Campaign for Youth

The Campaign for Youth is an alliance of organizations working together to increase resources for disconnected youth.

They are inviting education and youth-focused organizations to sign on in support of its Strategy Memo, and to collaborate in order to engage the next administration in reconnecting youth.

Mentoring and Foster Care

January is National Mentoring Month, and my top priority in 2008 is linking teenagers in foster care with mentors.

Resiliency research consistently identifies the presence of a supportive and caring adult in the lives of children and youth who succeed despite adversity and hardship (Osterling and Hines, 2006).

Yet, for the 520,000 children in the United States foster care system, one key challenge they face is the lack of a consistent, caring adult in their lives. For children in foster care, grown-ups move in and out of their lives as they transition from home to home.

Every year, 20,000 teenagers “age out” of the foster care system and are left to fend for themselves. During this transition period, they are at risk for homelessness, unplanned pregnancy, substance abuse, unemployment and criminal behavior.

A mentor can play a crucial role in preparing a young person for this jarring transition. Research indicates that mentoring programs for teenagers in the foster care system represent a preventative strategy to prevent negative outcomes as they emancipate from the foster care system and transition into young adulthood.

Mentors buffer foster care youth from negative outcomes by providing a supportive and trusting relationship, serving as a role model and assisting foster care youth in acquiring independent living skills (Osterling and Hines, 2006).

Mentoring programs are also cost-effective, because they address a fundamental need for many foster youth and do not depend on extensive resources. Therefore, they represent a practical approach to prevention and intervention with this population.

Successful Models of Mentoring Foster Care Children:

1. Advocates to Successful Transition to Independence program (ASTI) was a program run by a community-based nonprofit agency, conducted in two phases over two years. The study found that mentoring helps prevent negative outcomes as young people emancipate from the foster care system and transition into young adulthood. After twelve months of participation in a mentoring program, foster care youth exhibited improved social skills, a higher level of trust in adults, and self-esteem enhancement (Rhodes, 1999).

2. Mentoring USA was the first mentoring program in the United States to specifically address the needs of young people in foster care.

3. AFC (Adoption and Foster Care) Mentoring is a program in Boston, Massachusetts that provides both one-on-one and group mentoring for young people in foster care. Some of their mentors are alumni of the foster care system.

4. In My Shoes is a non-profit, peer-mentoring organization in Arizona that pairs foster care alumni with foster care youth. It was founded by my friend Christa Drake in July 2003, with the purpose of assisting 16 and 17-year-olds in the foster care system as they prepare for their transition to adulthood.

5. Fostering Healthy Connections Through Peer Mentoring was initiated by Child Welfare League of America, supported by FosterClub and piloted in Louisville, Kentucky. The program trains former foster youth to mentor current foster youth.

It is currently being implemented in Franklin County, Ohio by PCSAO, with the support of the Ohio chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America.

6. The Orphan Foundation of America moderates an e-mentoring group, which is funded by a three-year grant that they received from the Northrop Grumman Foundation.

References
Britner, Preston A., Fabrico E. Balcazar, Elaine A. Blechman, Lynn Blinn-Pike, and Simon Larose.(2006). "Mentoring Special Populations." Journal of Community Psychology 34:6, p. 747-763.

Clayden Jasmine and Mike Stein (2005). Mentoring Young People Leaving Care: ‘Someone for Me.’ Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

“Peer-to-peer shows success in Louisville pilot.” (2007). Children’s Voice 16:3, p. 35.

Osterling, Kathy L. and Alice M. Hines. (2006). “Mentoring Adolescent Foster Youth: Promoting Resilience During Developmental Transitions.” Child and Family Social Work 11:2, p. 42-253.

Rhodes, Jean E., Wendy L. Haight and Ernestine Briggs. (1991). “The Influence of Mentoring on the Peer Relationships of Foster Youth in Relative and Nonrelative Care. Journal of Research on Adolescence 9:2,185-201.

Tapping into the vision and passion of former foster children

It has been said that 'a picture is worth a thousand words.'

With that in mind, my husband and I created a video to illustrate what can be accomplished by empowering foster care alumni.

Please take the time to watch this video. If you are a MAC user, this link might work better for you, but might be a bit slow to initially load.

