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 - At-Risk of Abuse by Foster Parents

There are many heart-warming stories about foster parents who selflessly open their homes to foster children. Unfortunately, one foster mom was jailed for abusing her foster child.


Lynn Smith, foster mother to five youths, was arrested because of a video that shows her pushing the head of one of her foster kids into the toilet. Police had been alerted to this and other alleged abuses by an anonymous tipster who wrote:

“She abuses them daily and nobody will do nothing, she withholds food from them and makes them stay in rooms or outside all day. Y’all been there already and the kids are still being abused. This is torture and she needs to be prosecuted.”

Smith had been in jail since June 17 because of a separate incident where she was allegedly shoplifting. She's now out on bail, but  DFAC (Division of Family and Children Services) has removed all five foster kids, ranging in age from 2 to 10, from Smith's home.


You also have to wonder how long this abuse has been going on when the tipster writes, "She abuses them daily." Thank goodness that someone finally decided to take action to ensure the health and safety of these foster youths.

You might think that abusing a foster child is a crime since they are under the protection and care of the government, but you'd be wrong. According to Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills:

"DFACs doesn’t allow corporal punishment on any of their foster kids, but that’s not a crime.”

I don't know about you, but last time I looked, forcing a child's head into the toilet didn't fall under any recognized category of punishment for children. This is the type of action we see on TV when someone is interrogating a criminal or terrorist, not children. State agencies have an obligation to ensure that the foster youth under their care are able to live in a home without the fear of abuse: physical, mental or sexual. 


A proven solution is for agencies to invest more time and energy in locating family members of foster children so these kids can be placed with relatives that statistically result in better treatment and a happier, healthy child.


This time foster children were taken out of harm's way not because of the successful monitoring of their living environment by DFAC but because a caring adult saw an abuse and courageously took action. Let's hope that more people will be equally brave so that the next time, it's not a story about abuse but one of the death of a foster child. As a society, we can and must do 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 foster child abuse by foster mother.

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Foster Children Impact San Diego Businesses

San Diego Business Owner

We all know that companies are in the business of making money. Without profits, a business won't last too long. With all the activities of marketing, sales and operations, it's easy for companies to overlook other costs that can and do impact their bottom line as well as opportunities to generate more sales and profits.

A commentary in San Diego's The Daily Transcript provides more shocking statistics about foster kids and touches on their financial impact on businesses. "On any given day, 3,500 children are living in foster care in San Diego County. Some children enter the foster care system and... never leave until they come of age."

The cost to support one foster child in California for the average stay of three years is $190,000. That's tax dollars at work including those of companies. The commentary hits on several costs that impact businesses, both in California and nationally.

"The cost of supporting foster children carries through into adulthood, which means increased social services. Unfortunately, crime is a byproduct of foster care, as is an uneducated workforce, due to the poor academic performance and dropout rate correlated with foster children."

By the way, that cost for increased social services has been estimated to be $300,000 over the lifetime of just one foster youth. Reports say that nationally 24,000 foster teens age out each year. Crunching the numbers taxpayers will pay a staggering $7.2 billion. Next year, 24,000 more foster kids will age out for another hit of $7.2 billion.

Let's put this amount into perspective.

2014 budget: $2.8 billion 2014 budget: $4.1 billion

The cost to communities and businesses for the 24,000 foster kids who aged out in 2013 is more than the 2014 budgets for both San Diego and Houston with a combined population of 3,272,122.

The commentary gives many suggestions as to how businesses can support children while in foster care and once they age out. However, one critical activity was omitted, that of supporting efforts to find family members of foster youths.

Several studies reveal that foster kids do better when they are connected with family members whether a grandparent, aunt or adult sibling. Many of these children can be reunited with a birth parent who was not responsible for the child being placed in foster care.

The solution to helping foster children is not to simply feel sadness or pity for them. Businesses can and should take an active role in helping these children. Not only will these kids benefit greatly by the effort, but savvy companies can promote their efforts to develop and increase goodwill with consumers in the community.

Business involvement can help reduce criminal activity committed by aged out foster youth. Otherwise, companies can lose financially by having to pay for expensive security products, systems and personnel, increased insurance rates and the direct cost of vandalism and theft.

Businesses could do much worse that to help foster children and create a win-win for everyone.

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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Find Families In Mexico: U.S. Foster Kids Have Too Many Placements

Most of the public is unaware that foster children can spend years in foster care moving from one home to the next with disastrous results. April McWilliams, one such foster teen, remembers her four years in foster care that were spent between three different

homes.

When relatives of a foster child are located, these family members can provide the emotional support these children need to lead a better life.

"The stories of foster children like McWilliams, marked by uncertainty and impermanence — and, in some cases, even deaths — have prompted the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to redesign the state’s foster care system, increasing its reliance, in part, on partnerships with private contractors to find living arrangements for children in foster homes."

The state is now working to reduce these placements so more foster kids will have a better future.

Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico

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

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Keeping Foster Children with Relatives Should Be a Priority

While there is no one solution to help foster children, too often the overriding message from state agencies is "Adopt!" House Bill 54 would require an extensive relative search be completed during the first 30 days a child is removed from their home.

However, unless there is funding to support this law, county foster child agencies will continue to use a lack of funding as a reason not to perform this search. Find Families In Mexico has always advocated "family first" as the primary way to help foster kids. Agencies are able to get this in-depth search for relatives of U.S. foster youths still living in Mexico at no cost through our donor-supported services.

There is no reason why a foster child has to spend another year in a foster care institution just because their family members live in Mexico. For the sake of these children, connecting them with relatives must be a higher priority.

Regards,


  Richard

Richard Villasana
Find Families In Mexico

PS. Follow us on Facebook for more information about foster youths.

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