Foster Teens Cut Off from College Entry Programs

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


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

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


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

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

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


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

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

Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

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

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Foster Children Crowdfunding with a Twist, Supported by Businesses

So many people have asked how they could get involved to help foster children. We have the answer. On Nov. 10, a crowdfunding campaign will be launched to raise funds so that hundreds of foster kids will be able to move out of the foster care system and into forever homes with loving relatives. And this campaign has a business twist.


First let's talk crowdfunding. You have heard of this but may not be clear on what crowdfunding is and how it works. Crowdfunding is essentially people giving money to a cause. It's not a donation is the traditional sense because depending on the amount you contribute, you get a prize that is called a perk. These perks can be very nice ranging from original drawings, artwork or music, or products such as clothes, books or even tickets to a movie that was produced by the money raised through crowdfunding.

Our crowdfunding campaign will be unique because it's oriented toward professionals and businesses. We have pulled together some of the top marketers, trainers and coaches in the country who are contributing products and services. Eric Lofholm, who is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on sales, sales systems, and sales scripting, is offering a digital program for just $25. Other experts such as Jill Lublin, master publicity strategist, consultant, and bestselling author, are offering one-on-one coaching sessions.

Ever heard of Tom Antion? Tom was dominating Internet marketing before most people knew there was an Internet. He's offering a special coaching session that cannot be bought except through our crowdfunding. Tom is a strong supporter of our organization's work to reconnect foster kids with their family members. Following Tom is Roberto Candelaria, crowdfunding expert, who is also donating his time and expertise to help ensure a successful campaign.


Of course, I would be remiss not to mention Gia Heller, social media marketing guru and the leading expert in her field. Gia is a contributor and is providing pre-launch support and guidance. But that's not all. Gia recently adopted a foster teen and is working on getting certified so she can become a foster mom to more children. She understands the challenges that foster youth face both while in the foster care system and once they age out.

Our contributors are smart, sharp and very successful business professionals who want to give back and are doing so by supporting our work to get 200-250 foster kids out of foster care in 2015 and into forever homes. If you aren't in a position to become a foster parent, you can absolutely join in our crowdfunding. Find a perk, get new skills to grow your business or improve an area of your personal life. With a dozen experts, there's something at a contribution level for everyone.

We're in the home stretch for 2014. The holidays are here. Now is the perfect time for you to give and help a foster child. It's never been easier and you'll go away with a perk that could help you make 2015 your best year ever.


Fulfill your desire to help foster kids avoid homelessness, not end up in prison, remain in school, and not become another sex trafficking victim. Do it for the children. Do it for yourself. I can't think of anything that speaks to the holiday spirit like helping a child in need.

Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

PS. Starting Oct. 27, you'll be able to follow our progress on the crowdfunding campaign by visiting our page at www.FindFamiliesInMexico.org/news.

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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

PS. Help a foster child by sharing your thoughts and ideas below and this post with others.

Get a PDF copy of this blog about fundraiser by Buck County non-profit to help area foster children.

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Foster Youth: Sex Trafficking Targets

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

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

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

Ortiz Walker Pettigrew

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico
760-690-3995

PS. Like and follow us on Facebook for more information about foster teens.

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