Foster Kids - CASA Providing Help to McKean County Foster Children

There are many non-profits that have a mission to help foster children. One of the most important of these organizations is CASA, court-appointed special advocates. This national organization trains volunteers who are then appointed by a judge "to represent the best interests of abused and neglected children during a dependency case."


CASA volunteers are the eyes and ears of the court. They interact with foster youth, social workers, the judge, family relatives and any involved specialists such as child psychologists. Without a CASA, the needs of a foster child can be pushed aside by a parent, relatives or case workers. The CASA speaks for the child.

Many counties in Pennsylvania have had CASA volunteers for years. CASA has just initiated their program in McKean County, Pennsylvania. Although CASA is a national organization, there are many other counties around the country where there are no CASA volunteers.

Even though there is now a CASA presence in the county, this should not imply that all foster kids will have a CASA. The number of children entering the foster care system has been climbing steadily despite improvements in the U.S. economy. Foster care statistics reveal that there are simply not enough volunteers to handle every foster youth case.


Two of the best ways a person can become involved with helping foster children is to support CASA and services that locate a foster kid's family members. Becoming a CASA requires from 15-25 hours a month where a volunteer will work with a foster youth and their case. It is a heart-fulfilling activity.

Supporting services such as Find Families In Mexico is the other way to help these children. The first step to moving a foster kid out of the system is to locate and notify their relatives. Without completing this initial stage, tens of thousands of foster youths will remain in foster care until they age out.

Many cases have been brought to our organization by CASA. These volunteers saw where foster care agencies had failed to locate family members of several foster children and coordinated efforts that resulted in relatives being located. These foster kids are now moving through the system and into forever homes with loving, caring family members.


If you want to help foster children but aren't ready to be a foster or adoptive parent, consider being a CASA. If you aren't able to be a CASA, then support efforts to find family members. If you want to help foster kids, trust me. There is a place for you.

Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

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Foster Care - California Foster Teens Poised to Get Transitional Housing Relief

Foster care statistics reveal that "when foster children turn 18 and leave the state's foster care system, they do so with little more than a bag of clothes. Only 3 percent go on to college."


This reality for thousands of foster kids is nothing short of a crisis. State and local governments and foster care agencies across the country are working to find solutions. An uneducated work force is both bad for individuals as well as a financial hardship on the economy and taxpayers. Fortunately, California Senate Bill 1252 is set to bring much needed support to thousands of teens who have left the foster care system.


Senate Bill 1252 will fund an extra year of transitional living for foster teens who have aged out of the system. How critical is housing for these kids? One of the key reasons that foster kids don't continue their formal education at a college or university is that they lack a safe place to live. Most of these teens simply don't have an income source to afford rent or weren't able to secure a scholarship.





The creative minds behind California Senate Bill 1252 are two college students. Yes, once again it's our youth and not government bureaucrats who have served up a solution to help former foster children.

One of the co-founders of the organization, Foster Youth Investment Coalition, that is spearheading the effort to put this bill on the governor's desk is Sade Burrell, former foster child and presently a graduate student at the University of Southern California. Concerning the challenges of getting a college education, Burrell explains:

"Being able to study in a library or at home, having those late nights, I didn't really have a home setting to go to. That was a huge hurdle for me, so that's why I'm involved with this."

Lauro Cons, a graduate student at the University of San Diego is the other co-founder. The idea originated with a research project Cons did as an undergrad. He noted:

"We conducted extensive cross sectional research on 'foster youth' and 'housing support,'" Cons said in an email. "And found that the lack of housing assistance for foster youth, after aging out of the system, has a direct negative impact on their ability to continue with their education."

The bill is sitting on the desk of Governor Jerry Brown. Although he had a busy few days signing many other bills, as of Sept. 28, 2014, this one is still awaiting his signature. We hope he signs this bill into law because it's clear that former foster youth do and will continue to struggle to continue their education.
 
Not signing this bill would be another painful punch to foster kids who need and deserve our help. As a society we must do right by these children.


Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

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Foster Kids - Aging Out Foster Youth Get Transitional Housing in Florida

You've probably read about the terrible foster kid statistics: 25% will end up in prison, 50% will drop out of any formal education, and 25% will become homeless. All of these outcomes are very common for foster children who have aged out of the foster care system. Fortunately, these children have a political ally who is helping Florida's foster youth with practical solutions.


Enter Florida State Sen. Nancy Detert. Just shy of her 70th birthday, State Sen. Nancy Detert is hitting her stride as she tackles many challenges that face the foster children in her district and state.

