Once a child enters foster care, agencies begin searching for adult family members and can have a success rate as high as 80%. However, there are cases where no relatives of a foster child are found in the U.S., usually meaning that the foster kid will probably leave the system by either being adopted or aging out. Fortunately, for many foster youth there is a third, important alternative that can change their lives forever.
Casa Pacifica is a non-profit in Ventura County that as part of their services handles locating relatives of foster children. The organization had a case where the only known relatives of a pre-teen U.S. foster child where supposedly living in Mexico.
The challenge was that the town where these family members were thought to be living was in a very remote area of Mexico. Such small towns may have only one public phone that all the locals use. In this case, there was no telephone service, no Internet and no cell phone reception.
Casa Pacifica brought the case to Find Families In Mexico. One critical reason to search for relatives is that this child would at least have a connection to his family even if he stayed in foster care.
Foster children, ages 12 and above, have
less than a 1% chance of being adopted.
less than a 1% chance of being adopted.
Unless relatives were located, this foster youth was at risk of spending the next six years of his life in a government facility. One study places the estimated cost for foster care services over that time period to be $389,160.
Despite the challenges, Find Families In Mexico located an aunt of the foster child. Jill Borgeson, Program Manager wrote,
"Rosie Lopez, Case Manager, was shocked that your organization had any success at all because of the town’s remote location. We consider your company’s ability to track down members of this family under these circumstances as nothing short of miraculous. We have already started the process to reconnect this child with an aunt on the mother’s side of the family."
By finding this foster youth's relatives, he has a chance to know where he comes from, who his family is and to have ongoing support through his life.
Ms. Borgeson went on to write that "You have proven your services to us in several cases, none of which we had been able to make progress based on our own resources. We are confident that we can count on your continued services in locating family members for other foster children who have relatives still living in Mexico."
One way to help foster children is to donate and support our efforts to find their family members.
Reconnecting a foster youth with their family members is a huge win. A week later, Rosie Lopez, Case Manager, reported that the family is "so, so happy" to be reconnected with their relative foster child. These children do much better mentally and emotionally plus there are enormous savings in foster care services. Finding relatives, no matter where they are, is the humane, caring and civilized thing to do.
Regards,
Richard
Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995
PS. Read the letter of appreciation sent by Casa Pacifica about this foster child case.
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