Kudos to NACAC

Kudos to the NACAC Board of Directors for passing a position statement identifying services and supports that should be provided to youth at risk of aging out of care and those who do leave care without a permanent family.

Read the statement

Aging Out of New York Foster Care Into Homelessness

A recent report from the Center for an Urban Future found that:

• One in 10 youth in New York City who emancipated from foster care in the mid-2000s entered a homeless shelter within the first year 
• Within three years, that number doubled to one in five.

15% of Ohio Foster Youth "Age Out" of Care

According to Table 3: States with largest percent of total exits due to youth aging out (FY 2009):

1,453 Ohio youth "aged out" of foster care in 2009

National Governor's Association Report on Foster Care, Transition to Adulthood

The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices released a 2010 report on The Transition to Adulthood: How States Can Support Older Youth in Foster Care, which provides states with strategies for supporting foster youth as they age out of the foster care system and transition to adulthood.

The Table of Outcomes for Foster Youth Compared With Youth in General, on page 4, is a particularly helpful tool for advocacy.

Did You Know About This Progress in Florida?

Normalcy for Foster Care Youth
"For many years youth in state care were not able to participate in the same types of activities as their peers. In order to fix that problem, the state is now required to include a “normalcy” component in the case plan.

According to Fla. Admin. Code 65C-30.007(10), youth should be encouraged and supported in taking part in extracurricular activities, obtaining work, attending social events, learning how to drive and doing all the other normal things that youth do.

Preparation for Adulthood
Florida law requires that transition planning begin for youth in state care at age 13 with the adoption of an education or career plan The state is required to conduct a “pre-independent living assessment” for all youth between the ages of 13 and 15.

It should then identify services needed to meet the needs identified in the assessment. The state must then conduct a staffing once a year to ensure that the youth receives the services and training necessary to develop independent living skills. Florida Statute §409.1451(4)(a).

Forging An Education and Career Path
Beginning at age 13, the youth’s case plan must include “an educational and career path” component based on the abilities and interests of each child. Florida Statute §409.1451(3) (b)1.

This path must be incorporated in the case plan and must be reviewed at each judicial hearing. The youth, assisted by foster parents and DCF or the CBC, must chose one of these post-secondary goals:
1. Obtaining a 4-year university degree.
2. Obtaining a 2-year college degree.
3. Obtaining a career/technical certificate.
4. Beginning employment or apprenticeship after completing high school or enlisting in the military.

It's Not Too Late to Apply for HUD's Family Unification Program

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has given public housing authorities nationwide until December 1, 2010 to apply for Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers through the Family Unification Program (FUP).

• FUP vouchers can be used to help foster youth with their housing needs in transitioning from foster care to adulthood.

• For FUP vouchers to be successful, and for youth to actually receive this assistance, child welfare organizations must build a strong partnership with their local housing authorities.

Learn more at the National Center for Housing and Child Welfare.

Number of Youth Aging out of Foster Care Continues to Rise; Increasing 64 percent since 1999

The Fostering Connections Resource Center serves as a library of child welfare information and resources to help states and tribes in their efforts to implement the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008.

By encouraging states to invest more resources in supporting foster youth’s transition to adulthood, federal lawmakers hope that the new law will help more youth leaving foster care have independent and productive lives.

Roth, M.M., et al (2010). Excerpts from Number of Youth Aging out of Foster Care Continues to Rise; Increasing 64 percent since 1999

• During the past 10 years, the number of children who age out of the foster care system has increased steadily, with a nearly 64 percent increase. 
• Since 1999, approximately 228,000 youth have "aged out" of foster care nationally.
• The percentage of the total foster care caseload over the age of 14 has increased steadily since 1998.
• The percentage of children and youth in foster care who are 14 through 18 has continued to grow while financial resources to serve this population through the Chafee Foster Care Independence Act has remained the same each year.

Healthcare for Transitional Foster Care Youth

Every year, 26,000 youth emancipate from foster care on their 18th birthday - many of whom immediately lose vital medical coverage as a result.

