foster youth) to carry alone

Quote from a friend of mine who is struggling right now: "I am looking at my life and I realize that it's not what I want it to be... I did not foresee the obstacles I would have to overcome - the struggles it would take just to survive. I never imagined that I would have to start over so many times, in order to get back on track again."

This is an all-too-common experience for young adults who emancipate from foster care and try to navigate the adult world without family support:  "Will I ever get to a point where I am happy with my life?  Where my life is stable and secure? Will I accomplish the dreams and goals I want for myself?  Or is this current chaos the life that I have to accept -- forever???"

I remember feeling that way often between the ages of 16-26 years old. I have at least 35 journals from college and grad school - charting the struggles and days when I thought my life wasn't going anywhere.

A friend of mine from college called days like this: Sisyphus Days. There's a myth that Sisyphus had to roll a rock up a mountain every day, only to have it roll back down, and start all over again.

Message to foster care youth and alumni: The good news is that you are NOT Sisyphus. We all have days when we feel that way - but your actions and accomplishments really ARE adding up to something, even if you can't see that right now.

And also you don't have to roll whatever rock you are currently carrying up that blasted hill all by yourself. Just as you live your life fighting to improve the system for others, please know that other people who know and care about you don't want you to face battles alone. It's not one-man combat, it's an army and we can overcome this struggle TOGETHER.

Transitional Youth and Natural Consequences

The Transition to Independence Process is a strengths-based approach for encouraging youth and young adults (ages 14-29) in their future planning process.

Many of the core elements of TIP model affirm the advocacy work that the Ohio chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America is involved in, and the workshops we currently provide. This includes:

• The cost-benefit analysis of investing in transitional youth 
• Young adult "discovery" vs. adult "recovery
  
• Identifying the supportive connections in their lives
• Encouraging peer support networks and peer mentors
• One-stop shopping for resources whenever possible
• Balancing the roles in decision-making (Taylor Model)

One side-effect of being a child welfare trainer myself is that, when I attend a training, I automatically evaluate what worked, what didn't, and how the format might have worked better.

I believe that an effective way of teaching the Transition to Independence Process (TIP) content would have been via a one-day workshop, with breakout sessions of small groups. Each small group could receive a case-study and figure out how to apply the TIP model. After this hands-on experience with implementation, small groups would report out to the group-at-large.

As it was, I left the training with two important questions left unanswered...

1.) What is the balance between maximizing the likelihood of success for a young person, and allowing youth to face the natural consequences of their choices?

As someone who works with foster care youth and young adults, many times, a young person will come to me in crisis mode.

They had an initial problem, which could have been easily remedied. But they didn't get the help and resources when they needed it, so the problem evolved into a snowball, rolling downhill and getting bigger and bigger. Often, by the time the young person comes to me to ask for help, all the dominoes have fallen and the problem has become a tangled mess.

If my state allowed foster care youth to re-enter foster care between the ages of 18-21, in every county, that would allow for the type of learning experiences that a young adult from an intact, supportive family can often count on from their parents.

But without a cohesive safety net, there is a limit to how far I am willing to allow a young person to fall. Standing back and letting the chips fall can compound the chaos to such a degree that it can be difficult to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

2.) The presenter mentioned "rationale" as an alternative to nagging young people. Telling young people the possible benefit or risk of their actions. However, he offered no concrete examples of what this looks like, in practice...  What does this look like? / sound like?

When I queried the speaker, asking both questions above, I didn't get a straight answer. So I'm left to puzzle this out by myself. Possibly a teachable moment might ensue, during which I could guide the young person toward self-evaluation of the impact of their decisions...

I'd really like to think about this further. Lately, my brain has been gnawing on two videos I posted recently:

• How Sitcoms (and Foster Care) Don't Teach Patient Problem-Solving
• The Marshmellow Test: How the Ability to Delay Gratification Impacts Long-Term Life Outcomes

I'm going to delve into a website that he mentioned during the workshop, and see if I can track down some more concrete information.

Jails and Prisons Have Become America's New Mental Hospitals

It's time to de-criminalize mental illness.

National research by the Treatment Advocacy Center and the National Sheriffs' Association shows that  Americans with serious mental illnesses are three times more likely to end up in jail or prison, rather than a mental hospital.