It is an opportunity to learn more about Foster Care Alumni of America, the Culture of Foster Care postcard project, and the recent Thanksgiving dinner at Capitol Hill.

As a former foster child, volunteering for Foster Care Alumni of America is my highest privilege. There are some things that money cannot buy -- and the honor of using your own personal experiences and those of other survivors to make a positive difference is one of them.

The experience is both healing and eye-opening. I used to think that the highest goal was to 'speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.' Now, I have learned that a better goal is to empower others to advocate, and to stand beside them in order to create a 'collective voice' which is more difficult to silence.

I created the video at the request of a conference facilitator who is considering me as a keynote presenter in 2008.

I am sharing it here, because it demonstrates what needs to happen throughout the United States, and across over the globe. We need to:

1. Dispel the stigma of foster care, and view survival behavior within its context, rather than pathologizing it.

2. Challenge survivors to view themselves not as victims, but as potential world-changers.

3. Listen to the voices of foster care youth and alumni and empower them to initiate change, since they are the 'consumers' of the foster care system.

4. Facilitate the development of foster care youth advisory boards and alumni peer support groups, recognizing that a permanent community can provide healing from a lifetime of broken connections.

5. Make child protection a priority. Thanks goes out to Megan Bayliss and all the authors and readers of Imaginif child protection became serious business.

New Years Eve

I have been working all day to create a board game about the experience of aging out of foster care for an upcoming presentation.

Finally, I decided to take a break!

As I searched the Internet for foster care news, it was a happy surprise to me to find that I have been quoted on the website of the Kirpa Life Skills Training Center.

Lisa and hubby at Winter Ball

Taking me to the Winter Ball was my husband's birthday present to me this year!

More pictures from the Winter Ball

Helen Jones-Kelley at the Winter Ball

ODJFS Director Helen Jones-Kelley with Doris Edelmann of Montgomery County Children Services

Winter Ball

Voicing Independent Solutions in Our Neighborhoods youth advisory board

During my childhood, I participated in the same activities as my friends - but something happened when I entered the foster care system.

It was as if I were a different person. Suddenly, I became a “group home girl” and a “foster kid.” People treated me differently. They increased their restrictions and lowered their expectations.

Schools initially placed me in remedial classes, until records arrived to notify them that I was an Honors student.

While my oldest stepdaughter prepared for Homecoming this year, I looked through a photo album from my teenage years. It is filled with photographs of my friends from high school, all dressed up for dances that I was never allowed to attend.

Thankfully, there were staff members who advocated for me to participate in school activities, such as: Junior Miss, All-State Chorus tryouts, art competitions and school plays.

Not only did participation make me feel more “normal,” but it also impressed my college admissions counselor to allow me to start college when I was 16 years old.

It is the advocates in our lives who make a difference.

Thanks to the initiative of VISION youth advisory board and the support of Doris Edelmann and Stacia Burlingame, foster care youth in Ohio have their very own dance to attend. As a foster care alumna, it was my privilege to attend as well!

This year marked the third annual Winter Ball. The youth advisory board chose the colors, food, music and theme. ODJFS Director Helen Jones-Kelley came to show her support. There were approximately 180 youth and 20 adults in attendance. Participants voted for a Winter Ball king and queen.

My wish for the New Year is that, in 2008, youth advisory boards in each of Ohio’s 88 counties will be empowered to create and implement activities like this one!

Tips on creating a chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America

2007 Thanksgiving dinner at the Capitol
Photo by Gediyon Kifle


As co-founder of the Ohio chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America, I've been asked by many people how to start a chapter in their area...

Misty Stenslie, Deputy Director of FCAA national, is the best resource for starting a chapter in your area.

Please follow this link to find out more about FCAA chapter charter, policies and procedures.

The Ohio chapter is available as a resource to you as well...

Here are some things that have worked for us:

1. Get in touch with foster care youth:
- Seek out local foster care youth advisory boards
- Find out what matters to them
- Develop presentations to smooth their transition to adulthood
- Partner with child welfare professionals to improve services to young people in/from foster care

Foster care youth of today are the alumni of tomorrow. They have fresh insights and passion to offer! And we older alumni can use our experience and expertise to support their current and future success!

