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 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

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

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Foster Children - Foster Child's Birth Father Notified of Pending Adoption

Children enter foster care for a variety of reasons. The hope is that the foster kid will be returned to their parent(s) or placed with relatives. Sometimes a foster child is put up for adoption. At this point many state laws require that foster child agencies locate and serve papers to an absent parent letting them know of the pending adoption. This can be challenging when a parent lives outside the U.S.


A family law attorney with the Booker Law Firm in Little Rock, Arkansas needed to locate a biological father. The foster kid's mother, living in the U.S. and divorced from the father, had filed an adoption request for sole custody of their daughter with the Circuit Court of Pulaski County, Arkansas.


Adoption can be a complicated process when foster care agencies have to go outside the U.S. in search of a parent as in this case. Add to this challenge that some parents make it very difficult to have papers served on them.

Sometimes an agency has a phone number, but no physical address. We have worked such case where our expertise was needed to discover a home address in Mexico so adoption notification papers could be sent. As the U.S. population becomes more diverse, the need for organizations that have international expertise can only increase.

There can also be time constraints meaning that if a parent cannot be found within a certain period of time, a TPR (termination of parental rights) can be issued by the court. However, while all of this effort is expended to locate a parent and notify them of their parental rights or ability to terminate their rights, a foster child is sitting alone in a government institution, potentially at risk of physical, emotional or sexual abuse.


Fortunately for the foster youth involved in this case, we discovered where the father was living in just a couple of weeks. We presented his home address and phone number to the attorney who promptly sent out the paperwork about the adoption.

Many mothers and fathers lose their rights to custody of their child simply because state agencies cannot find the parent. Adoption law requires agencies to do their utmost to locate and serve papers to both parents, even those who may have no moral right to block an adoption. I believe it's better to err on the side that a parent may truly want to be part of their child's life than to automatically cut them off.

Foster children need every connection to loving, caring family they can have, even those wayward parents who arrive very late in their child's life.  

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 Child - Adoption of Foster Kid Is Sometimes the Best Move

A primary aim of foster care is to get children out of the system as soon as possible, ideally back to their parent(s). Barring this, agencies look to have foster youth placed with relatives or non-related adults. Adoption is another option available for foster children. As much as we are an advocate for relative placement, there are times when adoption is a better outcome for a foster child.


For 90% of the foster kids who age out (are forced out) of foster care, they will stop their education, become homeless, turn to drugs, become a victim of sex trafficking or end up in prison, usually within just two years. It’s a horrific future. Any alternative that can keep a child from aging out alone is desirable.

We handled a case involving a foster teen who was in the system along with her baby. She had no relatives in the U.S. so adoption was seen as the best solution. Often in cases where a child is up for adoption, state laws exist that mandate that agencies do their utmost to locate and notify a child's biological parents. They were known to be living in two completely separate parts of Mexico, the equivalent of Los Angeles and New York.





Michael Nash, the presiding judge of Juvenile Court, Los Angeles

This foster child case is one where the judge was clearly a positive force on behalf of the foster child. The judge had almost monthly court dates and insisted on having updates placing periodic but consistent pressure on the case worker.


We understand that social workers handling foster children cases are overworked. However, that does not excuse poor or no follow up. This case dragged on for months in large part because of delayed or no response to our inquiries. Only when a court date was pending would we get a flurry of communication from the case worker. It was definitely an example of how the courts can push a case in a positive direction.

We located both biological parents. Due to issues of confidentiality, there is much about the case that we cannot share. We can say that one of the parents was in a very remote part of Mexico with no telephone or easy form of contact. It's doubtful given the situation that the agency was ever able to maintain much contact with the parent. Communication is critical because once relatives are notified and have indicated they want to be part of a foster kid's life, foster care agencies vet the family members.

Since the teen was already placed with a very caring foster couple who was willing to take in both the girl and her baby, the courts decided on adoption.


This case highlights that judges can make a positive impact on a foster child's life. Judges can provide a balance of power with social services and any Guardian Ad Litem or CASA volunteer working on behalf of a foster youth. Without the judge having taken such an active role in the case and prodding the social worker, there is ample evidence that the teen may have aged out due to inactivity.


We have to point out that all three sides involved with foster youth have come to us for help. Although we work most often with Child Protective Services, we have handled cases involving the 9th Circuit Court and are doing more cases directly with CASA.