The rate is even worse in Ohio, where it's four times more likely they'll be incarcerated. Between 2004-2005, Ohio had 10,260 inmates with a serious mental illness, compared with 2,536 people hospitalized. 

Patient Problem Solving - Sitcoms Don't Teach It (Foster Care Doesn't Either)

The Marshmellow Test - and Young Adult Outcomes

Oh, The Temptation from Steve V on Vimeo.

After the initial study, by Professor Walter Mischl, researchers continued to track these children throughout their school careers and into early adult life. The results were dramatic:

"Those who had deferred eating the marshmallow for 15-20 minutes in order to get the bigger prize just a few minutes later were more socially competent, personally effective, self-assertive and better able to cope with the frustrations of life.


"They were less likely to go to pieces, freeze, regress under stress or become rattled and disorganized when pressured. They embraced challenges, and pursued them instead of giving up even in the face of difficulties; they were more self-reliant and confident, trustworthy and dependable; they took initiative and plunged into projects. This group even scored on average 210 points higher on their SAT."

Ohio's Young Adults Face Narrowing Path to Middle Class

With appreciation to PCSAO for sharing this update:

Policy Matters Ohio and Dēmos hosted an event yesterday in Cleveland to examine findings from their recent report, Building Ohio’s Middle Class: Addressing the Challenges Facing Young Adults.

This report shows opportunity has expanded in some important areas (college enrollment, women’s income), but at the same time there are some overall trends that are troubling:

Postsecondary Education

• Just over half (55 percent) of Ohio students at four-year institutions graduate within six years, and only a quarter of two-year students graduate within three years. Many students who leave college without a degree have student loan debt.

• Young adults from high-income families in Ohio are three times more likely to enroll in college than low-income young people, and there is a 14 percentage point gap between enrollment rates for young whites and young African Americans.

• Disparities in graduation rates by income and race are even higher.

Employment and Earnings

• Earnings of full-time workers under age 35 in Ohio are substantially lower today than a generation ago, except in the case of women with a college degree.

•  Among workers under age 35, the unionization rate in Ohio declined from 21 to 10 percent over the last 25 years.

Debt and Assets

• Two thirds of Ohio college graduates carry student loan debt. Of those, their average debt, just from public sources, is $23,854.

• Although housing prices are more affordable in Ohio than in some other regions, adults ages 25 to 34 spent a third of their incomes (34 percent) on rent in 2007.

Raising a Family

• The average annual price of full-time center-based child care for two preschool-age children (an infant and a four-year-old) in Ohio is $16,724.

• Nearly half (46 percent) of children under age 6 in Ohio are growing up in a low- income family, with income of $44,000 or less.

For Additional Information:
Please visit www.demos.org or www.policymattersohio.org

America's Runaway and Homeless Youth

Quote from Chapin Hall's (freely available for listening) webinair:

"Many runaways become homeless because family reunification is not an option. Other young people end up on the street or in a shelter because they are abandoned by their parents, are forced to leave home, age out of foster care, or are released from the juvenile justice system."

Does Keeping Youth in Foster Care Beyond Age 18 Help to Prevent Homelessness?

According to recent research, allowing young people to remain in foster care until their 21st birthday may not prevent but may delay their entry into homelessness:

New Findings from Midwest Study: Outcomes of Foster Care Alumni at Ages 23-24

The Midwest Study provides a comprehensive picture of how foster youth are faring during this transition since the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 became law.

Young people who age out of foster care continue to face major challenges in their early twenties, often unable to complete their educations and find housing and jobs.

These new findings look at the outcomes at ages 23 and 24.

Recent Foster Care Alumni of America Postcards

Cincy FCAA Allies in the Faith Community & Child Welfare System

Youth and Alumni Participate in FCAA Leadership and Advocacy Training in Cincinnati

Roleplays of Legislator Visits

Certificate of Completion of FCAA Leadership and Advocacy Training in Cincinnati

Florida Cost-Cutting Strategies Are Putting Up A Detour Sign on the Road to Independence

Here we have a program that is working. It's helping emancipated foster care youth to make it during their transition to adulthood. Yet, in the name of efficiency, Rep. Grimsley has decided to fix what ain't broke. Let's give young adults LESS money per month. Let's punish them for working by cutting their stipends.