Starting in 2013, she pushed through a bill that extended the age at which foster teens age out of the foster care system from 18 to 21. Many experts feel that the additional three years will allow foster kids a chance to plan better for their futures once they are forced out of the system.

Florida State Senator Nancy Detert

This week the state senator along with other community leaders attended a ceremony for the opening of a transitional housing facility for aged out foster youth. Experts agree that one of the biggest challenges for these kids is securing a place to live.

Up to 25% of former foster children become homeless within the first 24 months of being on their own. About half of former foster kids will stop their education because they have no safe place to live and study.


Rich Stroud, executive director of a nonprofit called Everyday Blessings explained:

"For decades, children would turn 18 and be forced to leave foster care with no safety net and little community support."

Marlena Krueger of Body Beautiful Spa and Rose Perkins of Radiant and Youthful had lamented the millions that seem to be wasted by the foster care system recycling old programs that show little success. These professional along with others feel that the system needs a serious restructuring along with new ideas.

A new housing facility for former foster kids isn't a new concept. Fortunately, State Sen. Detert understands that helping former foster youth requires a multi-prong approach. Not only will the new facility offer transitional living to these kids, but within the facility, they will have access to vocational counselors, tutoring and mentoring.


Only time will tell if this program, named Springboard, is successful. However, the former foster youth who are going to live in this new facility will most likely be much better prepared for independent living than those children who age out with only their clothes in a garbage bag and little else.


It's definitely time to try something new because the old programs continue to fail our nation's foster children.

Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

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Foster Children - Not Finding a Foster Child's Relatives May Open a New Door

The goal of foster care agencies is to get children out of the system as soon as possible. Foster care statistics show that about half of the foster children removed from their parents end up going back to them after they have received counseling on how to be better parents. For those foster kids who aren't returned to their parents, agencies work to locate adult family members to give these children a forever home. Sometimes another door is opened to help these foster youth.

A case worker with the Durham County Department of Social Services presented our organization with a case where a foster child's birth father was known to be living in Mexico. Cases where one parent lives outside the U.S. are not unusual for us although more often we tend to get cases where a grandparent, uncle or aunt is being sought.

Parents are interviewed as their children enter the foster care system. Sometimes a parent will be uncooperative. Both mothers and fathers have been known to resist offering any information that would help agencies locate the other birth parent. In our experience, mothers are generally the ones that will withhold details about the birth father. We're not going to go into the reasons given by a parent for this lack of cooperation because the one important point is that the children are the ones who end up getting hurt.





Keep in mind that if a foster child isn't returned to their parent(s), it's usually for very good reasons. The parent is now in prison. The parent is a habitual criminal whose lifestyle puts their children at risk on a daily basis. The parent is mentally or emotionally unstable or completely apathetic about their responsibilities again placing their children at risk.


Due to confidentiality, we can only say that the case worker handling this matter had insufficient details about the birth father. Despite the image portrayed in spy shows and movies that government agencies see all and record all, there are still serious limitations to how this plays out in real life including foster youth cases.




(If you are at work, turn down your speakers.)


Our organization provided a report "detailing the information that would be necessary so that a potentially successful family finding effort could be conducted to locate this parent in Mexico." Anthony Poole, the case worker for the foster child, added:

"Unfortunately, we have not been able to obtain any additional details to aid your organization in this case. We appreciate the report that you provided us showing that without further assistance from the child’s mother, no successful family finding can be conducted."

There is still good news even though this foster child's adult relatives cannot be found. Many foster youth spend years in the system because a path was not available for the court or social services to pursue another option. Before an adoption can be initiated, case workers are often court mandated to do everything possible to find and notify a parent.

Our foster youth findings have been accepted by courts across the country as evidence of a thorough effort on the part of agencies to locate a foster child's family members still living in Mexico. By the county coming to us and receiving our report that concluded that no search could be conducted, the agency is now free to ask the court to open the way to adoption.


Everyone wants to see foster kids leave the system sooner than later. Many will go back to the parents they love. Some will stay in foster care and age out. A small percentage will run away while many others will be adopted. Hopefully this child will soon be in a forever home with loving, caring foster parents in part because of our donor-supported foster youth services.

Now let's talk about our next case.

Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

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Foster Children - Foster Kids Receive Support from Organizations

Sometimes it's hard for people to hear about foster children. There's always a scandal or story about foster youth and abuse. John Baker, a great supporter of our work, asked, "Is there any positive news about foster kids?" Yes, John, there are happy things happening for these children. Here's what happened just this week.





