Sunday, April 27, 2014

Foster Kids Get Help Transitioning to Adulthood

 

Foster kids that age out of foster care face many challenges. They often don't have family members who can act as a guide, offer support or act as a financial safety net.


Once foster youths are out of the foster care system, 90% will become homeless, be incarcerated within two years or turn to crime as a way to survive.

Connections 2 Independence in Minnesota is one organization working to make this transition easier. Foster care statistics reveal that children who age out of the foster care system will receive some kind of social services totaling $300,000 over the lifetime of each child. This cost to taxpayers will come in many forms such as drug treatment programs because many former foster kids become depressed and turn to hard drugs. Others will have suffered physical or sexual abuse requiring therapy. The tens of thousands of foster children presently in prison cost taxpayers millions, if not billions, of dollars.





As always another way to help these children is for agencies to put more focus on finding family members of foster children before they age out and end up on the street. Aged out foster children often suffer needlessly while taxpayers pay for the social services these kids need.


The smart move is prevention, and helping foster teens make a successful transition to adulthood is an important and helpful step in the right direction.

Regards,

Richard Villasana
  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

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Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Foster Youth Aging Out Topic of National Summit

There is no denying that foster children suffer emotionally and mentally. Many case workers will share that "foster care is no place for a child."

Having said this, there are incredible costs to taxpayers for the needed support for foster
kids. And these costs don't go away once these children age out. A National Summit on Youth Aging Out of Foster Care is being co-organized by Dr. Johanna Greeson, an assistant professor in the School of Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania for May 2014.

Dr. Greeson states that “on average, for every [foster child] who ages out, taxpayers and communities pay $300,000 in social costs over that person’s lifetime.”

One of the most cost effective methods to help these children who age out is to locate their family members beforehand. Doing so will give foster teens that special support that comes from family as well as their families potentially helping to lessen the financial burden on taxpayers.

Dr. Greeson hopes that by bringing together researchers, academics, students and former foster children, more creative ideas can be developed to solve the costly effects of foster teens aging out while giving these kids a chance at a better future. We also hope for a successful outcome.

Regards,

Richard Villasana
  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico

PS. Like and follow us on Facebook for more information about foster youths.
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Foster Kids Get Access to Goodwill Industries New Job Training Program

Goodwill Industries is again helping out those in need by launching a new job training program aimed specifically at existing and former foster children. Many foster teens are
forced out (age out) of foster care when they are just 18 years old. Experts agree that few teenagers, whether or not they are foster youth, are really prepared to make their way in the world by their 18th birthday. 

Johanna Greeson, an assistant professor in the School of Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania says that foster youth "tend to struggle with unemployment and housing, and lack access to higher education opportunities."

One way you can become involved and help these children is to support work that locates and reconnects foster kids with their family members.

This program will help only a few youths. Nonetheless, we applaud Goodwill Industries for stepping forward and providing these kids with essential job skills while working to involve local businesses that may provide job opportunities for those who complete the program.

Regards,

Richard Villasana
  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico

PS. Like and follow us on Facebook for more information about foster youths.
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Sunday, April 20, 2014

Foster Kids Receive 800 Quilts from Paradise Valley Church



Although many churches have programs to help children, Paradise Valley Church in Arizona launched a program to give quilts to foster kids. Caring church members have completed and given more than 800 quilts to local foster children.

Many in the public don't know that most foster children move from home to home with whatever clothes they have stuffed in a garbage or paper bag. Many of these kids don't feel they belong, and they often don't know the joy of receiving something new like jeans, shirts, or shoes.

For our nation's foster youth who have so little, it's the simple things such as having their own blanket that can mean so much to these kids and letting know that they are valued.

Regards,

Richard Villasana
  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico

PS. Like and follow us on Facebook for more information about foster youths.
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New Foster Child Bill Designed to Help Kids Finish College

Maine will be the first state in the U.S. to have a law in place to support foster teens to complete college. Most experts agree that one of the best investments the U.S. can make is
in education. Unfortunately, many, if not most, foster kids will enter adulthood with a much lower level of education than the general youth.

Foster youth transitioning out of foster care are at significantly higher risk of unemployment, homelessness, poor educational outcomes and long-term dependency on public assistance. A University of Chicago study finds that between 12 and 36 percent of foster teens aging out of foster care experience homelessness.

Main's House Majority Leader Seth Berry said, “Morally and economically, it makes sense to help these young Mainers complete their education. Even with the best of childhoods, how many of us were fully independent at age 20? How many of us would cut off our own kids once they turn 20?”

Depending on the state, agencies spend up to $150,000 per foster child. We applaud Maine for putting forth a bill that will help ensure that more foster youth complete college so they can move forward as responsible adults and not as a drain on social services.

Regards,

Richard Villasana
  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico

PS. Like and follow us on Facebook for more information about foster youths.
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Foster childen received Easter baskets from 11 year old


Once again there is a heart-warming story about a child who doesn't let age or lack of a steady pay check get in the way of giving. When Marcellus Waldron, a student at East Jackson’s Bertha Robinson Elementary School, got some extra money for his birthday, he decided to help several foster kids to have a happier Easter.

I'll let the story speak for itself, but it should give everyone a moment's pause. Most foster children do not enter foster care because they did anything wrong. The truth is that they are most often the victims of abuse by their parents, other adults or because of the instinct to follow and obey their elders.

It doesn't take much to make an incredible difference in the life of a foster youth. So if you feel moved to do something to help more foster kids as 11 year old Marcellus did, then step on up. Giving does the heart good.