Basically this reduction is putting up a great big DETOUR sign on the Road to Independence, and setting up additional barriers for Florida foster care youth/alumni who are trying to find stable housing and employment during their transition to adulthood.

For each of the legislators that supported this measure, I wonder how much assistance their parents gave them throughout young adulthood, such as: co-signing for their first apartment, paying for college and campus housing, and providing a place to stay during college breaks. I wish they knew how different the experience of turning 18 can be when you have no family.

For those of us who grew up in foster care and "aged out" of the system, the government is the only parent that we have. Please don't try to balance the state's budget on the backs of foster care youth. You'll save a penny now, and it will cost you two dollars later -- in terms of negative outcomes.

According the St. Petersburg Times: "Compared to other Florida teens, former foster youths are 14 times more likely to be homeless, six times more likely to go on welfare, and three times more likely to end up in the criminal justice system - as victims, if not defendants."

What Works for Older Youth During the Transition to Adulthood

Child Trends recently released a factsheet on What Works for Older Youth During the Transition to Adulthood.

Observations included the following:

• Targeting low-income and or high-risk youth early during their transition to adulthood can be effective at improving education and employment outcomes.

• Programs that were implemented over a long period of time were more effective at improving educational attainment.

• Mentoring has a positive impact on school and employment outcomes, and is also associated with decreased delinquency.

• Individual case managers who assess the needs of the participants, coordinate ongoing services, track participant progress, and provide ongoing support and guidance increase the probability of improved outcomes.

• Programs that implement skills training techniques have been found to be effective at improving some outcomes, but not reproductive health outcomes. None of the sexual risk-taking programs were consistently successful at changing behaviors among youth.

• Providing child care for participants contributes to education attainment, school attendance, employment, and earnings.

Two New Resources for Disconnected Youth

The term "disconnected youth" generally refers to young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who are not in school or employed in the legitimate workforce.  

They may have had experience with the criminal justice system or have been in foster care. They aren’t receiving the education, work, civic, and family support they need to be successful adults.

Follow the Money: Funding and Legislative Opportunities on the Horizon to Serve Disconnected Youth discusses current and pending legislation that present opportunities to fund programs in communities to keep young people connected to school and recapture those who are not engaged in school or work.


Building a Comprehensive Youth Employment Delivery System: Examples of Effective Practice describes the landscape for youth in many high poverty urban communities across the country and outlines examples of effective collaboration across the education, juvenile justice and child welfare systems to address the needs of this population.

Parental Support Provided to Adult Children After Age 18

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately half of young adults ages 18 to 24 in the United States live at home with their parents:

• In 2003, 54% of young men and 45% of young women ages 18-24 lived at home with their parents. 
• In 2005, the numbers shifted a bit; 53% of young men and 46% of young women lived at home with their parents. 

A 2007 study sponsored by Ameriprise Financial on Money Across Generations revealed that nine out of 10 Baby Boomers have helped their adult children financially expenses such as college loans, automotive and home costs, medical expenses and/or allowing their adult child to move back home.

According to a 2005 research study on Family Support During the Transition to Adulthood:

"On average, for those living at home and those living independently, parents provide roughly $38,000 in material assistance – housing, food, educational expenses, or direct cash assistance – throughout the transition to adulthood (from age 18 to age 34). This averages to approximately $2,200 annually."

Please note that the amount of material assistance, $38,000 is cited in 2001 dollars. When the amount is adjusted to 2009 dollars using the CPI Conversion Calculator, it is $46,694.

FCAA Culture of Foster Care Postcard Project

Amariana Crenshaw, today I am dedicating this FCAA Postcard to you....

An Injustice and An Atrocity

You will never get the chance to meet four-year-old Amariana Crenshaw.

Her life ended when she was burned beyond recognition by one or more Molotov cocktails landing on her while she slept on the floor of her foster mother’s rental property.

Medical records reveal that Amariana sustained at least 11 prior injuries during her time in foster mother Tracy Dossman’s care – including being pushed from a car.

Between the time that Amariana entered foster care and the time of her death, she dropped from the 83rd to the 3rd percential for her weight. Foster mother Tracy Dossman has been cited for numerous licensing violation – including two documented incidents of locking the refrigerator while Amariana lived with her.

