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.