Empowering foster care youth and alumni to

build successful

lives in young

adulthood

Junior League Meeting, 2014

Advocacy Movements

•Civil rights movement

•Women’s suffrage

•Disability rights

•Faith movements

•GLBTQ

Collective voices of current and former foster care youth:

Foster Care Alumni of America’s“Culture of Foster Care”

Postcard Project

Improving Outcomes;Changing the Odds

Life’s Transitions Do Not Happen Overnight

Recommended Reading: Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute’s 2012 Foster Youth Internship Report

Transition to Young Adulthood forfor a young person with loving,

involved parents

Transition to Young Adulthoodfor a foster care youth who “ages out”

Lack of Family Privilege

Point of Transition:Child and Adult Systems

Disconnection

Child Mental Health

Mental Health

Child WelfareSpecial Education

Juvenile Justice Criminal Justice

Food Stamps

Workforce

Housing

Empowering Youth to Plan for the Future

Essential Elements:

How the local community can help emancipating foster youth

succeed

Foster Care Alumni of America’s“Culture of Foster Care”

Postcard Project

Practical Needs:- Annual FCAA Ohio Regional Thanksgivings- Pay It Forward: Baby Clothing Program- Raffle Prizes for joint Ohio Reach and

Connecting the Dots conference- Suits for Success- Serving as a mentor

Copyright Lisa Dickson

Adding to a young person’s Circle of Support:

What exactly can I rely on you for?

It is critical to the youth’s success to identify those adults who will continue to provide various supports through and beyond the transition from care.

Clarifying exactly what the various supports will include can help to avoid gaps in the youth’s safety net and misunderstandings between the youth and the supportive adult(s).

• A home for the holidays• A place to do laundry• An emergency place to stay• Care packages while in college• Storage• Someone to discuss problems with• A phone or computer to use

Youth in Residential Placements

Recommendations from the Franklin County YAB:

• Staff at residential facilities should be trauma-informed, and skilled to assist youth in dealing with their triggers.

• Youth who are placed in residential facilities should be informed of their personal rights, and who to contact if they feel physically unsafe.

• Residential facilities should separate youth who are suicidal from youth who are physically violent.

• Residential facilities should provide a distinction between tweens (ages 12-14) with teens (ages 15-17). Their developmental needs are different.

• Current residential policies be reviewed with input from current and/or former foster youth, including their policies on seclusion, staff training and independent living preparation.