At this point, only 32 states extend Medicaid coverage to foster care youth beyond age 18.

Even when states do extend Medicaid coverage for foster care youth until age 21, actually being able to access that coverage has been a major challenge for many transitional foster care youth. In Ohio, for example, many transitional foster care youth have waited months to receive their card, only to then have their Medicaid services dropped prematurely.

The National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators has authored an issue brief, Addressing the Health Care Needs of Transitioning Youth, that describes how some States are working to provide health care to youth who are transitioning out of foster care and into independence.

The Fostering Connections Act of 2008 requires States to create and maintain a health oversight and coordination plan for each young person in foster care, in order to ensure that each child receives regular and comprehensive care, access to services beyond his or her 18th birthday, and a medical passport.



InsureKidsNow.gov, a website that offers State-specific information on health insurance coverage for children through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, now offers an online toolkit for professionals.

The National Children's Healthcare Toolkit, designed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services contains a variety of information, materials, tools, and tactics to assist in education and outreach efforts.

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."

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.

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.

Top Five Online Resources for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care

1.) Foster Care Alumni of America's mission is to connect the alumni community and to transform policy and practice, ensuring opportunity for people in and from foster care: http://www.fostercarealumni.org/

2.) FosterClub provides online networking and the opportunity to apply to become an All-Stars, and travel the country inspiring their younger peers and infusing youth perspective into the child welfare system: http://www.fosterclub.com/

3.) The National Independent Living Association is committed to enhancing the futures of young people by promoting quality services including technical assistance, youth advocacy, and support mechanisms to assist youth who are making the transition into adulthood: http://www.nilausa.org/

*Please note: Now that the Casey It's My Life conference is on hiatus, the annual NILA conference is the primary conference that facilitates interaction between foster care youth, foster care alumni and child welfare professionals this year.

4.) Orphan Foundation of America is the country’s leading provider of scholarships for foster youth pursuing higher education. They have a virtual mentoring program to support students seeking higher ed: http://www.statevoucher.org/

5.) Youth Communication helps teenagers develop their skills in reading, writing, thinking, and reflection, so they can acquire the information they need to make thoughtful choices about their lives: http://www.youthcomm.org/

Do 1 Thing to Help Homeless Youth

Long-term Cost of Abandoning Young Adults = More Expensive Than Helping Them

APPENDIX A: COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF THE TRANSITION GUARDIAN PLAN
Tom Packard, D.S.W., School of Social Work, San Diego State University, Nov. 2006





SUMMARY
● In purely financial terms, this program, if fully successful, would have a benefit-cost ratio of 3 to 1 (using present value dollars, the ratio is nearly 2 to 1).

FURTHER RESOURCES:
● California’s Fostering Connections to Success Act and the Costs and Benefits of Extending Foster Care to 21 By Mark E. Courtney, Amy Dworsky and Clark Peters; Partners for Our Children; March 2009.
● Expanding Transitional Services for Emancipated Foster Youth: An Investment in California's Tomorrow by the Children’s Advocacy Institute, January 2007.
● Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth: Outcomes at Age 19: Chapin Hall Executive Summary by Mark E. Courtney and Amy Dworsky, 2005.

Mapping Out a Cost-Benefit Ratio for Investing in Transitional Youth

Comic strip courtesy of Mark Stivers at http://www.markstivers.com/

Failure to Launch is not just a movie.

Today, most young adults in the general population rely upon their families for assistance with a place to live, financial support and other guidance as they transition to adulthood.

According to Children's Rights, half of young adults ages 18-24 in the general population in the United States live with their parents.

Meanwhile, every year, 20,000 of the 542,000 children in foster care nationwide "age out" of foster care and enter the adult world.

Young people in foster care have already survived harsh circumstances, such as neglect, abuse and/or abandonment. Their "parent" is a system.