2. Find your allies, such as:
- Local/statewide foster parent organizations
- Local/statewide independent living coordinators
- Social work professors at local universities
- Support groups for kinship caregivers

Many people within the child welfare field long to make a more powerful impact when it comes to foster care. Attend their meetings and tell them who you are and what FCAA is all about. The people who care most about our mission will be drawn to you!

3. Read the news:
- Find out who is speaking out about foster care
- Find out which journalists are interested in writing about foster care issues
- Research the local radio stations for future promotion opportunities

When we present ourselves as being knowledgeable about what's going on locally, statewide and nationally regarding foster care, this builds our credibility with others.

4. Share your voice:
- At local, statewide and national conferences
- In op-eds and interviews
- During brainstorming sessions about independent living classes and aftercare
- In discussions about foster care policy

'Nothing about us without us' is FCAA's motto.

When 'experts' hold discussions about changing child welfare policies, procedures and/or legislation, we should be there. And when youth entrust us with issues that are important to them, we should be their champions in any arena in which they may not be present.

As we continue to share our voice, other alumni will come along and stand beside us. This will give power to our message, because we will be sharing collectively. Opportunities will arise for us to empower them to take center stage, while we sit in the audience and cheer them on!

5. Never give up:
- There will be disagreements
- Sometimes you will feel discouraged
- You won't see the outcome of your efforts right away
- "It is possible to move a mountain by carrying away small stones"

What we are involved in is a foster care movement. Like the civil rights movement or the women's rights movement.

Movements don't take a day or a week or a month or a year. They can take a lifetime. And it is worth it, because members of Foster Care Alumni of America are determined to leave a legacy!

Foster children are not "pound puppies"

Caption: This is NOT a foster child!

In Omaha, Nebraska, a nineteen-year-old boy walked into a mall with a semi-automatic assault rifle, and killed eight people before turning the gun on himself.

He was immediately christened "a lost puppy."

This is ridiculous.

Robert Hawkins wasn't a puppy - or even more offensive "a pound puppy, he was a person.

Current and former foster children aren't pets - we are people:

1. We can't be sent away to kennels on holidays if group home staff or foster parents want to "just have friends over and have the place to myself."

2. We can't be kept on a leash, and as we enter into young adulthood, but rather should be allowed the freedom and support to build a positive circle of friends, often through involvement in sports or other school activities

3. And, unlike "dumb animals," we are responsible for our actions.

“To be truly free, we have to be accountable, to be able to answer for ourselves and our decisions” (Alan W. Jones, SoulMaking).

Robert Hawkins made a terrible choice. It was wrong; it was misguided - and it was irrevocable.

And it was selfish. In his suicide note, he said, "Now I'll be famous."

This is the type of action that perpetuates the stigma of foster care. Despite the stereotype, not every former foster child winds up being some type of criminal.

Many of us grow up to build families. We provide for our children in a way that we were not provided for... protect them in a way that we were not protected. We work to learn new patterns of behavior so that we will not repeat the cycle of abuse.

Many of us strive to make a positive difference for the 'next generation' of foster children.

For example, during the week of Thanksgiving, members of Foster Care Alumni of America from all over the country met with Congressional representatives and then had a Thanksgiving dinner on the Capitol lawn, in order to propose positive changes to improve the foster care system.

Over 1000 media outlets were contacted about this event -- and the turnout was much less than I had expected.

In the meantime, there are countless articles about this tragedy.

It's saddens me that destructive behavior attracts more press coverage than proactive action.

Transition From Foster Care to Adulthood Wiki

This Wiki provides information about state law and practice regarding the transition of young people from foster care to adulthood.

Promoting Youth Voice in Child Welfare Systems

The National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice and Permanency Planning has compiled several resources to assist child welfare professionals with promoting youth voice.

In addition, the National Resource Center for Youth Development Toolkit for Youth Involvement provides important information on how to prepare youth and adults to work in partnership to improve the nation's child welfare system.

National CASA Association

The National CASA Association knows that, in dependency courts, a child's health and safety should be the primary concern.

A recent audit conducted by the US Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General demonstrated that the involvement of a CASA volunteer can keep children from languishing in long-term foster care or reentering the child welfare system.

According to this audit:

- All or most of CASA volunteer recommendations are accepted in four out of five cases.

- When a CASA volunteer is assigned, a higher number of services are ordered for children and families.

