Tagged With "foster students"
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Sharing Data to Benefit Kids: A Guide for Child Welfare and Education Systems [aecf.org]
Re-sharing this blog post from the Annie E. Casey Foundation where they shared a guide for data sharing linkages between child welfare and education - the Roadmap for Foster Care and K-12 Data Linkages . ...Successful data linkages mean agencies are able to draw on all the publicly collected information to create a more complete picture of individual students in foster care, helping inform interventions that are more effective. “Data sharing between foster care and educational agencies is...
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So you know about ACEs...Turn your AHA! into Action!
Spring is the time for rebirth and new beginnings! As we look around, we can observe nature around us awakening after a long winter sleep. A true sign of resilience. At Origins , we have been lucky enough to create a space for growth and learning for both groups and individuals who work towards creating environments of healing and resilience over the winter months. After completing the first round of The Resilience Champion Certificate of 2018, we have 23 graduates putting their action plans...
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Some 350 Florida Leaders Expected to Attend Think Tank with Dr. Vincent Felitti, Co-Principal Investigator of the ACE Study; Expert on ACEs Science
Leaders from across the Sunshine State will take part in a “Think Tank” in Naples, FL, on Monday, August 6, to help create a more trauma-informed Florida. The estimated 350 attendees will include policy makers and community teams made up of school superintendents, law enforcement officers, judges, hospital administrators, mayors, PTA presidents, child welfare experts, mental health and substance abuse treatment providers, philanthropists, university researchers, state agency heads, and...
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The Absence of Punishment in Our Schools
Where to begin... My heart is full of hope and joy as I watch the trauma-informed schools movement swell across our nation and planet. The science of ACEs is mind-bending to say the least and we are now able to open up a much deeper dialogue about human behavior and health. Ultimately this work is about healing… All. Of. Us. A new consciousness is taking root around ending the “us vs them” construct. The idea is growing that we’re all on this journey together and that no matter where our...
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The Foster Care Anthology Project
If you haven't heard about this yet, this is an amazing opportunity to lift up and support the resilience of foster youth by publishing a book of their stories! Here is a link to a video explaining the book project and their kickstarter campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMGATnMOTVw&feature=youtu.be
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The foster care system, trauma, and resilience - a panel discussion
Trauma often does its greatest harm when it occurs during the impressionable stages of our youth. Losing one's parents, moving from different schools, living in an unstable environment - all of these are issues that can break into a child's world and cause difficulties well into adulthood. What can we do? What has research shown to be the current best practices? What is the science behind this aspect of foster care, and how does it relate to our faith? I was honored to be a part of a panel...
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The Trauma-Sensitive Parenting Summit & Commentary
"Having a history of trauma or loss does not by itself predispose you to have a child with disorganization. It is the lack of resolution that is the essential risk factor. It is never too late to move toward making sense of your experiences and healing your past. Not only you but also your child will benefit." That's a quote from the book Parenting from the Inside Out: How A Deeper Self-Understanding Can Help You Raise Children Who Thrive, which was published fifteen freaking years ago. It's...
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TIC: News and Notes for the Week of October 21, 2019 [dhs.wisconsin.gov]
ACEs, Adversity's Impact There is only one boat: The myth of normalcy by Dr. Gabor Mate Understanding historical trauma to strengthen community Childhood trauma linked to early, premarital childbirth and poor health for women Early life racial discrimination linked to depression, accelerated aging When mothers are killed by their partners, children often become 'forgotten' victims. It's time they were given a voice Children's language skills may be harmed by social hardship Does racism...
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Two New Grant Opportunities for Youth Development and Diversion Services
In 2019, more than $40 million will become available to fund community-based, culturally rooted, trauma-informed services for youth in California as alternatives to arrest and incarceration. Thousands of California youth are arrested every year for low-level offenses. Youth who are arrested or incarcerated for low-level offenses are less likely to graduate high school, more likely to suffer negative health-outcomes, and more likely to have later contact with the justice system.
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Victims of Teacher Misconduct Say Schools Should Go Beyond Checking Boxes [voiceofsandiego.org]
By Ashly McGlone, Voice of San Diego, November 4, 2019 “Just so you know, no one else has ever made a complaint,” a Chula Vista High graduate recalls being told by school officials before she complained her show choir teacher was sexually harassing her and groped her repeatedly. “I feel like every adult who was an administrator in my life at the time failed me,” a former Bonita Vista High student sexually abused by his band teacher said. “I had a counselor talk to me for 10 minutes and then...