In a perfect world, parents love, protect and support their children unconditionally. But we don't live in a perfect world. There are times that despite biology, some parents are uncaring, irresponsible and unloving. In the worst of circumstances, parents are abusive and cruel, a physical danger to the lives of their children, resulting in their kids being in foster care in the first place.

Foster children are served best when all parties: case workers, CASA volunteers and judges work together to provide the best outcome possible. Sometimes adoption is best for a child.

Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

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

Get a PDF copy of this blog about a foster teen and her baby given up for adoption.

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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.

Get a PDF copy of this blog about family members not being allowed to give a home to their related foster kids..

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Foster Children - Foster Child Reconnected with Birth Mother

Once a child enters foster care, agencies are mandated by federal law to search for relatives. These efforts can be 85% successful. However, despite best efforts, sometimes agencies simply cannot find any family members in the U.S. In these situations foster children can be at great risk of staying in the system years past the norm unless agencies get help.


Children's Service Society of Wisconsin (CSSW) is a non-profit that handles all efforts to locate a foster child's family members. In this particular case, the organization had exhausted every effort to find relatives in the U.S. These agencies are painfully aware that if a relative isn't found, the child will spend many years in foster care and probably age out with no safety net.

They did have some information about the child's birth mother who was suspected of having moved to Mexico to live with the child's grandmother. Acting on the recommendation from Kevin Campbell, CSSW contacted our organization.

Campbell is the Founder and Director of the Center for Family Finding and Youth Connectedness. He is the leading U.S. expert on locating relatives in America. Regarding a search for family members outside the U.S., Campbell writes:

"Connecting individuals to their families is vital to improving safety, well-being, and permanency outcomes for our most vulnerable youth. Conducting a hopeful search for an individual in Mexico requires additional knowledge and information differing from the United States." 

Within a few weeks of us working the case, CSSW was able to call and speak with the birth mother, maternal grandmother and several adult relatives. The organization was elated to finally be able to put the foster youth in touch with family members.


Despite the many news stories about abusive foster parents and a seemingly callous foster care system, most of the case workers we support are truly caring individuals who are very happy when a foster child's relatives are located.


Molly McGregor, the Family Finding Specialist who oversaw this case, wrote,

"Many thanks for all of your efforts in locating the family of one of our foster children in Wisconsin! It was a pleasure working with your agency."

No matter where a foster child's relatives are living, it's important to locate them. In the best case, all children should have a family that they can turn to for love and help. Tens of thousands of foster children do not need to age out each year without any support. Sometimes the solution is as simple as agencies bringing in an organization such as Find Families In Mexico that can give those family connections to foster youth.

Concerning the value to foster children of finding their family members, Children's Service Society of Wisconsin (CSSW) writes, "Children will be able to make a connection that could last a lifetime." Let's hope that more agencies will heed the call and do more to positively and permanently change the lives of more foster children.

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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Foster Child - Reconnecting Foster Kid with Relatives

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.

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.

Get a PDF copy of this blog on reconnecting a foster teen with his family members.

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Foster Child - Neglected Foster Kid Found Wandering Streets in Riverside, Ohio

 

Once again there's a story about a foster child gone missing. This time a 7-year-old hungry and barefoot girl was found by a neighbor.


The neighbor, a mother of a 4-year-old daughter, first tried to reach Child Services to report the incident. After half an hour with no response, the mom called the police. The mom told police that the foster child:

"said she’d been out walking the neighborhood all morning [the girl wasn't found until 11:30] and she didn’t have any shoes on and she said she was hungry... her foster mom asked her to leave so she didn’t know where else to go.”

Once the police arrived, they told the mom that this was not the first time that this foster kid had been found alone wandering around the neighbor. The foster home where the child stays had been previously investigated.

Despite the many dedicated and caring foster parents who open their doors to take in children, the majority of these cases of abuse or neglect seem to involve foster children in "foster placement," living with adults who are not related to the child.

One area of deficiency for many foster care agencies is the lack of thorough efforts to locate relatives of foster youth. Experts report that in general foster kids placed with their family members are happier, healthier, have less emotional issues, perform better in school and have higher graduation levels.

One proven solution is for the public and businesses to donate to foster youth services such as Find Families In Mexico, where the sole focus is to locate family members of foster children so these kids can be placed with relatives.


Reporters later spoke with the Montgomery County CPS (Child Protective Services) that explained that this particular foster home was under the management of a Southwest Ohio agency. Much greater accountability needs to be placed on social service agencies.