Now, tell me this:

• Tell me why Tracy Dossman still has her foster parenting license.

• Tell me why Tracy Dossman has not been charged with a crime.

• Tell me why, at this very moment, five other foster children are residing in Tracy Dossman’s “home”

• Look me in the eye and explain to me why, after five black eyes and/or split and swollen lips, an injured leg and a molestation allegation, the conclusion drawn by DSS was that Amariana was “accident-prone.”

The California Department of Social Services says that until they complete the official inquiry, and unless they find Dossman in "noncompliance," they will not move to decertify her as a foster parent. Nor will they require the private agency that certifies Dossman to remove the other children.

"We're not there yet," says DSS spokeswoman Lizelda Lopez, who said it's not clear when a decision will come.

My question for Lopez and the other folks working at DSS is: "Would you trust YOUR children in Tracy Dossman's home?"

Sources:
Editorial: Who’s looking out for the next Amariana? Sacramento Bee, Feb. 14, 2010, pg. 6E.
Lundstrom, Marjie. Clinic records reveal more injuries. Sacramento Bee, Feb. 5, 2010, pg. 1A.

Challenges Facing Transitional Youth - Especially African American Young Men

Hearing this radio interview on NPR, and reading the research below concerns me - especially because of African Americans overrepresentation in foster care.

This is one of many reasons why the Ohio chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America is involved in dismantling the Cradle to Prison Pipeline in our state.

Our young people need better preparation and a network of support.



The Educational Crisis Facing Young Men of Color

• Young men are not persisting in school or achieving at the same academic levels as young women.

• This challenge is most acute for the most disadvantaged men of color. At just about every stage of the educational pipeline, they lag behind minority women in terms of achievement, persistence, and school and college completion.

High Unemployment Rate for African American Youth
• The current unemployment rate for black male youth, ages 16 to 19, is 52%

• Corporate Voices and the Ready by 21 Partnership are working to engage business leaders to create local partnerships within their communities.

Ohio County Map - Foster Care Youth & Alumni Communities

Please click on this image to view it at a larger size and higher resolution:

Ohio Children Abused or Neglected, By County

10TV News Coverage of FCAA Ohio Thanksgiving 2009

Fox News Coverage of FCAA Ohio Thanksgiving 2009

Rates of Poverty Growing Across the Nation

Also of note:

• The youth unemployment rate of summer 2009 was the highest on record.
• A record number (3.3 million) of job-seeking young people ages 16 to 24 are unemployed.

Lisa Dickson named Volunteer of the Year

Ohio Foster Care Alumna Named Volunteer of the Year
Foster Care Alumni of America names Lisa Dickson Volunteer of the Year

Washington, DC — The Board of Directors of Foster Care Alumni of America, the only national association for adults who experienced foster care as children, has named Ohio resident, Lisa Dickson, as Volunteer of the Year.

Lisa lived in foster care from ages 12-16, lived in a variety of placements, including group homes and an emergency shelter, and "aged out" of foster care and started college when she was 16 years old.  As the Communications Chair for the Ohio Chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America (FCAA), Lisa has been extremely effective in establishing the chapter and its members as a source of expertise in the state and around the country.  Lisa has led efforts to advocate for reinstating state funding for Independent Living services through advocacy visits with members of the state legislature, coordination with other advocates, and numerous opportunities for chapter members to testify before legislative committees.

The chapter has also been involved in Ohio Reach, a statewide effort to increase the recruitment and retention of foster care alumni in high education, and to establish foster care liaisons at Ohio universities, community college and technical schools.  Lisa’s commitment to supporting the leadership development of other alumni across the state has led to a very well trained and experienced core membership in the chapter and will serve to make the Ohio chapter sustainable well into the future.

Lisa has led the development of a number of trainings for FCAA including Emotional Resiliency, Purposeful Sharing and Real Life 101 workshops. She is dedicated to teaching professionals to effectively and respectfully engage alumni, to create understanding about how childhood trauma can affect an individual for their entire life, and to support young people and alumni to establish healthy boundaries and expectations in their personal, volunteer and professional relationships.