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We Have to Better Understand What Foster Parents Need [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
By Ross Hunter, The Chronicle of Social Change, October 11, 2019 As a new leader in the child welfare space, I thought it would be worth my while to do some listening before I made any big changes. So I went on a tour all over the state of Washington. I talked to caseworkers, foster parents, birth families, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and anyone else I could find who had an opinion. I got an earful. “Everything is broken.” “I had a great experience.” “The caseworker never called...
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We Have to Better Understand What Foster Parents Need [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
By Ross Hunter, The Chronicle of Social Change, October 11, 2019 As a new leader in the child welfare space, I thought it would be worth my while to do some listening before I made any big changes. So I went on a tour all over the state of Washington. I talked to caseworkers, foster parents, birth families, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and anyone else I could find who had an opinion. I got an earful. “Everything is broken.” “I had a great experience.” “The caseworker never called...
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We Need to Help Relatives Navigate Their Child Welfare Options [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
By Jenny Keefe and Nikeyah Flagg, The Chronicle of Social Change, November 21, 2019 A new data project focusing on foster care capacity has illustrated a growing reality across the nation’s child welfare system: relatives are increasingly stepping up to provide care for children removed from their parents. The newly released data, compiled and analyzed by The Chronicle of Social Change, shows that the most recent surge in youth entering foster care is over. It also finds that a majority of...
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WEBINAR: Fostering Equity: Creating Shared Understanding for Building Community Resilience
Struggling with how to Foster Equity Conversations in Community? Join the national partners of the Building Community Resilience Networks as we share our lessons learned in fostering equity as a strategy to prevent childhood adversity and build community resilience. Wednesday, February 26th 12pm-1:15pm Eastern More info at go.gwu.edu/EquityWebinar As a nation we have agonized over how to approach conversations on race, racism, inequity and racial justice. Too often we have opted to attempt...
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What Success Looks Like: On-Campus Resources and Support for Foster Youth (socialjusticesolutions.org)
After identifying a statewide need for support services for foster youth, the Foster Youth Success Initiative (FYSI) was created in 2006 through a collaboration between the California Community College Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO), the Foundation for California Community Colleges and numerous partners and stakeholders. According to Jessica Smith, the statewide liaison for FYSI, the “network of support” provided by FYSI includes assistance with academic needs, financial aid, physical and...
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Who Cares: A National Count of Foster Homes [fostercarecapacity.com]
By The Chronicle of Social Change, October 2019 Who Cares is the nation’s first public resource on foster care capacity. The Chronicle of Social Change collects data directly from each state, and combines that with specially obtained federal reports to shed light on two critical questions: How many kids are in foster care today? And where are they living? This year the data suggests that nationwide, the number of youth in care is going down, and the number of foster homes is going up. But...
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Who Cares: A National Count of Foster Homes [fostercarecapacity.com]
By The Chronicle of Social Change, October 2019 Who Cares is the nation’s first public resource on foster care capacity. The Chronicle of Social Change collects data directly from each state, and combines that with specially obtained federal reports to shed light on two critical questions: How many kids are in foster care today? And where are they living? This year the data suggests that nationwide, the number of youth in care is going down, and the number of foster homes is going up. But...
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Why You Should Write a Letter to Yourself Tonight (Bessel van der Kolk, MD)
Why You Should Write A Letter To Yourself Tonight Writing is one of the most effective ways to access an inner world of feelings that is the key to recovering from ...
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Re: Senate Report Slams Public Management of Private Foster Care Industry [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
The problem of foster care programs becomes a blaming game. Who is at fault? This article explores a possible solution that speaks to the legislature's bottom line. Thank you for the post!
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Coronavirus pandemic stresses young adults aging out of foster care [sfchronicle.com]
By Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle, May 3, 2020 When Gov. Gavin Newsom pumped $42 million of emergency funding into foster care, he steered a small portion — about $1.8 million — toward young adults who might otherwise be cut loose from services and thrust into a deadly pandemic. Advocates say the money isn’t enough to help people learning to navigate the world on their own. People like Emmerald Evans, 21, who went grocery shopping with a friend right as the shelter-in-place orders...
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I learned the impact of prolonged exposure to stress from my foster child [washingtonpost.com]
By Jenn O'Connor, The Washington Post, June 6, 2020 You know what stress is, right? You’re late for work, your car won’t start, gas costs more than you expected. We’ve all been there, and it’s not pleasant, that palm-sweating, heart-racing anxiety. Luckily, it’s not long-lasting — not toxic. What is toxic stress? It’s prolonged adversity and/or abuse — not having enough to eat or being exposed to violence. It’s the kind of stress that puts you on edge and keeps you there, day after day after...
