Foster Youth - Prevention is Key to Helping Foster Children

In some ways it's easy to talk about the plight of foster children. Pull up foster child education statistics and photos, and you'll get some people's attention. Once awareness has been achieved, many caring adults will engage in thoughtful and thought provoking conversations. Some will ask why the status quo exists while others will propose ways to help foster youth have a better life once they age out of the foster care system.


Here is the recent foster care statistic that generated so much commentary.

Robert Callesen of The Car Lot commented:

"Thanks for the info, but what solutions are available?"

Nick Huntington, owner of Sweet Cakes Café, followed with:

"What is the solution. . .? Seems like this is an epidemic not only for Foster Children but for many children of varied backgrounds."

Barbara Loraine, Founder of Be Irresistible offered:

"Prevention is key... once kids have aged out, "working hard" isn't enough. They each need to be given training, a break and support along the way. What happens that they "can't keep a job more than one year?"

To understand the disastrous results that occur to foster youth once they age out, you first have to know what happens to these children while in foster care and leading up to the day these foster teens are forced out of the system.

As we wrote in our recent blog, "Foster Children - Not Finding a Foster Child's Relatives May Open a New Door," about half of the 400,000 U.S. foster children in the system this year will be returned to their parents or legal guardians. Thousands more will get adopted. Some foster teens will run away, and 24,000 foster youth will age out. Let's focus on those foster kids who will remain in the foster care system and will age out within the next few years.

We agree with the many comments we received including those of Terri Levine, marketing consultant, and Carly Fanguy of 57 Degrees that there needs to be a solid support system to help foster teens transition from being in the system to being on their own.


The largest federal program to help these children is Chafee. We highlighted this foster youth program recently. Foster children are taken through training to prepare them for being on their own. However, from the foster kid statistics, such as the one above, clearly this program has only limited success.

Educational programs have been established to help provide funding and scholarships for foster teens who want to go to college such as Just in Time. This San Diego-based organization is dedicated to helping these children get into universities. Actor and activist, Eva Longoria, has created a foundation that helps Latina get into college. It's unclear if this successful organization has a specific focus on helping Hispanic foster children who number close to 84,000 kids.

There are many community-based programs popping up around the country to help these children. In our blog, "Foster Children - Foster Kids Receive Support from Organizations," we highlighted the success of Epicenter that is helping California foster kids better transition into society once they age out. The organization was established ten years ago and has spread out into other communities in Northern California.


Ana Hawk of Instant Barter LLC had commented, "Prevention is the best cure. However, reality demands that new programs be put in place." Clearly you can see that new non-government programs have been created to help foster teens with their transition to independence.


Unfortunately, the majority of the preparation given to foster youth approaching age out appears to be coming from foster care agencies. Until more successful programs come on line and at a national level, it's probable that former foster kids will continue to suffer a dismal life.

As I wrote at the beginning, many people including Misty Morgan of Rental Matchmaker and Suzy Marmis Owen of Suzy Q Help wonder how they and others can help these children. Just as Barbara and Ana said, the best solution is prevention.

It's so important to repeat that foster children who are able to stay with a relative perform better at school. This higher level of performance means that these kids generally feel better about themselves. Their scholastic success helps them integrate with their peers. With family support, these foster teens graduate and more often go on to college or get vocational training. Armed with a solid educational background and family support, these kids can go on to live successful, productive lives.


One of the best and proven ways to help these children is for them to be placed with family. For this to happen, family members first have to be located and notified which is exactly what our organization does. Want to help foster children before they age out? Support our foster children efforts through a variety of ways.

If you decide to help another organization, more power to you. No matter which organization you support, you can make a lasting impact on the life of one or many foster youth. You don't have to wait for new programs and a reboot of existing government programs. All it takes to change the outcome for foster children from negative to positive is for you and those you know to step up and take action.

As Liz Harris of Liz Harris Realty said, "Let's lend a helping hand." What more needs to be said?

Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

PS. As Tony Robbins says, "Take immediate action." Leave a comment below and share this blog post with others.

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Foster Children - Foster Kid Statistics Reveal Failure of Aging Out Preparations

Recently we shared foster care statistics about the fate of teens who age out of the system. Everyone is shocked when they hear that 90% of foster children who age out of the system become homeless or addicted to drugs, don't continue their education, or end up in prison all within just a two year period.


Here are some of the comments we have received about these stats.

"It's hideous to think of those kids becoming homeless." Dianna Whitley

"These stats are really disturbing." Steven H. Poulos

"The reality of these facts is very sad." Rose Perkins

As you may expect, people then start to talk about possible solutions to help foster teens once they age out. Some, such as Marlene Krueger, will ask about improving access to independent living support. Other talk about training tied to a jobs program. One solution that is picking up greater acceptance is raising the age at which foster teens are forced out of the foster care system from 18 to 21. Almost half of the states have adopted this new age limit.