In addition to her activities at the state level, Lisa is a highly visible and effective national leader.  She has a strong presence online as a person who is always willing to ask tough questions about practice and policy in both foster care and adoption.  She has provided her technical expertise to numerous other FCAA members as well as the broader child welfare community (leading the establishment of a number of resource websites aimed at people in and from care and the professionals who serve them).  Lisa is a gifted trainer and often represents FCAA at state and national events as a keynote speaker and/or workshop presenter.

Lisa has recently been engaged FCAA’s Volunteer Social Media Coordinator.  This is a fitting evolution for an individual committed to making her own voice heard through blogs, forums, and social networks that are related to foster care. 

Foster Care Alumni of America’s Board of Directors named four Volunteers of the Year in 2009. In addition to Lisa, they celebrated the contributions of Ryan Dollinger (alumnus of foster care from Texas), Eshawn Peterson (alumna from Arizona) and consultant and retired juvenile and family court judge, Stephen Rideout of Virginia. 

About Foster Care Alumni of America: In 2004, foster care alumni and advocates created a national non-profit association that brings together the expertise of adults who have experienced foster care.  Foster Care Alumni of America (FCAA) was formed to engage the more than 12 million alumni of foster care and to advocate for the needs of the youth and alumni of foster care.

FCAA has nearly 3, 000 members from all 50 states. Through FCAA, alumni of foster care hope to create the ability to connect with one another in an organized and well-supported community and to use alumni expertise to transform the foster care system.

FCAA's mission seeks to provide innovation in the federal and state child welfare systems and effective and meaningful partnerships with child welfare organizations. FCAA has confidence that it can partner with others to reduce the numbers of children and youth in foster care and can improve the foster care experience through investments of their expertise and energy.

For more information on Foster Care Alumni of America, please visit our website at: www.fostercarealumni.org

# # #

Interview on WOSU NPR

Foster Kids Who Age Out of Care Face Tough Road

Mandie Trimble, WOSU News (2010-01-11).

COLUMBUS, OH (WOSU) - Many rites of passages come along with turning eighteen: high school graduation, voting, entering the work force or college. For most young people it means the first time away from home and parents, an exciting, albeit scary, time for which many teens have been anxiously waiting for years. But for youth who reach the age of majority while in foster care, the rite of passage comes with additional challenges.

Mandie Trimble asked FCAA Ohio Communications Chair, Lisa Dickson, about the resources available and the current challenges for Ohio foster youth "aging out" of foster care.

Thought on Approaching the New Year

We are approaching a new decade -- can you believe that?

I am hoping that it's a decade of continued positive change regarding improving outcomes for foster care youth/alumni. That's what I'll be working towards for the next 10 years.

Today, I am looking back and savoring every second and every moment of 2009...

During 2009, the Ohio chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America:

• Testified before legislators
• Visited various counties to build youth advisory boards
• Supported Ohio Reach efforts to increase the number of foster care youth enrolling in and graduating from college 
• Co-hosted the youth track of the NACAC conference
• Shared our insights nationally and locally
• Had Ohio's First Lady present during our Thanksgiving event

We will continue to move forward during the next decade...

The Real Research On Foster Care

As a former foster child and current youth advocate, the research I respect most comes from the Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.

Ohio Reach radio interview

We are now approaching a new decade -- can you believe that?

And I am hoping that it will be a decade of continued positive change regarding improving outcomes for foster care youth/alumni. 

That's what I'll be working towards...

Let's talk about Higher Education Outcomes.

I recently attended and presented at a 'College Night' for foster care youth and their mentors. The information shared was a bit overwhelming to participants, both mentors and youth, in terms of mapping out everything they needed to know.

In response, I offered to help develop a timeline, and some online resources for FCCS College Bound Mentoring Program mentors.

Below is a radio interview regarding Ohio Reach for WCUE/WOTL/WYTN (radio stations covering Toledo, Cleveland and Youngstown).

Ohio should do something like this 2010

The annual Voices for Change competition invites Virginia foster care youth and alumni to share their struggles in moving toward adulthood, in the form of artwork, poems, essays and photography.

Read the 2009 Voices for Change book which shares their reflections, achievements, and insights about what works and doesn’t work for kids in foster care as they transition to adulthood.

And, enjoy this link to a previous year's Voices for Change book, as well!

This ongoing iniative is sponsored by Voices for Virginia’s Children and the Virginia Poverty Law Center, in partnership with Art 180 and FACES of Virginia Families.

