Foster Kid Statistics - Youths Flooding Arizona's Foster Care System

(video link is below)

I know that a lot of our readers live in Arizona so you'll probably be interested in the latest foster care statistics. In an interview this week, Kris Jacober, executive director of the Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation, shares that Arizona is losing the fight to lower the number of foster kids coming into the foster care system.


Foster kid statistics reveal that the state has roughly 20,000 children in foster care. As the article describes, "That's more than the total population of Sedona and Winslow combined." That's a lot of displaced children.

To put this alarming number into perspective, it is almost double the number of Arizona foster youth in 2010. Texas is the only other state where the number of foster children has increased from years ago. 

There has been a lot of upheaval in Arizona since the beginning of 2014 because of publicized failures by the Department of Child Safety. Many include Governor Jan Brewer felt that the state's foster care system was broken. The article implies that this influx of kids into foster care is due to the Department of Child Safety having closed 6,500 outstanding child welfare cases within the last month or so.


Jacober's organization supplies items that the state doesn't provide to its foster kids. In 2009, Arizona made significant, "brutal" cuts in the foster care budget causing a strain on many non-profits that have tried to pick up the slack.

One of the crippling side effects from Arizona's reduced foster care budget is the lack of funds to support efforts to locate foster kids' family members. This deficit means that many foster youth who could be moving out of foster care don't because a relative was located and wanted to take in the child are simply not contacted. Instead these children are spending many more months and years in the state system.

The irony is that by investing in more thorough efforts to locate relatives, more foster kids would be processed out and placed with family members. The monthly support payments to these relatives is very modest as the support amount was also a casualty of the 2009 budget cuts. Bottom line: Arizona would save millions of dollars by doing more to locate relatives.


Foster care agencies and the politicians that sign off on their budgets need to take a step back and look at the big picture. Officials need to start identifying those procedures that will save these agencies money while still providing the necessary support to foster children and those caring adults, such as Gia Heller, social media marketing guru and soon-to-be foster mom, who step up and give these children a forever home. This is the only way real progress will be made so less children go into foster care in the first place.

Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

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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 - BBQ Sales Help Foster Kids

National foster kid statistics reveal that there are 400,000 children in U.S. foster care. Colorado is reported to have 4,000 foster children. With hundreds of these kids waiting to be adopted, one couple decided to take matters into their own hands, one bottle of BBQ sauce at a time.


Alison and Andrew Wiltzius had adopted a little 22-month old boy who got the nickname "Bubba." The couple, who live in Windsor, Colorado, decided they could do more to help other foster youth waiting for adoption. So they create Bubba Shane BBQ.

Creating a new food product is no small feat. Yet this couple has succeeded in creating two varieties of the sauce. For now, the BBQ sauce is only sold online. The couple is working with local farmer's markets to get a wider distribution of the product.

During an interview with ABC Channel 7, Alison Wiltzius explained why they started this charitable venture.

"These [foster] kids deserve a taste of home. If you're not called to adoption, but you have a passion for this, everybody eats BBQ. So buy some BBQ sauce and help out."

Certainly having a news segment on ABC should help boost the product's profile. For each bottle sold, these foster parents will donate $1 to a local non-profit, Donate Colorado Kids, that helps with adoptions of foster kids.

Adoption is one of many resources available to help get children out of the foster care system. Other than returning a child to their family, experts agree that finding relatives of foster children is the best solution. Research on kids put in relative placement consistently shows that the children do better across the board not only while they are in school but also once they go out into the world on their own. However, in those cases when family members are unable or unwilling to take in a child relative, adoption is the next best solution.

Like the Wiltzius, we are also looking at ways to help more foster youth. We are in the planning stage of launching a crowdfunding project in the Fall. This will allow people to participate in changing these children's lives forever as we locate family members so more foster children can have a forever home.

Supporting our work will be a little easier than starting a BBQ sauce empire, just maybe not as tasty.

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 - 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 Childen - Foster Child Education Statistics Will Make You Sad or Mad

Yesterday we posted these foster kid statistics about foster children in Georgia. Education is vital to the welfare of all children, especially foster kids because many will age out of foster care with no one to care or support them other than themselves. Foster home instability has a negative impact on these children's education as well as a financial cost to schools.


We realized we had hit a nerve because of the many comments we received. Responses to these foster kid statistics ranged from "These stats are really disturbing." by Gia Heller, an international expert on social media to Helene Illston, a former foster parent, who wrote,

"What's really sad is that these same kids grow up to be adults that don't stand much of chance and then create more dependent children and then the cycle starts all over again."

The research shows that foster children in Georgia move from one foster home to another on average 7-10 times while they are in the system. This movement causes these kids to lose up to half a year of school resulting in some foster youth missing as much as four years of education.

An impact study reported in JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association, researched to effect of frequent movement on students. They looked at nearly 10,000 children. Although the study is dated (1993) and the focus was not on foster children specifically, the findings are most pertinent to these kids.

The study found the following between kids who moved frequently and those who moved infrequently or never:

The study conclusion was:

"Frequent family relocation was associated with an increased risk of children failing a grade in school and four or more frequently occurring behavioral problems."

Another, more recent international study (1997) that focused specifically on foster kids found unequivocal results concerning foster children and education:

• Foster youth dropped out of high school at a much higher rate and were significantly less likely to have completed a GED.
 
• Foster youth reported more discipline problems in school and experienced more educational disruption due to changing schools.
 
• They were significantly less likely to be in a college preparatory high school track.
 
• The adults in the lives of the foster care youth were less likely to monitor homework.

There is also the direct financial hit that the education system takes for each student that is retained, kept back a grade. A study by the Brookings Institute revealed that:

Given average per pupil spending of roughly $10,700 (the most recent national estimate), the direct cost to society of retaining 2.3 percent of the 50 million students enrolled in American schools exceeds $12 billion annually.

Foster kids make up a significant percentage of all children who move frequently, costing the public educational system as much as $28,890 (based on the average stay in foster care of 2.7 years). Add this amount to the already sizeable investment of $80,000 to $190,000 paid out in services to support the average foster child.

There is one bright spot about the educational situation for foster kids. A 2006 foster care study uncovered two encouraging findings that positively help foster children.

1. A positive placement history (e.g., high placement stability, few failed reunifications)
2. A broad independent living preparation (as exemplified by having concrete resources upon leaving care).

One of the best ways to give foster children high placement stability is finding their family members so these kids can be in relative placement. Studies show that these foster youth do much better academically.

Although clearly the education of foster youth suffers greatly due, in part, to constantly changing home environments, this is only one aspect of the overall challenges experienced by these children. We also have to wonder at the real functionality of the U.S. foster care system. It becomes obvious that there is much more money being invested to support foster kids. We have to ask not only ourselves but our government representatives if it isn't way past time to make some important long-term management changes in the system.

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 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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