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Alameda County’s Youth Transitions Partnership Program: A Promising Model for Supporting Transition-Age Youth in Foster Care [chapinhall.org]
By Laura Packard Tucker, Amy Dworsky, and Molly (Mayer) Van Drunen, Chapin Hall at The University of Chicago, June 2020 The Youth Transitions Partnership (YTP) blends service coordination, intensive case management, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to help transition age youth in foster care in Alameda County, CA engage with support systems and improve their outcomes. YTP was funded by the Children’s Bureau Youth At-Risk of Homelessness (YARH) grant program. This brief describes the...
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Researchers Find Association between Participation in Extended Foster Care and Reduced Risk of Homelessness [chapinhall.org]
By Huiling Feng, Justin S. Harty, Nathanael J. Okpych, and Mark E. Courtney, Chapin Hall at The University of Chicago, June 2020 A fundamental tenet of the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 is that allowing foster youth to remain in care past their 18th birthday would improve their outcomes as adults. One of the most significant challenges transition-age foster youth face is homelessness. Foster youth experience disproportionately higher rates of...
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California Considers Extending Foster Care for Young Adults Until Pandemic Emergency Ends [calhealthreport.org]
By Claudia Boyd-Barrett, California Health Report, June 22, 2020 At the beginning of March, Monse Gonzalez had her entire year planned. She would graduate from community college, save part of her paychecks as a childcare worker, and start school at the University of Santa Barbara. Then came the pandemic. Suddenly, everything Gonzalez, 18, had worked for was in jeopardy: her job, her housing, her associates degree. While many young adults have families to lean on during these uncertain times,...
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Resilience for Children & Families: Being Brave When Things are Hard
Building Resilience with Children During Racial Discrimination & Violence: This attached Resilience Brief for Children has been the hardest one I have written yet. I have been an active advocate for the equal treatment of people from all backgrounds, religions, ethnic heritages, orientations, and families my entire life. It is hard to see the pain present today, not only due to COVID19 but also due to the harm and anger we see daily in the news. I want to share a story about the person...
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Influential Foster Youth Forum Calls for Sweeping Changes to Address Racism, Mental Health Issues [thelundreport.org]
By Ben Botkin, The Lund Report, August 31, 2020 A forum for current and former youth in foster care has called for sweeping changes to help children who have suffered trauma, are entering adulthood or belong to communities of color. The recommendations are the product of the Oregon Foster Youth Connection Policy Conference, a biennial forum for lawmakers, state agency officials, advocates and others interested in the state safety net. The conference, sponsored by the advocacy group Our...
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Free 2020 Virtual Trauma-Informed Care Conference
Each year, STAR hosts a Trauma-Informed Care Conference to help educate the next generation of leaders and build a strong network of Trauma-Informed professionals in the state of Georgia. The conference will be held on Saturday, October 3rd from 10:00am- 1:00pm EST and Sunday, October 4th , 2020 from 2:00pm-5:00pm EST conducted virtually via Zoom.
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Introducing Benchmarks’ Standardized Assessment Protocol
According to leading research, 99% of children entering the foster care system have experienced trauma in their lifetime, and few of those children receive the trauma-informed healthcare they need to recover and prosper. These children are more likely to not only suffer short-term from their trauma, but long term as well. Children who do not receive effective, holistic healthcare experience a lifetime of mental health disorders, substance misuse, and physical illnesses, including diabetes,...
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ACEs Champion: From a movie to a mission — Edwin Weaver's journey to help foster youth graduate from high school
(l to r) Elaine Miller Karas co-developer of CRM; Jim Sporleder, former principal of Walla Walla High School; and Edwin Weaver at the 2018 ACEs Conference & Pediatric Symposium in San Francisco. After watching the late Jamie Redford’s 2015 film, “ Paper Tigers ,” about a Washington state high school where ACEs integration transformed graduation rates, Edwin Weaver knew he had to take action. Weaver is the executive director of Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley , providing social services...
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Partnering with Local Mental Health Providers to Support Foster Youth in College [cccstudentmentalhealth.org]
LAST YEAR, NEARLY 18,000 CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS WERE CURRENTLY OR FORMERLY IN FOSTER CARE. These students, and students from other vulnerable or underserved groups, are motivated and resilient. However, many face higher rates of trauma and unmet mental health needs, coupled with systemic barriers that prevent them from accessing services. Without support, these challenges can contribute to lower college completion rates. BACKGROUND In 2018-2020, John Burton Advocates for Youth...