Unemployment Rate Highest for Ages 18-19

Facts:

• The national youth employment rate is at its lowest level in 60 years.

• Rates of unemployment are directly related to age.

• Nearly four million of the nation's unemployed are under age 25 - and that number does not include the hundreds of thousands of youth who have simply given up looking.

• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, young adults between ages 18-19 years old have the highest unemployment rate, at 25.6%.

• The unemployment rate for youth 16-24 years old who have not finished high school is over 30%.
  

In the aftermath of Ohio budget cuts, some counties are terminating the cases of foster care youth when they turn 18 years old, regardless of whether or not that young person has finished high school.

Due to frequent school changes, some of these young people are only in their junior year of high school.

Imagine being declared an independent adult when you are only a junior in high school. Being unemployed. Without family support. Lacking the money to buy food. Unable to afford housing.

For a young woman, there are programs - but only if she becomes pregnant. For a young man, there is only the local homeless shelter or food pantry.

Facts:

• At the very time when our young people are getting ready to launch into adulthood, and share their gifts and  talents with the world, their futures are being short-circuited.

• If that foster care youth had been sheltered by the state for only one or two years longer, they might at least have a diploma and be able to apply for higher education.

The Campaign for Youth is calling for a National Youth Initiative to create jobs for youth to work, while providing them with the wrap-around education, work skills, and supports that they need.

The Ohio chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America is calling for a statewide advocacy strategy to address shortsighted practices that are leading to Ohio foster care youth being pushed out of the nest without sufficient preparation and support.

Memories of My Mother Will Never Die While I'm Alive

It's my Birthday Eve and the "Shadow Year" is almost over...

All year, this year, I've been the same age that my mother was when she died.

So, every day in 2009, I've tried to make each day count and make a difference -- which has made it a Sunshine Year, after all..

FLUX: Life After Foster Care

More than 100 foster care alumni contributed to writing FLUX: Life After Foster Care, a book written to support young people during the emotional transition from foster care to adulthood.

There are many emotional challenges during the journey from foster care to adulthood, including:

• How to parent, when your only parent has been a 'system'
• How to build relationships, when you've learned not to trust
• How to handle contact with biological family members

Nobody knows the emotional journey better than the foster care alumni who have traveled that path firsthand... Read FLUX -- and join in the online book discussion!

FCAA Ohio Thanksgiving 2009

The Ohio chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America greatly appreciate the sponsoring organizations that made this year's Thanksgiving event possible, and the press representatives who shared our message with the local community:

• Congregation Agudas Achim
  
• Capital University Student Government
• Kappa Sigma Upsilon
• Jewish Student Organization of Capital
• Catering By Scott
• Franklin County Children Services
• ODJFS
• Columbus Dispatch
• 10-TV
• Fox News
• Columbus Literacy Council

We thank Ohio First Lady Frances Strickland for taking time out of her busy schedule to attend, and participate in, this year's Thanksgiving gathering of current and former foster youth from all across Ohio.

Foster Care Alumni of America Ohio chapter Thanksgiving Reunion 2009

Thanksgiving dinner provided for those who have experienced foster care
Crane, Misti. Columbus Dispatch front page, Nov. 23, 2009.

SHARI LEWIS | Dispatch
Riccardo Rushin, 19, of Canton, talks with his Stark County group at a Thanksgiving dinner in Bexley that drew about 100 Ohioans, many of whom are or have been in foster care. Rushin has lived on his own since he turned 18 and "aged out" of foster care.

They might have nowhere to go Thursday, or somewhere that feels safe but is only temporary.

Young people who've known the hardship of living without family and who've been challenged to find strength despite a shaky foundation found communion yesterday at a meal that came four days before the holiday but embodied its spirit.

Thanksgiving is about family. It's about grace and gratitude.

For foster children and young adults who've moved beyond their temporary homes, family in its conventional sense can be elusive.

About 100 people from across the state, many of whom are in foster care or recently "aged out," as they say, gathered yesterday afternoon at Agudas Achim, a Bexley synagogue.

Thanks to the kindnesses of others and the dogged advocacy of former foster child Lisa Dickson, they found camaraderie and Thanksgiving.

