A federal law that went into effect last year promotes the idea that foster youth need to be engaged in the everyday activities that all other young people enjoy to improve their outcomes as adults.
One clinic in Pennsylvania has been working on this issue for years, and its staff describe the road to “normalcy” as one complicated by fiscal challenges and legal hurdles.
The Interdisciplinary Child Advocacy Clinic (ICAC) housed at the University of Pennsylvania’ School of Law represents children and adolescents in civil legal proceedings, including foster youth, and works towards normalcy for these youth.
“Foster parents need the support and flexibility to make decisions for the children and youth in their care so that they, too, are able to take full advantage of extracurricular, recreational and employment opportunities,” said Professor Kara Finck, ICAC’s director. “For example, the ability to obtain a driver’s license for many youth who are placed in suburban or rural areas and oftentimes foster youth are immediately excluded from even discussing that as an option.”
[For more of this story, written by Abigail Wilson, go to https://chronicleofsocialchang...r-foster-youth/16555]
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