As taxpayers we count on the billions of dollars spent on foster care to provide foster kids with a place where they will be properly cared for and protected against abuse and neglect. Unfortunately, too many adults are using the system to put money in their pockets while leaving physical, mental and emotional scars on the most vulnerable of our children.

There are no easy, fast solutions, but more pressure must be placed on agencies to comply with federal and state laws that mandate thorough and ongoing efforts to find family members and unite them with their related foster children. Until that happens, more foster children will wander neighborhoods, hungry for both food and love.

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.

Get a PDF copy of this blog on another neglected foster child.

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Foster Children - Dismal Foster Kid Statistics

Based on the statistics above, clearly foster youth need more help than they are presently receiving.


It's estimated that 24,000 foster teens will age out of foster care in 2014. What the statistics above don't show is the incredible cost both in services for children while in foster care and the billions of dollars that will be spent to help them once they age out.

One way to help foster children is to support efforts to find their family members. This will help ensure that these kids don't become another statistic leading lives of desperation and homelessness.


We can do better. Foster youth deserve better.

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.

Get a PDF copy of this blog on the dismal foster kid statistics.

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Foster Kids: Sex Trafficking Victims Revisited

Yesterday we wrote about the connection between foster children in general and those who run away and sex trafficking victims. Some wrote to express shock over the statistics while others felt that immediate action should be taken to resolve this crisis. 

"I'm glad you're sharing about this important topic. Nobody likes to admit this is happening, but we need to recognize that it is."
Judy Graybill

As Judy wrote, it is important to talk about sex trafficking since several studies and reports from law enforcement highlight that a high percentage of child and teenage sex trafficking victims are or were foster children. At the same time, our Facebook and blog post also generated some strong reactions because of the image we used. Some felt that having an image of a girl* in a provocative outfit was exploitive. We subsequently changed the image, but we wonder whether that was a mistake.

Perhaps the issue for those who were repulsed by the image was that they simply don't like knowing and seeing evidence that in the U.S. thousands of foster child end up being sold into prostitution. Maybe in trying to be sensitive or "PC," we actually became part of the problem - downplaying the severity of a crisis that is permanently maiming thousands of foster youth each year.


If you saw the image, did you feel it was exploitive? If so, how would you showcase this child abuse?

Did you feel that the image was offensive? Some wrote that they were not offended, but at the same time, they were also uncomfortable sharing the post with others for fear that people might just see the image and overlook the message.

Do you think we should have removed the image?

It may be easy for people to criticize a photo, but the harsh truth is that in the largest economy in the world, thousands of foster kids are being prostituted out while their foster parents continue to collect a monthly stipend and foster care agencies overlook those instances of runaway foster youth and fail to report them to the police.

How obscene does the situation have to get before action is taken to help these very vulnerable children!

"It doesn't matter how they are dressed or what they look like, they are still children and should be protected." Rick Allen, Packaging Specialists Inc. SW

Until yesterday, did you know sex trafficking was such a huge crisis? It also happens to be a $32 billion industry internationally and only second to the illegal drug industry.

Did you know that the average starting age for prostitution is now 13 years old according to Rachel Lloyd, executive director of Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (gems) in Harlem, New York?

Did you know how strong the connection is between foster teens and sex trafficking victims? The FBI just close a national case called Operation Cross Country, the bureau's eight such operation, where they arrested 281 pimps and saved 170 children, many who were foster children and most who were never reported missing by "parents, guardians and the entire child welfare system designed to protect them."

Again many commented that they would like a way to help these foster kids today rather than waiting for politicians and government agencies to put in solutions that may minimize instances of foster teens ending up as sex trafficking victims. In many cases, those foster kids who run away do so from a group home or shelter or from an abusive foster family environment.

One proven solution is to support efforts to reconnect children in foster care with their family members.


Studies show these children are generally happier and healthier plus as they grow older, they will have that family support that is so desperately missing for most children who end up as sex trafficking victims.
 
Foster youth need our support. As a society we have an obligation to protect these children. To do anything less, which includes avoiding sensitive and uncomfortable topics such as foster kids as sex trafficking victims, is to turn our backs on these children. As Edmund Burke wrote, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men [and women] to do nothing." We can certainly do more than nothing.

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.

Get a PDF copy of this blog on foster children and sex trafficking.

*Note: If you felt offended by the original photo, the image we used is of a professional model and not an actual sex trafficking victim.

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