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COVID prolonged foster care stays for thousands (apnews.com)
SEATTLE (AP) — Leroy Pascubillo missed his daughter’s first step, her first word and countless other precious milestones. After being born addicted to heroin, she had been placed with a foster family, and he anxiously counted the days between their visits as he tried to regain custody. But because of the pandemic, the visits dwindled and went virtual, and all he could do was watch his daughter — too young to engage via computer — try to crawl through the screen. They are among thousands of...
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6 tips for foster parents preparing for reunification (adoptuskids.org)
The majority of children in foster care are reunified with their birth family, and foster parents must support that outcome. When it can be done safely, reunification is usually in a child’s best interest. But that knowledge does not make it any easier to say goodbye to a child you’ve loved and cared for. In this post, we offer six suggestions for smoothing the transition. [ Click here to continue reading this blog post. ]
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Study Finds Overrepresentation of LGBTQ+ Youth in Midwest Foster Care System
The study outlined here is one of the first of its kind to be conducted in a Midwestern state, where available data on LGBTQ+ youth is extremely limited. It follows similar studies in New York City and Los Angeles showing equally high representation of youth with diverse SOGIE in foster care. Together these studies provide evidence that in the middle of the country, as well as in large urban areas, a greater proportion of LGBTQ+ youth are represented in foster care than in the general...
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Helping children in foster care understand their history (AdoptUSKids blog)
We live in a country where everything is always “fine.” An acquaintance asks you how you are doing, and even if you’re having the worst day of your week, you’re probably going to say “fine.” We’re just not good at discussing difficult—and potentially hurtful—topics. So we avoid doing it. But if you’re a foster parent or adopting children from foster care—especially older children—you’ll probably need to talk with them about their past. Because the reality is that a lot of kids don’t know...
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6 Skills You Need to Master Before Becoming a Foster Parent (verywellfamily.com)
Thousands of kids out there are in need of a safe home. Sadly, there are not nearly enough foster families available for all these children. You can help by stepping up to become a foster parent. Opening your home and your heart to a child is exactly what these kids need. But before you decide to take in a foster child, be sure you're up for the challenges (and joys) ahead. To help you prepare, we've compiled a checklist of key considerations and skills needed to be a successful foster...
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Cultivating Resilience in New Foster Parents Through Mentoring
A recent article in Children and Youth Services Reviews discusses a study that explores the relationship between mentoring and resilience in new foster parents and how mentors can help new foster parents. Mentorship between experienced and inexperienced foster parents has shown to improve retention and increase the mentee's ability to manage the behavioral problems of children in their care. It also provides new foster parents with additional supportive contacts and encourages greater...
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‘How’s Our Girl?’: On Loving a Foster Child and Letting Go (NY Times)
Every time we choose to love other mortal beings, someday, we will have to give them back. “Cute baby,” strangers said when they saw her. “Your first?” they asked. And when we told them she was our foster daughter, that we might have to return her to her biological mother, I watched them step back. “I couldn’t do that,” they said. “I’ll pray for you,” they said. I didn’t know if I could do it, either. But I also knew it’s what we do every time we choose to love another mortal being. Someday,...
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Away From Home: An in-depth report on the experiences and perspectives of young people who have recently lived in institutional placements in foster care (Think of Us)
A new report from Think of Us examines the experiences of foster youth who are placed in congregate care placements, such as group homes or residential treatment centers. The report uses stories, art, and other first-person accounts from foster youth to understand their day-to-day lives in these living arrangements. The experiences of these youth offer ideas for improving congregate care placements, and for alternatives to these placements that better support the development and well-being...
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I Will Never Forget That I Could Have Lived With People Who Loved Me (nytimes.com)
By Sixto Cancel, The New York Times, September 16, 2021 When I was 15, an usher at my church offered to become my foster parent. Hers was one of the best foster homes I lived in. But she wanted a son. It was more than I was able to give. I had been in foster care since I was 11 months old because of my mother’s drug addiction and poverty. Adopted at age 9 by a racist and abusive woman, I was locked out of the house at age 13. For two years, I couch surfed with friends, then entered foster...
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An Unavoidable System: The Harms of Family Policing and Parents' Vision for Investing in Community Care
This new report shares the results of a participatory action research (PAR) project that Rise conducted in winter 2021 in partnership with TakeRoot Justice . Our research documents parents’ experiences with the family policing system and explores a collective vision to transform our society’s structures, policies and practices related to family and community support. Imaginative and sometimes painful community conversations with 48 people impacted by ACS provide the foundation of this...
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Keeping children you foster and adopt safe online (AdoptUSKids.org)
By AdoptUSKids, June 15, 2021 Long before COVID, children’s lives were increasingly spent online. Researchers estimate that 70 percent of us spend more than two hours a day on social media alone. If you’re a parent, you might be thinking: “Only two hours! My son is on his phone a lot more than that!” There are many well documented dangers created by children’s spending excessive amounts of time online. Children in foster care are often at a greater risk because they may have less impulse...