Epicenter meeting room in Salinas, California

A new foster youth program was launched in Salinas, California called Epicenter. The concept is to have former foster children work with those foster teens who have just aged out and to teach these teens how to survive and, hopefully, thrive on their own. Over the last 10 years, other communities have adopted this model.

Emma Ramirez, an Epicenter founder explains:

“By creating the center not only are we going to provide the financial aid information, the education information, the housing information, but this will also be the perfect place to start shaping the 16-year-olds, and helping them think about" where their passion lies.

Foster care statistics from the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption reveal that half of those foster youth who age out of the system will not have a job by age 24. However, community programs such as Epicenter are becoming an important part of the solution.

Thanks to a $1 million gift by Jan and Esther Stearns, Cal State San Marcos has earmarked this donation for a "program that helps former foster youths succeed in college."

"The program provides assistance in admissions, financial aid, counseling and housing for students who once were in the foster care system. School officials said few foster youth end up in college after they age out of the system because of a lack of support."

Cal State San Marcos reports that an amazing 90% of former foster teens enrolled in the university graduate with a 4-year degree compared to the national foster children average of less than 2%. 

Finally, here's a story about helping foster youth have a better self-image. Very often foster teens who age out of the foster care system do so with their few worldly possessions in a garbage bag. This reality is common knowledge to people involved with these kids.

During the first season of the criminal show, Bones, the main character, Dr. Brennan, talks with a foster child. She shares how everyone at school knows the student is from a foster home because their clothes smell of plastic.

Fortunately, there are organizations like Luggage 4 Love that are collecting luggage to give to local foster youth. And these kids won't be getting old, hand-me-down luggage but rather new luggage thanks to Stacy Conner, an Easter Seal employee and the creator of this program. Conner shared that:

"We wanted to give them [foster kids] some dignity and allow them to transfer in actual luggage. Continuing to do this mission for the children is just very rewarding so easy for people to donate and to help change a child's perception."

The non-profit organization is having a collection drive until Nov. 1 when 85 foster children will get their new luggage. You can learn more about this organization on Facebook.

It's important to educate people on the challenges facing foster children. These kids are ripped from their parents and families, placed in a government facility and possibly placed with adults who have no motivation to love and care for children, only greed and a cold heart.

Yet, we also have to be assured that there is good being done for these children. Dedicated social workers strive to move these children out of the system and into forever homes. Organizations such as Find Families In Mexico, Luggage 4 Love and Epicenter are all working to improve the lives of foster youth. It's a group efforts, and I personally invite you to become a part of this movement.

Now didn't this just make your day, John?

Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

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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

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Foster Kids - Burke County Non-Profit Putting on Fundraiser to Help Foster Children

Children in foster care are placed in either a kinship care home (with relatives), foster home or group home. No matter with whom they are living, foster children, like all kids, have lots of needs that go beyond having a place to sleep and food to eat.


Foster youth usually have few changes of clothes and certainly not the latest hot sneakers, jeans or jackets. They also lack basic school supplies so they often feel out of place among their classmates. Fortunately, one organization in North Carolina is focused on helping foster kids feel more normal.

The non-profit, Homes for Hearts Inc., is once again preparing to host a fundraiser so they can provide for Burke County foster children. The goal for this upcoming event is to have money so that 82 local foster kids can have school supplies. Linda DuBry, one of 20 board members, explained that many parents take their children shopping every year for new school clothes and supplies, whereas foster youth aren’t always able to get those things. It's this lack of essentials that can make foster kids feel isolated from their peers.

The organization has been actively supporting these children since 2002 when they incorporated as a non-profit. DuBry shared in an interview that:

“We do fundraisers during the year. We’re always thinking of other ways to help the foster kids. Homes for Hearts became an organization because we felt there was a need to give these kids the extra things that other kids have.”

Add to this that some foster youth have special needs beyond notebooks (the ones you write in) and pencils. And just like their peers, these kids play sports or are in Advanced Algebra requiring appropriate sneakers or calculators. DuBry says that it's these little things that help a foster child to feel less like an outsider and more like your average kid.

DuBry reminds people that foster parents don't receive a lot of money, especially when foster youth are placed with family members. This group gets the least amount of financial support yet every child still has basic needs that extend past school such as medical and dental care.

The positive impact that Homes for Hearts, Inc. is having on county foster children is starting to be measurable. A past study highlighted that many of these kids were not graduating high school much less going on to college. Recent foster care statistics of the youth that the organization has supported reveals that not only are more children graduating high school, many are winning scholarships and attending college.