And, too often, this system fails to equip them with the knowledge, skills, experience, attitudes, habits, and relationships that will enable them to be productive and connected members of society.

In the words of Melanie Delgado, Staff Attorney for the Children's Advocacy Institute, "Even for average youth - kids who never had the added struggle of life in foster care - the age of self-sufficiency is 26. And that's with their parents contributing over $44,000 during their post-18 transitional period."

But forget about compassion. Silence any voice of conscience. Try to be hard-boiled for a minute and see the whole thing through the spectrum of money.

Guess what? It is still worth it.

According to Dr. Mark Courtney of the Chapin Hall Center for Children,“Every $1 invested in continued foster care supports and services results in a return of $2.40."

"Our research shows that supporting foster youth to 21 increases their ability to become educated, productive, taxpaying members of society, and increases their lifetime earning potential by at least $92,000.”

Let's review the risk factors faced by young people aging out of foster care without support:
- 1 in 4 become incarcerated within two years of leaving foster care.
- Less than 50% graduate from high school; fewer than 5% graduate from college.
- 1 in 5 experience homelessness within a year and a half of aging out of foster care.

Where would we rather invest our money? What would we rather pay for?

1. Incarceration: The easiest transition between "systems" is between the juvenile justice and the adult prison system. Even for young people with no criminal background, the one place they are guaranteed to receive food and housing after foster care is prison.

So, no, we don't need to intervene. We can just wait for a struggling young person to find "family" in a gang. Chances are, they won't be able to afford an apartment in a very safe area. I couldn't, when I first aged out of care. My neighbors were drug dealers. My first roommate, also a former foster child, quickly fell into a criminal lifestyle.

Forget conscience, just think of dollars and cents: According to the National Institute of Corrections, Ohio taxpayers pay over $26,295 per inmate.

2. Unemployment: Right now, young people are "aging out" of foster care in the midst of recession. Depending on where they might have resided while in care, such as a residential facility or a group home, they often have little to no job experience.

We have the opportunity to invest in workforce planning, funded by the Workforce Investment Act. We could link them with job shadowing opportunities. Or would we prefer to just set them adrift and let them sink or swim?

Dollars and cents: In Ohio, the average monthly unemployment check is $1,327.

According to the report, California's Fostering Connections to Success Act and the Costs and Benefits of Extending Foster Care to 21, foster care youth who received support until age 21 experienced the following positive outcomes:

- Three times more likely to enroll in college.
- 65% less likely to have been arrested.
- 38% reduction in the risk of teen pregnancy.

The National Campaign to Prevent Teenage Pregnancy estimates the taxpayer cost of unwed pregnancy in Ohio to be $1,512 per teen birth.

For a starting point to map out the cost-benefits for your area, it might help to read over Expanding Transitional Services for Emancipated Foster Youth: An Investment in California's Tomorrow.

The Appendix breaks down some of the costs and benefits including:
- A Logic Model that maps out Inputs, Throughputs and Expected Outcomes
- Prison Recidivism savings
- Benefits from Higher Levels of Graduation
- Improvement on Lifetime Earnings
- Benefits to the State and Federal Treasuries through paid taxes
- Benefits of stimulating and supporting the economy as a whole

Aging out of foster care during a recession

The National Center for Family Homelessness just released a report indicating that 1 in 50 children is homeless in the United States every year.

It's also important to understand the risk of homelessness for young people aging out of foster care, and the need to invest in improving their chances of success.

1.) In 2008, the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition contracted with Philadelphia Safe and Sound to study the needs and experiences of youth in Philadelphia who had become homeless after aging-out of the child welfare system.

Aged-Out and Homeless in Philadelphia:
Researchers found that along the continuum of care that these youth received, there were service providers, administrative and legislative policies, families, and "support networks" that were inconsistent, contradictory, negligent, and impeding on youth success.

Quote from study: "In any given year, there are approximately 500,000 children in foster care throughout the United States. Of these, about 20,000 age out each year and are at risk for a variety of problems, including homelessness, un-/under-employment, criminal activity, and a lack of education."