- Children with a CASA volunteer are more likely to be adopted.

- A child with a CASA volunteer is as likely to be reunified with their birth parent as a child without a CASA volunteer.

- With a CASA volunteer, the likelihood that a chilld will reenter the child welfare system is consistently reduced by half.

Congressional Foster Youth Internship Program

Every year, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute offers summer internship opportunities for talented college students who have spent their formative years in foster care.

Participants will intern at Capitol Hill. Their housing and travel expenses will be provided for by a stipend. Ongoing support will be provided, including an initial orientation, ongoing training and a mid-summer retreat.

Applications must be postmarked by Jan. 4, 2008, and sent to:

311 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
(202) 544-8501 Fax

For more information, please contact info@ccainstitute.org or call(202)544-8500.

My husband's strange and mysterious world

I was sent home sick from work today…

Flushed and feverish, I found comfort in my husband’s arms.

He wrapped me up in the warmth of his cuddles until I fell into a deep and restful sleep.

I awoke to hear music at high volume. My husband, a talented musician and songwriter, was downstairs jamming his guitar full-blast along with recordings of his songs.

I lay in bed, listening to him strum his chords and sing his lyrics.

It just cracks me up that while I am out there saving the world, he is in our house, working from home, typing on his computer, playing WOW, and then picking up his guitar to create music that is out of this world.

This is the world that my husband has created. This is the oasis that I come home to every day...

Some of the songs he has written are about me...

Some of his songs were what made me fall in love with him in the first place...

There are so many reasons why I love this strange and wonderful man that I have married, and all the strange and wonderful things that he has brought into my life…

Including: His sitcoms, his technology, his Beatles obsession, his wry and astute commentary about life, his sarcasm and sometimes inappropriate humor, his strength, his razor-sharp intelligence, his sexy profile...

Here are the links to some of my favorite songs of his:

Apple Girl: (which he wrote for his daughters)
http://www.dicksonaudio.com/applegirl

Gunk: (which I think is his most polished and amazingly deep song)
http://www.nathansbrain.com/archives/2006/08/gunk.html

Have You Seen My Sunshine: (because I’m his ‘sunshine girl’)
http://www.nathansbrain.com/archives/2006/07/have_you_seen_m.html#comments

There are many others... but those are the ones that I am thinking of right now (probably because he just jammed all of them!)

For more silly songs of us, please see:
http://nofearinlove.com/songs/index.htm

The past is not through with you

There is a powerful quote from the movie Magnolia: "You might be through with the past, but the past is not through with you..."

During my involvement in Foster Care Alumni of America, certain people and situations come up from time to time that remind me of my past...

When I first aged out of foster care, I started college.

The year was 1989; I was sixteen years old. I had never been trained in independent living skills. I didn't know how to cook or budget or drive.

But, worst of all, I had no 'common sense.'

Common sense isn't born into most people. It is something that your mother or father teaches you.

And so, lacking all common sense, during my second year in college when I was 17 years old, I had a roommate named "Janice" (not her real name). We knew each other from an earlier group home.

Janice was hard as nails on the outside, with a fragile and broken interior that it seemed like only I could see.

I tried to rescue her, but I couldn't save her from her worst enemy: herself.

I couldn't keep her from numbing out on sex and drugs, becoming a prisoner to both, stealing to feed her habit, eroding her own conscience -- and eventually stealing from me.

Six months later, when I was broke and homeless, and she had stolen my last $50, I realized that I had to cut ties with her. I had to find a way to survive, and get back on my feet again. I needed to finish college, earn a graduate degree, establish a career, and build a future for myself.

So, I finally left Janice to sink or swim for herself. But she didn't make it. She sank like a stone.

Her life is a cautionary tale: Janice became a stripper, had several children out of wedlock and was eventually murdered by one of her 'clients.' Her children were placed in foster care. Did I mention that Janice's mother had been a prostitute? And, so the cycle repeated all over again.

It broke my heart to find out what had happened to her.

It was January 1996 when the story came out in the papers. I was in graduate school at the time. I was wracked by survivor guilt.

I blamed myself for not giving her another chance. And so I became the Lisa that I am today. The Lisa who always wants to give people in and from foster care one more chance...