Organizations such as Homes for Hearts, Inc. are vital to the well-being of foster kids. These non-profits step in to fill the void left by the foster care system. Government agencies simply aren't known for supporting supposed "luxuries" even if those happen to be a baseball glove, backpack or school supplies.

For anyone who wants to help a foster child, it doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. It can be as easy as eating pancakes.

Now will someone please pass me the syrup?


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

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Foster Children - When Foster Care Works Against Foster Kids and Their Families

We posted some foster kid statistics recently and received many comments, mostly from people who were shocked by the numbers. One conversation went in a completely different direction. A woman wrote about her struggles to take in her nephews who are in foster care. This incident is one of many that brings to light disturbing undertones with the courts and the foster care system.


Jane wrote:

"I have 3 nephews in foster care in Washington state and they are not trying to place with family and we have family who could afford to take them. We are fighting them but it's a little harder because we are in a different state."

This is not the first time we have heard about this issue. We worked a case where we found the birth mother and other adult relatives of a foster child. The organization that had contacted us on behalf of the foster care agency was elated since the foster kid had been in the system for years. The family members, still living in Mexico, were shocked to know that one of their child relatives was in foster care but equally excited to make contact with the child.

Once relatives are located through "family finding," the next step is for social services to vet the family members to find out who wants to be a part of the foster kid's life and who may want to give the child a forever home. This second step of the process to move foster youth out of the system is called Engagement.

Unfortunately, this story took a strange and sad turn. While the family members were going through the required review process, the judge handling the case and social services were working to fast track the child into an adoption.


The organization that had contacted us about this case expressed a great deal of distress over these events, but as they were contracted by the foster care agency, the organization had limited influence in this matter. We were unable to learn more about this case. 

We have read about other similar cases where custody of a foster kid was given to strangers while relative placement was an option. Within the same conversation stream with Jane, others wrote in to share their thoughts and experiences.


A grandmother commented:

"Fight them like crazy! It's why we are raising 2 grandsons."

followed by another's comments:

"When children are put in foster care the state receives federal funds, like a hundred thousand dollars per child in Utah. and believe me they don't place those children with relatives until that money is gone."

Apparently, ignoring the appeals of relatives by the court is not an isolated incident.

We cannot confirm the validity of the above statement, but in past blogs we have revealed foster care statistics from studies that show that agencies receive twice the funding for a tenth of the number of foster youth in care. The majority of the funding goes into infrastructure. I'm sure you will agree that with all of that billions of dollars expended to help these kids that the outcomes these children experience shows that the system simply isn't working well.

Anytime relatives are denied their opportunity to give relative placement to a foster child, the foster care reunification process becomes open to individual interpretation of laws and subsequently abuse.

The Fostering Connections Act of 2008 and the subsequent addition of services in 2010 were enacted specifically to ensure that foster children are removed from the system as soon as possible. The intent of these laws is to support having foster youth either go back with their parents, or failing that option, being put in relative placement.


Since foster child records are mostly sealed, the only opportunity to see these deviations by either the court or social services is when family members speak up.


We don't know the particulars in this case. Perhaps in this particular case with the nephews in Washington state, there will ultimately be a valid reason for the court to select adoption over relative placement.

However, it appears that the voices of these foster children's relatives are being ignored, and that is simply not right. It's not right for the relatives. It's not right for the children.

Do it for the children,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

PS. That's right, boys and girls. Another family found. More to come soon.

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Foster Children - Sibling Foster Kids Now Have Chance at a Permanent Home with Relatives

The foster care statistics above say it all. One of the worst things that could ever happen to a foster child is for him/her to age out of foster care with no family connections. And yet 24,000 foster children in 2014 will be forced out of their foster home environment and into the street. Many will have absolutely no family support because no relatives were found by foster care agencies.


Now imagine that you are in a foster home, and your older sister has been sent away. Both of you are alone, separated, and you are so upset because you know your sister is out there somewhere trying to find food and a place to live.

Fortunately, foster children can move out of the system and into a permanent home with loving, caring family members. The challenge is that sometimes relatives can't be found through normal means.

CASA of Travis County, Texas brought us a case involved two siblings. Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for Children is a national organization with a network of 951 community-based programs that recruit, train and support citizen-volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children in courtrooms and communities. These children are often foster youth.


By the time we got this case, the older sister had already aged out of foster care and was on her own. Child Protective Services, CPS, has not been successful at finding relatives of these children. The fear was that in several years the brother would also be forced out of foster care, and both would spend the rest of their lives with no family to help them other than each other.