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Introducing a New Course in Supporting Marginalized Students!
Did you know that societal inequities can impact a person's long-term health outcomes? Marginalization is the exclusion of a disadvantaged person or group to the fringe of society. It results in individuals being overlooked when laws, policies, and practices are established that protect the privileged class, and leads to adverse community environments--such as poverty, poor housing, and lack of mobility--that promote fertile ground for structural violence and harm, including racism and...
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Foster Youth Strategic Initiative 2020 Evaluation Report (Child Trends)
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s Foster Youth Strategic Initiative (the Initiative) aims to ensure that older youth in foster care in Los Angeles County (LA) and New York City (NYC) become self-sufficient and thriving adults. The Initiative equips transition-age foster youth (foster TAY or foster youth) ages 16 to 24 for career and college success. To help foster youth achieve positive educational and career outcomes, the Initiative’s grantees provide a continuum of supports to help all...
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Majority of CalYOUTH Participants Enrolled in College, with 10% Attaining Degree by Age 23 [chapinhall.org]
By Nathanael J. Okpych, Suggeun (Ethan) Park, Mark E. Courtney, and Jenna Powers, Chapin Hall, November 2021 Graduating from college is a life-transforming achievement for young people with foster care backgrounds. This memo provides an early look at factors that promote or stymie college degree completion by around age 23 of youths transitioning to adulthood from the foster care system. What We Did The outcome investigated in this memo is whether or not youth completed a college degree,...
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What Foster Parents Need To Know About Adopting and Affirming a Queer Child (parents.com)
The key is and will continue to be for foster parents to listen, learn, and practice empathy for kids in the LGBTQ+ community. By Danielle Broadway, Parents, June 03, 2021 Every year, thousands of children in the foster care system struggle to find safe and stable homes with loving adult figures to help them thrive. Many of the children in the system have traumatic experiences that can range from physical and emotional abuse to being forced into criminal activity . They often need foster...
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Treatment foster care model shows promising results (streetroots.com)
An Oregon-developed model of foster care aims for reunification by Libby Dowsett , Street Roots, November 10, 2021 Sharon Annett’s eyes are now wide open to what’s really going on behind closed doors. “I didn’t understand there are people out there mistreating children so badly,” said Sharon Annett. “It’s just horrific the stories you hear about what these little kids have been through.” Sharon Annett is a treatment foster care parent, meaning she and her husband Jim Annett care for children...
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How ‘Shadow’ Foster Care Is Tearing Families Apart (nytimes.com)
By Lizzie Presser, The New York Times, December 1, 2021 When a staph infection killed Molly Cordell’s mother just before Halloween in 2015, Molly felt, almost immediately, as if she were being shoved out of her own life. At 15, she and her sister, Heaven, who was a year younger, had no idea where they would go. Their dad had been in and out of their lives for most of their childhood. His grief, as their mother lay dying, sent him spinning. It seemed to the girls that he was on too much meth,...
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Homeless and Foster Youth, Racial Inequity, and Policy Shifts for Systemic Change (sr.ithaka.org)
An issue brief from Ithaka S+R, Homeless and Foster Youth, Racial Inequity, and Policy Shifts for Systemic Change , highlights the racial disparities inherent in foster care and homelessness and the causes of homelessness and foster system involvement. It illustrates the challenges that youth experiencing foster care and homelessness face in earning a college degree and proposes policy changes for states to address and meet the needs of these youth. There is a disproportionate number of...
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The All-Too-Common Tragedy of Foster Care (nytimes.com)
By Jane Coaston, title image by Alex Merto, The New York Times, December 18, 2021 In 2006, 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel was murdered by his foster parents near Cincinnati. They left him in a second-floor closet in August wrapped in tape and a blanket in a playpen with no food or water while they went out of town to a family reunion, dog in tow. When they returned home, they took his body to an abandoned chimney, doused it in gasoline and burned it, throwing most of the remains into the Ohio...
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Foster Care Supply Drive delighted by community response
After a successful pilot launch, the Foster Care Supply Drive is set to expand throughout SW Washington State in the Spring of 2022. During the pilot phase, which began in Washougal/Camas we were able to procure enough donations from 6 businesses to create 110 welcome bags for youth entering foster care. Donation bins and marketing materials are scheduled to be delivered between March 1st, 2022, and March 4th, 2022. The Foster Care Supply Drive was created based on first-hand experiences of...