|
|
Heart Gallery 541-343-2856 877-343-2856 christy@afamilyforeverychild.org
 Tax I.D. 20-4151057 Christy Obie~Barrett Executive Director 880 Beltline Road Springfield, OR 97477 fax 541-343-2866 OUR MISSION: |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Facts on Kids that Age Out
Foster Youth in Transition For Immediate Release July 12, 2007 For further information contact: Kathi Crowe 503-717-1552 or kathi@fosterclub.com Former Foster Youth Testify at Congressional Hearing FosterClub All-Stars share foster care experience with Members of Congress, make case for foster care reform http://kidsarewaiting.org/news/files/NFCCrelease071207.pdf In need of a permanent family Posted by Galen Barnett May 23, 2007 15:08PM Editor's note: The following was submitted to The Oregonian as an In My Opinion article. By Seth Wendzel I spent 10 years in Oregon's foster care system, moving to five different homes during that time. And while I feel fortunate that my last foster parents have stayed involved in my life, I aged out of foster care and left the system with no permanent family and no home to return to. As a child, life in foster care seemed a blur of motion. I attended four different schools and had more caseworkers than I can remember. Worst of all, I was separated from my brother and two sisters. They were adopted when I was 11, and I have not seen them since. This separation is more painful than all of the moves, all of the different homes and routines and schools and schedules I endured. At 19, I left foster care and started life completely my own. Each year, nearly 200 youth in Oregon's foster care system join me -- aging out with no family, no home, no security. We are forced to become adults almost overnight. We have to find housing, food, clothing, a job, continue to attend school and figure out how to succeed. Because if we fail, there is no one there to catch us. As a result, many young people who age out of foster care struggle in the face of these challenges. Too many become homeless, unemployed, suffer from physical or mental problems or go to jail shortly after leaving foster care. Only half of youth will graduate from high school; fewer than 3 percent will graduate from college. As a student at Oregon State University, I am defying these odds. Although I look forward to a successful future, living independently is still difficult. My last foster parents fill a huge gap in my life, but it is not the same as having my own family. Next week, I am traveling to Capitol Hill to join former foster youth from across the country. We will call for foster care reform, and we hope to improve the lives of the more than half a million children currently in foster care. We will share our experiences with members of Congress and call on them to help foster children. Kids Are Waiting, a project of The Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative will also release a new report on the U.S. foster care system, "Time for Reform: Aging Out and On Their Own." The report presents the latest state-by-state data on the number of youth who age out of foster care and describes the problems young adults have when they face the future without the support of a permanent family. Simply changing the way the federal government pays for foster care services could make an enormous difference in preventing the need for some children to enter foster care entirely and moving others to safe, permanent families more quickly. This might help ensure that more foster children can leave the system for loving families, and that fewer age out of care. Our nation must do a better job of making certain that youth in foster care have family relationships and are prepared for adulthood. To me, a family helps you make the most out of life. Without a family, you can only think of yourself. There is no one to discuss things that are private and to encourage you to do better. We must reform federal foster care financing now. Each day we fail to make those changes, 67 more children will leave foster care without a permanent family. Sixty-seven lives are hanging in the balance today. How much longer can we wait? Seth Wendzel live in Portland. Administration for families and children Youth Aging Out of Foster Care Face Uphill Climb to Adulthood A recent Child Trends research brief, Youth who "Age Out" of Foster Care: Troubled Lives, Troubling Prospects, details the complex issues around children aging out of the foster care system, including: MORE... http://cbexpress.acf.hhs.gov/articles.cfm?article_id=639 About 20,000 youths per year in the US stay in foster care until they are emancipated after their eighteenth birthday. Although some of these youth return to their families after emancipation, many are completely without support from means other than government programs. MORE... http://www.njcpac.org/AgingOut.html The transition from foster care to adulthood in Oregon. Information: http://fostercaretoadulthood.wikispaces.com/Oregon MICHIGAN This Web site was the result of a recommendation made by the Statewide Task Force on Youth Transitioning from Foster Care in 2006. Over 100 members from public and private organizations that care about improving services to foster youth participated. more... http://www.michigan.gov/fyit
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
© Copyright 2010 Heart Gallery of Lane County. All rights reserved. |