CASA had some information on relatives possibly living in Mexico and hoped that Find Families In Mexico could find them. Anjuli Barak, CASA Family Finding Specialist wrote,

"The child... has had no contact with family members for a number of years and has suffered greatly because of it."

If we were successful and found at least one adult family member, it would change the lives of these two siblings forever.

Within a few weeks, CASA was able to call and talk with the children's birth father as well as with several other adult relatives. CASA also learned that these foster children have two aunts living in Illinois and has passed that information to CPS.

Some people wonder if, with so many foster youth already in the system and hundreds of thousands more coming in yearly, finding family members is worth the effort. I understand the frustration and maybe the sense of helplessness against overwhelming numbers. However, I think that Ms. Barak counters that concern with her comments,

"We feel confident that we will be able to reconnect these siblings with their relatives and instill hope in a hopeless situation."

Moving foster youth out of the system and into permanent homes with relatives benefits the children, the foster care system and society. Supporting an organization such as Find Families In Mexico is a smart move because we are the reason why many foster kids are now safely out of foster care and not homeless or turning to crime for food and money.

Not helping these children is simply not an option.

Do it for the children,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

PS. You can help foster children by sharing this post with others.

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Foster Children - Foster Care Statistics Show the Deck Is Stacked Against Them

Many people have asked us over the past month how is it that foster children are not receiving the services they so desperately need. Two such services are family finding and relative placement.


Family finding is a social service's and governmental term for the activity of identifying, locating and notifying adult family members that one of their related children is in foster care. Federal and often state laws mandate thorough efforts be executed to locate family members of foster kids so they can move out of foster care and into "relative" placement, living with family as opposed to complete strangers.

Nearly 84,000 U.S. foster youth have Hispanic ancestry with the majority having some relatives still living in Mexico.

As we have commented in the past, many foster care agencies lack the resources or the training to effectively perform family finding in Mexico. Fortunately, due to our increased outreach to agencies around the country, more and more cases are being brought to us. The result is that more foster children are now reconnected with their families, and many are now out of the system and living with adult relatives in the U.S.

However, there are still tens of thousands of children who are languishing in a government institution (group home) in part because many agencies claim a lack of funding to support family finding in Mexico. This brings us back to the foster care statistics above.


The foster care system has a serious money problem. That problem is in how they allocate our tax dollars to support the system and not foster children.

Let's see how this funding mismanagement is working against getting foster kids out of the system and into permanent homes with their relatives. These two issues, family finding and relative placement, are inseparably linked together.

I've already said that some agencies use lack of funds as a reason not to perform family finding even though this is a federal requirement. When a foster child's relatives are located, the most likely outcome is that the child will be in relative placement.

There is a HUGE incentive for foster care agencies not to find relatives. Using the chart above, we see that when foster kids are placed in a group home, the agency now has $102,348 to spend on caring for each child. There are also 45 group homes involved with the necessary staff to run those facilities.


Here are the hard numbers:

Relative Placement

11,188 foster children living in homes with caring, loving relatives

Cost: $47.1 million/year

Group Home Placement

1,070 foster children living in government operated facilities 

Cost = $109 million/year

Or to really put this into context, if those 1,070 children in group home placement were instead in relative placement, there would be a savings of:

 

You may think that more money clearly means a better outcome for foster youth. You would be mistaken. Studies show that foster kids generally do better in all areas of their lives and their futures are far superior to those children in either foster care placement or a group home.


Now here's the real crime against foster children. Sex trafficking victims are most likely to be former foster youth with some children still being in the foster care system. The foster care statistics above show that an overwhelming amount of personnel and support are available for kids in group foster homes. Yet children who are physically and sexually abused and become victims of sex trafficking are for the most part those same children in either foster care placement, a non-family home, or in a group home.

We all want the best for those children who through no fault of their own, end up in foster care. We expect that the government will do its best to protect these children and get them out of foster care as fast as possible. The mission of foster care agencies is to have these children either returned to their parents or, in those cases where this is not safe or possible, to have the children in relative placement.


Unfortunately, based on studies such as the one above and many more, it is in the best interest of agencies not to locate family members for all foster youth. Failing to locate relatives, those foster children can now be fed into foster care placement or a group home, both which provide less safety for foster kids and a much greater probability of them aging out and living a life being homeless, undereducated or ending up in prison.


You can help more foster children by donating and supporting our efforts to find their family members.


There is a lot of money in foster care. It's just that not enough is going to finding family members and putting children in relative placement.

Do it for the children,


  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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