Dickson founded the Ohio chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America. She's 36 and has a family of her own, but she remembers the feeling of isolation that could accompany the holidays, particularly when she was a young adult.

"There wasn't a family to come back to; there weren't those roots," Dickson said.

"For a lot of people, the holidays can be the loneliest part."

In and of itself, being a foster child can be lonely, said Alex McFarland, who is 19 and president of the Ohio youth advisory board. He said it's worse when those outside the situation misunderstand.

"A lot of people have the image that we've done something wrong, when more than likely somebody's done something wrong to us," said McFarland, who lives in a suburb of Dayton.

The dinner was the third-annual -- the first in Columbus -- and was made possible because of a $1,000 donation from Capital University's student government that paid for food. The synagogue gave its space free, said Gabriel Koshinsky, vice president of student government and president of the Jewish Student Union.

The meal yesterday offered an opportunity to meet new people and learn about opportunities for foster children. It also gave guests the chance to reclaim the sense of belonging.

Dre Williams, who is 18 and lives in a foster home, and Kadeem Monroe, who is 19 and on his own, came to Columbus with a group from Stark County.

"I don't know how many days I felt like I was the only foster child in the world," Monroe said.

People who aren't part of the system don't understand the challenges or the emotional burdens or even how foster care works, the two said.

Williams said he wishes more good people would embrace children who can no longer live with their families, and that fewer people would invite foster children into their homes primarily for the money.

He's now living with Jodi Wilson, who has been a foster mom to 14 kids over 17 years. She maintains ties with many of them, and has a warm rapport with Williams.

"These kids are alone, or I believe they feel alone," said Wilson, who also works as supervisor of Stark County's independent-living program.

Bringing them together as a family of sorts is important, Wilson said.

"They have a common language, common experiences," she said.

"I'm 52, and I still talk to my mother every day. They don't have that."

SHARI LEWIS | Dispatch
Lisa Dickson, a former foster child who founded Ohio's chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America, snaps a memory of the event she sought.

2009 Ohio Summit on Children

During the Governor's second of two Ohio Summits on Children, foster care youth and alumni shared their insights during roundtables on:

1. Funding

• Leveraging local funds
• Coping with the escalating cost of services
• Flexible funding
• Countering TANF reductions

2. Systemic Issues

• Establishing a shared vision
• Developing/maintaining a continuum of care in this economic climate
• Measuring outcomes/data
• Connecting data systems
• Reducing staff turnover

3. Behavioral Health

• Access to services
• Placement prevention/intensive home-based services
• Early screening for mental health and developmental needs
• Application of trauma-informed care

4. Education

• Increasing graduation rates and academic performance
• Engaging youth who do not adapt to traditional education
• Engaging families and building community partnerships
• Creating safe schools and healthy communities
• Supporting children with autism spectrum disorders and their families

5. Building and Sustaining Local Planning Teams

• Developing a high-functioning Family and Children First Council
• Engaging all partners
• Integrating Summit and HB 289 plans
• Developing leadership

6. Health

• Access to health care
• Timely screening and coordination of care
• Teen pregnancy
• Prevention and prenatal care

7. Out-of-Home Care

• Supporting kinship programs
• Ensuring the sufficient availability of foster homes
• Short-term residential/step-down care
• Timely adoption of children in permanent custody

8. Family Engagement

• Involvement of fathers
• Parenting skill development
• Parent advocacy/family-driven plans
• Families separated by incarceration

9. Youth in Court

• Truancy
• Violent youth crime
• Alternatives to incarceration/detention
• Disproportionate minority contact

10. Transitioning Youth Out of the System

• Youth employment/WIA
• Housing
• Health care needs
• Post-secondary education

Permanency Or Independent Living? It's NOT an Either/Or Situation

As a former foster child, I've been saying this for years:

"The child welfare system tends to focus on where to place youth.

"But regardless of placement, whether a young person ends up being adopted, reuniting with biological parents, being connected with family members or staying in a group home, foster home, institution or juvenile facility...

"They still need to have the tools necessary to build relationships and to ensure their long-term physical and emotional survival."

Glad that the experts are catching up!

Pieces of Me: Voices For & By Adopted Teens

Pieces of Me, Who do I Want to Be? is a collection of stories, poems, art, music, quotes, activities, and provocative questions for an adopted teen or young adult who wants to put the pieces of their adoption story together - but doesn’t know where to begin.