2.) The Congressional Research Service released a 2007 report on Runaway and Homeless Youth. By the close of fiscal year 2005, close to 11,000 foster youth ran away from their placements and 24,000 young people "aged out" of foster care.

3.) A 2005 Survey of Homeless Youth in Minnesota conducted by the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation revealed that 7 out of 10 of these young people spent time as children in a foster home, group home, or other residential facility.

4.) In 2008, Voices from the Street: A Survey of Homeless Youth by Their Peers was facilitated by the California Research Bureau. Homeless and formerly homeless youth conducted interviews of their currently and formerly homeless peers across the state, inviting them to share their experiences, the services they need, and changes they would like to see happen in policy or law.

Quote from study: “Those young people in our study for whom foster care was a trajectory into homelessness often described an instability and ‘emotional homelessness’ that began long before they literally had no roof over their heads.”

5.) Web of Failure: The Relationship Between Foster Care & Homelessness
In 1995, the National Alliance to End Homelessness conducted national research to examine the over-representation in the homeless population of people with a foster care history.

Principle findings of this study:
- There is an over-representation of people with a foster care history in the homeless population.

- Homeless people with a foster care history are more likely than other people to have their own children in foster care.

- Very frequently, people who are homeless had multiple placements as children: some were in foster care, but others were "unofficial" placements in the homes of family or friends.

- Those people with a foster care history tend to become homeless at an earlier age than those who do not have a foster care history.

- Childhood placement in foster care can correlate with a substantial increase in the length of a person's homeless experience.

Housing After Foster Care

One in five former foster children report experiencing homelessness after "aging out" of foster care.

Investing in housing programs for young people between 18-25 years old is an opportunity to offer hope and assistance to young people during the "launching period" of their lives.

It is also a financially savvy front-end investment.

How would you prefer that your tax dollars be spent?
Wouldn't you rather invest in these 25,000 young people aging out of foster care each year before they enter into situations of chronic homelessness, unwed pregnancy, unemployment and incarceration?

Doesn't it make more sense to intervene during their late-teens and early-20s, a time when young people have an open mind, high level of energy and are actively engaged in the process of directing their future lives?

Or would we rather wait now, and pay later? Left unchecked, the cycle will continue: 1 in 4 homeless adults is a former foster child.

Homeless shelters created for adults are not the answer
Young adults differ from the adult homeless population, because they have unique developmental needs. With encouraging support and timely resources, it is possible to empower young people and build them into future leaders.

Investing in a brighter future
Here are some examples of how states provide specialized services to effectively support young people in acquiring stable housing:

1. California:
- First Place Fund for Youth provides two-bedroom apartments in San Francisco, financial assistance to pay housing start-up costs, and monthly rental subsidies.

- Larkin Street Youth Services’ LEASE program has scattered site apartments for youth who have emancipated from San Francisco's foster care system.

- Orangewood Children's Foundation in Los Angeles has two residential apartment complexes with an on-site residential counselor. Youth pay rent on a sliding scale, according to their financial ability.

2. Colorado uses FUP funds to provide housing assistance to youth for a maximum of 18 months. The young person must be between the ages of 18‐21, have spent time in foster care on or after their 16th birthday and currently lack adequate housing.

3. Connecticut has a Community Housing Assistance Program that provides either site-based or scattered site apartments for youth age 17-21 who are transitioning out of foster care and into independent living. They require youth to account for forty productive hours per week, e.g. time devoted to classes, study, training, part-time work, internships, volunteer work, apprenticeships or counseling.

4. Delaware provides Life Lines Housing Programs which allow youth to stay in the program for 18 months to three years, depending upon their job status or educational enrollment status.

5. Illinois developed a Youth Housing Assistance Program that uses Chafee funding to provide housing assistance to young people in and from foster care between the ages of 17 - 21.

6. New Jersey provides a Shared Living Residence Rental Housing Program to acquire land, build housing or rehabilitate existing housing.

