Foster Teens Cut Off from College Entry Programs

So the question was asked by Marlena Krueger, "It's wonderful that the majority of foster kids want to attend college. Are there any existing programs to help them achieve this? The short answer is "yes", but that doesn't touch on the dismal reality for thousands of foster teens.


There are many programs to help teens in general and some to help foster teenagers specifically. Just in Time for Foster Youth is a San Diego non-profit that helps foster teens to get into and pay for college. There are many other programs such as Reality Changers, again in San Diego. They have an outstanding track record for working with student so they win scholarships to top level colleges such as Dartmouth and Harvard. And I would be remiss not to include PIQE and the Eva Longoria Foundation.

However, there are structural problems with many programs that can and do essentially exclude foster youth. Reality Changers has students come to their facility after school to do homework and then to get training so they can successfully go for scholarships. This is no slight against the program. As a past guest and speaker, I can say that the organization has the highest level of quality.


Having said that, though, someone has to deliver the student to the facility for an ongoing commitment. Most foster kids are not in a home situation where the foster parent will be this active. Many foster children are just happy to have some stability in their lives such as not changing homes for the year. So, yes, Reality Changers works (and very well), but foster children would not be ideal candidates.

A similarly focused program exists with PIQE, another outstanding non-profit dedicated to helping high school students get into college. The PIQE method is focused on parents getting trained so they can help their children successfully go through the entrance and finance process. Again, many foster teenagers are not greeted by an adult who asks them how their day was at school or helps the child with their homework. It can happen, but it's unrealistic to believe that the majority of foster parents are spending quality time helping their foster child get into college. Foster child education statistics show that this is clearly not happening at a alarming level that should be considered an educational crisis.
 
And finally let's talk about a new and active organization, the Eva Longoria Foundation. It's dedicated to helping Latina teenagers get into college. Again this is no slight to Eva or her foundation. She should be applauded for taking her fame and wealth and using it to help Latinas. But when I spoke with the foundation, they explained that they presently do not have anything in place to specifically help Latina foster teenagers. Could some get into the program? It's possible, but if there are foster teens in the program, they are either choosing not to identify themselves as being in foster care (completely understandable but that's another post) or there are not enough to have caught the attention of the foundation.

So the answer to the question is a huge "yes." There are programs that could help foster teens to continue their education and go onto college. Programs like Just In Time for Foster Youth are successful. Sadly, though, there are real obstacles preventing foster children from taking advantage of more than a handful of programs. Until more foster parents step up who have a deep care for their foster kids including helping them to stay in school, we will continue to see sickening educational statistics for foster kids.


One proven way to help all foster teenagers to stay in school is to support a service that locates their family members. Foster youth who are placed with relatives generally do better in school, graduate, enter college and earn their four-year degree at more than double the rate of children placed in foster homes. Our organization is launching a crowdfunding campaign Nov. 10 to raise funds for our foster children caseload for 2015. We invite you to be part of the solution.

The solution is not complex, but getting there will take more than just the failing educational and foster care systems.

Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

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Foster Youth: Sex Trafficking Targets

Foster children are targeted by sex traffickers because of their need for love, affirmation, and protection. If this reality turns your stomach, it's gets much worse:

• Connecticut: 98% of children who are identified as survivors of sex trafficking had previous involvement with child welfare services, and many were legally in the care and custody of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families while they were being prostituted by traffickers.
• New York: At least 85% of all CSEC (Commercially Sexually Exploited Children) had been foster children.
• California: 50% of children sold in California are foster children.
• Florida: FBI Agent and leader of the Tampa Area Crimes Against Children task force Gregory Christopher said, "A lot of these kids are foster kids, runaway kids… I’d say about 70 percent or so are foster kids."
• Nationwide: In 2013, 60 percent of the child sex trafficking victims recovered as part of a FBI nationwide raid from over 70 cities were foster children.

Then there is the case of Withelma “T” Ortiz Walker Pettigrew, now a college student, who testified at a congressional hearing this week about being a sex trafficking survivor. She told how she was a foster child until age 18 while from the age of 11 she spent the next seven years as a victim of sex trafficking.

Ortiz Walker Pettigrew

During the same hearing, Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash. reported that, "Research shows that most victims of child sex trafficking come straight from the foster care system."

So how do foster youth end up in the sex trade? Many run away from their foster home or group home. Some are escaping abuse by a foster parent or even a child of the foster parent. Sometimes, the biological children of foster parents are jealous or angry and take that resentment out on the foster child.

Other times, foster youth may feel completely unloved and unwanted. Ortiz Walker Pettigrew shared that she was told, "You’re not my child, I don’t care what’s going on with you, as long as you’re not dead, I’ll continue to get my paycheck.” Is it any wonder that a child would want to leave and be susceptible to the promise of love, stability and affection that sex traffickers offer!

What may be equally disturbing is that in 2012 the federal government paid out $4.2 billion (taxpayer dollars) to state agencies for the care of foster kids by foster parents. That same year, "state governments admitted they could not locate 4,973 foster children. Almost unbelievably, this is one of the numbers ("Status=Runaway") that states provide to secure federal funding."

There are "strict" procedures in place for when foster kids run away for most, if not all, Departments of Health Services, the agency in each state that oversees the foster care system. However, one story out of Oklahoma highlights a serious breakdown in procedures where staff at a foster care shelter admitted that if a foster kid walked out, "the shelter staff will not follow the child nor will the police be called."

Fortunately, sex trafficking and its connection with foster children has been highlighted. Lawmakers, such as Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash, are moving to put in new laws, the least of which would require agencies to report on all foster youth who run away.

However, these are actions that will take time to implement and even then without better oversight, foster care agencies can under-report the numbers while still securing federal dollars.

If you feel moved to help these children now, there are two actions you can take. Donate so that more family members of foster kids can be found leading to these children moving out of foster care and into a permanent home with loving, caring relatives. Then ask your family, friends and associates to do the same.

Maybe the government will take appropriate action or maybe in six months, you'll read about another foster child scandal. Or if you want do more than say, "What a shame," then do something today so that no matter what else happens this week, you'll know you helped ensure that one less child will end up as a sex trafficking victim.

Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

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