As noteworthy as these ideas are, these combined solutions have failed to help more than 10% of the thousands of foster youth who age out yearly. Hundreds, if not thousands, of organizations are putting out their best effort to help foster children once they age out. Yet this year alone, 24,000 teens will age out with only 2,400 avoiding the horrific future described above. By most standards, these results mean that post-age out efforts are a failure.


Boyd Johnson said it best, "Prevention is always better than looking for the cure." Probably the most far-reaching federal program is Chafee Grant. This program offers assistance to help current and former foster care youths achieve self-sufficiency. The program:

"identifies children who are likely to remain in foster care until 18 years of age and to help these children make the transition to self-sufficiency by providing services such as assistance in obtaining a high school diploma, career exploration... job placement and retention, training in daily living skills, training in budgeting and financial management skills... "

Yet again, based on the foster care statistics above, it's clear that Chafee has a very limited impact on those children who age out. And as Brenda Cook reminds us, "An 18 year old is still a child regardless of what the calendar says."

So is there a time-tested, viable solution that will reduce the number of foster teens who leave the system or that gives these kids the best support possible? Fortunately, there is such a solution.

Finding a foster child's family members is the single most beneficial action for the youth with the exception of reunification with their birth parents. As we have said before, there are several studies, all reaching the same conclusion: placing a foster kid with a relative generally leads to more happiness, better health, physically, mentally and emotionally, compared to those children who are in either foster placement or sent to a group home.


Children in relative placement do better at school. They graduate at a higher level than their foster peers. A higher percentage of these kids with family support attend college, graduate and have a higher rate of both getting a job and succeeding at it.

For full disclosure, yes, our organization, Find Families In Mexico, provides this relative location service to foster care agencies throughout the U.S. We do this because of the overwhelming evidence that has proven time and again that a foster child does much better with relatives than with strangers. And our services are pro bono (free) to government agencies.

We understand that there is no one perfect solution. Even with relative placement, bad things can and do happen to children. Yet until another process comes along that shows such positive results, we urge everyone who asks the question, "How can we help these children?" to either volunteer their time and talent or give a financial contribution. It's that simple.

Take a step toward helping a foster child. It'll do your heart good.

Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

PS. Share your thoughts and ideas below and share this post with others.

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Foster Care Initiative: Extending Stay for Foster Fhildren

Recently an opt-ed piece came out in the Seattle Times where Jim Theofelis wrote about new legislation in Washington that would extend the age at which foster children are forced out of foster care. Presently foster children age out at age 18, but the new law would extend this period until their 21st birthday.

As commendable as this is, one area is being overlooked to help these children have healthy, successful lives once they age out. Chafee, formally called the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program, provides funding to non-profits so they can help children prepare for a life on their own. In many states, foster children are forced out at age 18 so Chafee funds programs starting at age 15. For states with an age out of 21, the funding starts for foster children at age 18.

In the same Op-ed piece, Jim reported that "500 children aged out of foster care in Washington. The National Alliance to End Homelessness estimated that one of every 11 youth from foster care will experience being homeless." Clearly foster children struggle to lead healthy, productive lives once they age out.

There has been so much written about the challenges that 90% of foster children face after aging out: homelessness, drug addiction, incarceration, or victims of crime. Fifty percentage drop out of education once they age out. It's these challenges that have prompted interest in extending the age from 18 to 21. 

One critical, but overlooked problem is that many foster children age out with no ties to family members. Chafee provides no funding for family finding so these children, who despite having relatives, end up on the street with no family connections. This is especially true of Hispanic foster children. State agencies often lack the training and resources to do effective family finding so biological parents and other adult relatives are not located and notified. There are options, but many agencies either push for adoption over family or by omission allow children in foster care to age out.

Despite the actual good that children derive from Chafee programs, no amount of preparation can counter balance the benefit to a child of having connections with family. This is especially true for Hispanic children whose culture revolves in large part around family. It's time that Chafee was amended to include funding for family finding. The cost is enormous for the children but also on society that has to pay for support systems when these children become homeless or, as in some cases, are put in jail. 

As Judge (Ret.) Leonard P. Edwards as eloquently wrote, "It is my dream that the expanded use of family finding will literally dry up the foster-care system." Foster children deserve whatever effort is required so when they age out, they have an anchor through their family to support them as they grown into adulthood. We can do better!      

Saludos,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Families In Mexico

Proud to be listed on the Child Welfare website.

PS. For more tips and advice about family finding in Mexico, follow us on Facebook at Family Finding MX. Click here if your agency or organization has a case requiring family finding services to identify and locate biological family members in Mexico.

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