Sometimes that means that I get taken advantage of. And so, as an adult, I have to force myself to set limits with other people. This can be the hardest lesson. The book Boundaries has been invaluable to me.

Because there is a person in my life right now who is hard as nails on the outside, but through that shell, I can see a fragile interior. I can see the many times she has been wounded. I can tell the outlines of the scars.

And yet, she has been taking advantage of me - and I have to confront the situation, both for myself and for this other person. It's not healthy for either one of us.

November is National Homeless Youth Awareness Month

VISIT HOMELESSYOUTHAMONGUS.ORG FOR MORE DETAILS

Walk A Mile

Walk a Mile has been pairing policymakers with teenagers in foster care since 1994.

It's a one-month project to raise awareness about the challenges facing young people in foster care, wherein policymakers are paired with a young person living in foster care.

This program has been successfully implemented in 36 states, including Ohio.

Walk A Mile is currently looking for community organizations working with young people in foster care to coordinate 2008 projects. For more information, please e-mail patricia@walkamile.org

Update regarding trip to Washington DC

http://ohiofostercarealumni.blogspot.com

Press Release from Hillary Clinton

Senator Clinton introduces legislation to provide
support for youth 'aging out' of foster care

For Immediate Release
Contact: Clinton Press Office 202-224-2243 or press_office@clinton.senate.gov

Washington, DC — Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton introduced legislation today to provide individual development accounts to youth ‘aging out’ of foster care. The Focusing Investments and Resources for a Safe Transition (FIRST) Act provides foster youth financial support for critical independent living needs as they set out to develop self-sufficient, goal-oriented lives beyond the child welfare system. Senators Jay Rockefeller and Mary Landrieu are original cosponsors of the legislation.


“The needs of foster youth do not end after they leave the foster care system, and neither should our commitment to assisting them become productive and independent adults,” Senator Clinton said. “This legislation will provide a bridge to adulthood for some of our most vulnerable young people. I will continue to advocate for them and for this bill.”

Research indicates that youths aging out of foster care fare worse than their counterparts in the general population on a variety of social, educational, and health indicators. These youths report significantly lower levels of education and are more likely to be unemployed or homeless. Research also shows that foster youth do not receive the life skills education they need in order to be independent after aging out of the child welfare system.

The FIRST Act addresses this problem by providing foster youths with savings accounts so they can have funds set aside specifically for overcoming obstacles to independent living. The accounts will contain a federal deposit on behalf of foster youth matched by public and private community partners. After transitioning from foster care and completing money management training, youths would be able to withdraw these savings to pay for necessities such as educational opportunities, vocational training, and housing – elements critical for achieving self-sufficiency.

The bill follows the lead of smaller scale programs in cities and states all over the country. A program currently being piloted in New York City, Youth Financial Empowerment, will provide 450 New York City foster youths with Individual Development Accounts, or IDAs. Similarly, the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Passport program offers IDAs to foster youth in several cities.

For more than 30 years, Senator Clinton has been a champion of efforts to help children in foster care and those aging out of the foster care system. As First Lady of the United States, Senator Clinton led numerous efforts to increase awareness about and support for youth aging out of foster care, and to increase the number of children who are adopted out of foster care.

Senator Clinton worked towards passage of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, which has more than doubled the number of children adopted out of foster care, and the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999, which doubled funding for the Federal Independent Living Program and helps older foster care children earn a high school diploma, participate in vocational training or education, and learn daily living skills. The legislation also requires states to serve youth up to 21 years old, which enables more young people to obtain a college education and allows states to provide financial assistance to these youth as they learn skills to enter the workforce. Finally, the bill allows states to extend health insurance coverage under Medicaid for foster care youth to age 21.

In the Senate, Clinton has worked to further increase the number of adoptions out of foster care by providing additional incentives for adopting older children and those with special needs and increasing the Adoption Tax Credit. She also has introduced legislation with Senator Olympia Snowe that would support relative caregivers who often offer stable, loving homes to children who would otherwise be in foster care.

In 2002, the Senator introduced the Opportunity Passport Act, which, among other provisions, called for the establishment of IDAs for youth aging out of foster care. In July 2007, the Senate passed the Higher Education Amendments of 2007 which included a measure championed by Senator Clinton to expand the definition of independent students to include youth in foster care, aging out of foster care or emancipated minors.