Regards,

Richard Villasana
  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico

PS. Like and follow us on Facebook for more information about foster youths.
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Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Foster Children Deaths in Texas Spur Demand for Change

Nothing is sadder than a child dying from nature causes, but such a death is beyond tragic when it happens to a foster child because of abuse and neglect by those adults tasked with protecting the child. Texas Child Protective Services is reeling from a report by the non-profit group "Texans Care for Children" that documents the deaths of ten foster kids in 2013.

The report highlights undereducated foster parents and overworked and stressed case workers. Trista Miller, a foster child who spent six years in the system, said, "I think young people are slipping through the cracks every day." Although the average foster kid spend nearly three years in foster care, many children, including Trista, spend six or more years.

Two studies cited by Martin Guggenheim, President of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, revealed that "even maltreated children left in their own homes with little or no help fared better, on average, than comparably maltreated children placed in foster care."

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services is looking to hire more caseworkers among other actions to help eliminate any future foster child deaths. In the meantime, supporting efforts to locate a foster child's relatives is an important step to lessen caseloads while, more importantly, putting these children into a better, healthy situation.

Regards,

Richard Villasana
  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico

PS. Like and follow us on Facebook for more information about foster youths.
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Foster Kids Will Benefit From Donation to Making Kids Count

Making Kids Count, an organization in Ohio, received a much-needed donation to help foster children. Many children are taken from their families by CPS, Child Protective Services. In this situation the immediate goal is to get the children out of harm's way as
quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, this tactical "in and out" maneuver results in children being removed with only the clothes they are wearing. A child may have been sleeping in a t-shirt or pajamas. When these kids enter foster care, they still may not have much in the way of clothes and certainly no toys.

Worse, Martin Guggenheim, the Fiorello LaGuardia Professor of Clinical Law at New York University School of Law, wrote that "for a young enough child, it [the removal from their home] can be an experience akin to a kidnapping."

Making Kids Count plans to use the $4,000 donation to buy Comfort Kits, bags that may have a new, warm blanket or some toys to help foster children traumatized by being taken from their homes.

Regards,

Richard Villasana
  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico

PS. Like and follow us on Facebook for more information about foster youths.
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New Foster Children Law Needs More Work


Many states have extended the age when foster kids are forced to leave from 18 to 21. Florida recently made a similar change, but both the state foster care agency as well as foster youth are identifying areas of concern.

Another way that foster kids can be helped is by foster care agencies working to locate relatives of these children so they have family support when they are forced out (age out) of foster care.

Extending the age to 21 is a positive move to help more foster kids be prepared for adult life even if the process isn't always smooth.

Regards,

Richard Villasana
  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico

PS. Like and follow us on Facebook for more information about foster youths.
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Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Find Families In Mexico: U.S. Foster Kids Have Too Many Placements

Most of the public is unaware that foster children can spend years in foster care moving from one home to the next with disastrous results. April McWilliams, one such foster teen, remembers her four years in foster care that were spent between three different
homes.

When relatives of a foster child are located, these family members can provide the emotional support these children need to lead a better life.

"The stories of foster children like McWilliams, marked by uncertainty and impermanence and, in some cases, even deaths have prompted the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to redesign the state’s foster care system, increasing its reliance, in part, on partnerships with private contractors to find living arrangements for children in foster homes."

The state is now working to reduce these placements so more foster kids will have a better future.

Regards,

Richard Villasana
  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico

PS. Like and follow us on Facebook for more information about foster youths.
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Keeping Foster Children with Relatives Should Be a Priority

While there is no one solution to help foster children, too often the overriding message from state agencies is "Adopt!" House Bill 54 would require an extensive relative search be completed during the first 30 days a child is removed from their home.

However, unless there is funding to support this law, county foster child agencies will continue to use a lack of funding as a reason not to perform this search. Find Families In Mexico has always advocated "family first" as the primary way to help foster kids. Agencies are able to get this in-depth search for relatives of U.S. foster youths still living in Mexico at no cost through our donor-supported services.

There is no reason why a foster child has to spend another year in a foster care institution just because their family members live in Mexico. For the sake of these children, connecting them with relatives must be a higher priority.

Regards,

Richard Villasana
  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico

PS. Follow us on Facebook for more information about foster youths.
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Find Families In Mexico - High Pregnancy Rates for Foster Children

Medical experts have always said that teen pregnancy can have adverse effects in the body. It has been found that females foster kids in their teens are twice as likely to become pregnant than the ones who generally live with parents. More shocking is that statistics say that these foster teens even experience a repeat pregnancy before reaching the age of 19.

Such troublesome scenario is nothing but lack of awareness and information. In spite of child care agencies catering to the needs of female foster kids, very little has been done to ensure that they avoid pregnancy at such an early age.

You can learn more about how you can help these foster kids.

Distressing statistics reveal that around 33% of female foster teens become pregnancy by the time they reach the age of 17 or 18, compared to their peers in the general population, who average around a 14% pregnancy rate. Alarmingly, 51% of female foster youths become pregnant by the age of 19, whereas the number just reaches 20% for all female youths among the general population.

The statistics show a strong rise in the number of pregnant former foster children by the age of 23 with the percentage being as much as 77% while the pregnancy rates among their peers in the general population constitute about 40%.

Repeating pregnancy at such an adolescent age is extremely dangerous and can have harmful effects in the growth of the body. Here too, female foster youths surpass their counterparts in the general population where the percentage is 46 versus 34 respectively.

Teen pregnancy is an epidemic that continues to spread like wild fire, and the statistics paint a woeful picture for female foster children. It is high time that the appropriate agencies bolster their remedial activities with strong public awareness to find a long term solution.

Regards,

foster children
  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico

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