7. New York City Housing Authority offers a Section 8 Priority Code for young people aging out of the foster care system. This program provides Section 8 vouchers or public housing units.

8. North Carolina offers Transitional Housing Funds of up to $1,500 per year to help with room and board expenses.

9. Ohio has 88 counties - only three of which have developed youth housing programs:

- Daybreak's Milestones program for young people ages 17-21 provides housing, counseling, educational support and tutoring, employment-readiness and life skills training and two years of follow up.

- Lighthouse Youth Services provides a tiered housing system that allows room for temporary setbacks as young people transition to the adult world.

- Starr Commonwealth provides an independent living program called MyPlace, designed to help ease the transition to adulthood. Young people, ages 16 to 18, live on their own in one of 16 furnished apartments, and are provided with adult support.

10. Vermont offers a Housing Support Program for young people between the ages of 18-22. Qualifying youth receive a grant of up to $5,000 to cover housing and related expenses. They may also receive supplemental funds for college textbooks and lab fees.

As a New Year's Resolution, please think about how you can replicate one or more of these programs in your state....

Designing a Website for Youth Emancipating From Foster Care

A valued friend of mine recently asked my insights regarding designing a web page for young people in her state who are "aging out" of foster care. Here is what I shared with her...

Many sites for youth include low-quality cartoons and Clip Art, rather than photographs. It's almost as if the website designers think that young adults are like children. I believe that teenagers can see right through that. I certainly could!

It's difficult to emotionally identify with Clip Art. If I were designing a young website, I would either provide photos of real-life foster care alumni and/or artwork drawn by talented young people in and from foster care, like the example above.

I would also make the content relevant to survival. When we first age out of foster care, we need to survive. That's why I like this Aussie site, because the list of topics listed at the top of the page are relevant to young people.

When I first aged out of foster care, there was a cycle that I experienced in my life. And, I see that same cycle playing out in the lives of many young people today:

The first step is: Isolation and Independence: "I can make it, I know I can! And I won't have to depend on anyone else either. The one person that I can count on is me."

The second step is: Hitting the Wall. Not having enough money to buy food. Getting involved in a dysfunctional friend/lover relationship, and feeling trapped and without other viable options. Being temporarily homeless - and wondering if this experience will last forever...

The third step is: Gotta Survive. I cannot express strongly enough how powerful this impulse is. It testifies to the power of human survival. When you are hungry and don't have food, your stomach begins to speak, louder and louder. Its growls are persistent; they stop for a moment, but eventually return.

That third step is is a doorway of entry for people who truly care and want to make a difference: Talk to me when I've hit the wall. Talk to me when I'm broken. Because all I can do at that point is listen - and, in that moment, I am just desperate enough to listen to you....

When young people emancipate from foster care, it's like a fork in the road:
- They can be empowered - or disenfranchised
- They can learn to see themselves as 'agents of change' or 'recipients of (government) services'
- They can feel powerful or powerless over their ultimate destiny

One facet of every youth page should be a call to action, and a reminder of personal accountability. People of all ages respond to the level of expectations.

And there should be opportunities to 'Band Together' to make that positive difference, both in our own live and the lives of others. None of us succeeds or fails alone.

Biological Families and Air Mask Analogy

Does this statement sound familiar?

"In the event of an emergency, please secure your own breathing apparatus first before placing one on the person next to you."

When young people "age out" of foster care without being connected to "forever families," they often have nowhere to turn in times of crisis during young adulthood other than their biological families.

However, the issues that led to their being placed in foster care in the first place, such as abuse or addiction, are often still unresolved.

During the 2007 It's My Life conference, Jenny Vinopal, Correy Kitchens, Nayely Araiza and Cynthia Chavez led a workshop entitled: Biological Parents and College Students from Foster Care: Roles, Relationships, and Recommendations.

This workshop was based on the premise that family-of-origin issues can negatively or positively affect the college success of youth from foster care.

