(3) To top that off, about twenty-five thousand of them each year join the ranks of the homeless population as they turn 18 years old. The programs to help these young people make the transition from youth to adulthood are seriously underfunded and limited to those who know how to access them and have the qualifications to enroll in them and maturity to voluntarily remain in a system that has already caused them so much grief.
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Recent Entries
- Mike Canfield Co-President FPAWS testifys on “drop-in” monitoring of foster parents
- Fostering Connections Legislation Finally Begins to Have Effect
- www.nightof1000dreams.org
- From a Distance…things will look great!
- We don’t have to really improve foster care – just manage it…
- What is happening to family home foster care in Washington?
- National Foster Care Month – FPAWS, get a move on!
- More Harm than Help
- Foster Youth and Homelessness – Findings of a National Study
- The Problem – As I See It…
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Links
Foster Truth 
The National Association of Counties (NACo) report on children aging out of foster care can be found online at: http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Publications&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=26583
I have seen a solid solution to this piece of the puzzle. Seasoned foster parents that know how to work with teens that end up in foster care. We have success that doesn’t fit the norm.
The three teens that I’ve raised all came to me at between 15-16 years old. One had been a prostitiute and spent several months in the hospital with suicidal idealization. One had been horribely abused and neglected, and one was the terror of his family, failing school and didn’t care, nasty mouth to!
Now for the good news! All of these teens have either graduated college or are in college now.
The oldest at 26 is married with two children, works full time and makes me proud every day.
The 2nd one is a sophmore at WSU, studying business.
The third is graduating from high school one quarter short of having an AA degree, and has been awareded the govenor’s scholorship, and plans to become a Dr.; most likely will, just has that kind of mind.
Amazing young people!
So you see…
Foster parents that have the tools to show the kids their potential, and choose to love them no matter what, can pull it out of them.
Sometimes this is real tough love, lots of accountability, and teaching them to see their rotten pasts as what will give them the will to overcome and succeed.
When my kids tell me their sad stories I’m sad with them… But then we get to work, so what will they do to make their lives different, what will they do to make the world a better place.
Their parents may have been broken, they can feel sad for their plight but they must not make it their own. They get that, they strive to succeed. Perfectlly? No way, they screw up all the time, but they pick up and keep going and I am so proud of each of them.
They make my life shiny even on cloudy days.
Blessings to all!
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Choose to love a foster child, you can do it to!