It is a book of voices, from ages 11 to 63, speaking honestly and authentically about what it means to be adopted. Most are adoptees from around the world – some are transracial, some are international, some are from foster care, some are young, some are old.

The book is separated into five sections:

• Gathering the Pieces
• Stolen Pieces
• Fitting the Pieces
• Sharing the Pieces
• Where do These Pieces Go?

Each chapter offers hope, encouragement, empowerment, and a sense of not being alone.

ISBN 9780972624442
www.emkpress.com/teenbook.html
info@emkpress.com

Filling Family Portraits: An Ohio Adoption Advocacy Event

Who: Adoption advocates, adoptive families, adoptees When: Friday, November 6th, 2009, from Noon - 1:00 p.m.
Where: The Ohio Statehouse, West Lawn, Statehouse Steps
Sponsored by: OACCA, PCSAO, Ohio Adoption Planning Group, Adoption Network Cleveland, OFCA, Ohio CASA, ODJFS, Children's Defense Fund, National Center for Adoption Law and Policy, IHS, and Voices for Ohio's Children.


Agenda:

• Pledge of Allegiance led by Rebecka and Moriah Miller
• Greg Kapcar, Public Children's Services Association of Ohio
• Penny Wyman, Ohio Association of Child Caring Agencies
• Senator Eric Kearney
• Representative Marian Harris
• Peter Schoepflin, Adoptive Parent
• Christine Johnson, Adoptee
• Call to Action from Lisa Dickson, Foster Care Alumni of America Ohio chapter

Did You Know?
One in five children who are waiting in foster care to be adopted will have to leave the system without a family at age 18 or 21. As many as 26,000 children will "age out" in the U.S. alone. (AFCARS Report, U.S. Dept. HHS)

Lisa Dickson's Call to Action:
"I aged out of foster care in 1989 - but it wasn't until over a decade later, in the year 2000, that my picture frame was finally filled." (At this point Lisa held up her wedding photo). "I was 27 years old when I married my husband, and finally became a legal member of a forever family.”

“Our children shouldn't have to wait that long. We can do so much better for the young people in and from foster care today. Every year, over a thousand Ohio youth "age out" of the foster care system without being connected with forever families.”

"When I married my husband, I became a stepmother to his two beautiful daughters. We've been married for ten years now, and I learn more every day about what it's like to love two children who are not biologically my daughters - but whom I love more than anything.”

"As I watch my stepdaughters enter their teenage years, and young adulthood, I know that my husband and I will be there for them no matter what. They won't face the uncertainty that I faced as a child.”

"They will know that they are loved. They will know that they are safe. They will know that they have a place to belong to.”

"If they make a mistake while budgeting in college, they won't be homeless. If the road is difficult, I won't pull over the car, and tell them to get out. They will know that, even during the hard times, my love will still be there.”

"There are more than 3,000 children in Ohio who are waiting for that kind of assurance and certainty today.”

"Right now, at this moment, is an opportunity to fill their picture frames with our love. Our consistency. Our perseverance.”

"We who are here today have the strength to love, and the confidence to let adoptees tell us their story. We can build pictures of the future, and face pictures of the past. We can open our hearts and our homes, and provide FOREVER.”

Lisa Dickson, Communications Chair of Foster Care Alumni of America's Ohio chapter, speaks from the heart at the Nov. 6th Adoption Rally “Filling Family Portraits” on the Statehouse Steps. OACCA Weekly, Nov. 9, 2009.

Consequences of Dropping Out of High School

*Source of chart: Dillon, Sam. Study Finds High Rate of Imprisonment Among Dropouts. New York Times, Oct. 8, 2009.

According to Andrew Sum, Director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern, being a dropout in 21st century America is one of the country’s costliest problems.

Learn more about:

- The Consequences of Dropping Out of High School

- The Costs and Benefits of an Excellent Education for All of America’s Children

(Please note that the link to the costs & benefits source is slower to load...)

Recessions Can Scar Children's Futures

I agree with Katie Couric that one story that hasn't been told is the impact of the recession on children and youth -- not just current struggles, but implications for the future.

Research by the Economic Policy Institute indicates the recessions create long-term hardships for children and families, putting children's futures at great risk.