Workshop participants were given puzzle pieces that didn't match - in order to demonstrate the difficulty that is sometimes experienced in reuniting with birth families after aging out of foster care.

One presenter shared that when she was in college, her biological mother found out about the stipend and grants that she was receiving and started relying on her daughter to financially support her.

This issue is all too prevalent in my state.
1. A young woman who feels obligated to financially support her (physically abusive) stepmother because of promise that she made to her father while he was on his deathbed.

2. A young man who gave away the laptop he received to his sister and said that he "lost it."

3. A young woman who keeps taking needy people into her apartment, regardless of their inability and/or unwillingness to pay their share of the rent. This situation reminds me a lot of myself at her age.

What's the Solution?
I am currently working on designing a workshop titled: "When Helping You Is Hurting Me."

Premise:
- It is vitally important for young people to develop healthy boundaries.
- When young people first age out of care, trying to save everyone around them right away can be like a drowning man trying to keep other people afloat
- Peer support can be helpful; being with other people from a similar background who are working to create a positive life for themselves and who care about each other

Strengths:
- Young people aging out of foster care have a powerful sense of urgency
- If they invest in personal development in order to personally survive, they can achieve the goals they have for their future
- Part of those goals will undoubtedly be wanting to give back.

But trying to give back right away can cost us in the long run.

Message to Survivors of Foster Care: "Please put the air mask on yourself first. It might feel selfish at the time - but it is NOT selfish! You have the passion, power and perseverance to see this through.... but first, you need to SURVIVE.

"It is okay to do that right now. It is okay to heal personally. It is okay to surround yourself with people who believe in you and support you.

Do you know why? Because if only you can make it through this hurdle and build into your own personal financial, emotional and educational resources, you will have SO MUCH MORE to offer others when you are on your feet. "

Aging Out of Foster Care in Connecticut

After a keynote address that I gave to an audience of youth from all over the nation at the 2008 NILA conference, highlighting some of the best practices to Change the Odds from across the nation...

... a foster care alumna named Krystal came up to me and said: "Hey, you left my state out!"

I spent time with her and the other people from her group and learned about all sorts of wonderful initiatives in Connecticut. Here are four of the many things that I learned...

1.) Education

Because Connecticut youth can stay in foster care until age 23, they can continue to receive educational support to receive their Masters degree. This, to me, is a powerful incentive to take a full course load and make good grades, in order to graduate college on time and then immediately enter graduate school.

It also gives foster care youth with mental health challenges and substance abuse histories some extra time to “find the right fit” at college.

2.) Housing

The regional offices work with vendors to provide youth with a vacuum, food allowance and start-up supplies.

3.) Vital Documents

The goal is for young people to know how to drive before aging out of foster care. The state pays half the cost of driver’s education classes. When the youth age out of care, they sign for themselves to get a drivers license.

It’s part of their case plan for youth to leave with:
- An original copy of their birth certificate and Social Security card
- A drivers license (to sign for selves immediately upon discharge)
- A copy of their immunization records

4.) Youth Advisory Boards

Connecticut has 13 regional offices, and 9 of these regions have youth advisory boards. They meet once per month. Then, they are all invited to the quarterly statewide meetings at the Commissioner's Office, where youth are able to have dialogue with the commissioner.

Lawsuits as change-makers?

The American Civil Liberties Union sued Connecticut, and charged that the state had failed to adequately protect abused and neglected children. The state’s child welfare system was put under outside supervision.

The state of Connecticut was required to “pay for and fund the costs for the establishment, implementation, compliance, maintenance and monitoring of all mandates in this consent decree" as well as all directives by the supervising panel.

In the same way that deaths and lawsuits are the primary way that foster care issues come to public attention, sometimes it takes mandates and a Consent Decree to propel a child welfare system towards reform. This is something that breaks my heart - but I cannot deny its reality.

My hope is that my state and many others can learn from Connecticut's reform efforts and dedicate our time and effort to creating similar programs and resources in our area.