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about foster care stories: A place to Be

Every child deserves to be in a happy, safe and caring family.  But each year the number of children who enter foster care steadily increases.  There are currently 513,000 American youth in foster care.  These children find themselves in unfortunate circumstances due to family calamity or lack of care.  It is essential that these young people experience a compassionate and loving relationship in order to develop a sense of belonging with which they have been without.

Thanks to selfless heroes, known as foster parents, some children obtain just that and much more.  MPT premiered Academy Award-winning filmmaker Bill Whiteford’s documentary Foster Care Stories: A Place to Be in May 2008, National Foster Care Month.  The half-hour long documentary appeals to all with a heart and compassion for the subject by capturing the real-life stories of those who have experienced foster care first-hand. 

Check back for more updated content in months to come, including an encore broadcast on November 20 and downloadable outreach resources.

10 Ways to get involved with foster Youth

1) Become a Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)

A CASA volunteer provides a judge with carefully researched background of the child to help the court make a sound decision about that child's future. Each home placement case is as unique as the child involved. The CASA volunteer must determine if it is in a child's best interest to stay with his or her parents or guardians, be placed in foster care, or be freed for permanent adoption. The CASA volunteer makes a recommendation on placement to the judge, and follows through on the case until it is permanently resolved. The Maryland CASA office can be reached at 888-833-2272 (toll-free) or at www.marylandcasa.org.

2) Become a Foster Parent.

Foster Care is a temporary Service that provides short-term care and supportive services to children who are unable to live at home because of child abuse or neglect. Foster children live in family foster homes and group care settings.

Twenty-three counties in Maryland and Baltimore City operate foster care programs. Foster care caseworkers work with the birth and foster families to develop the most appropriate permanency plan for each child. Reunifications with parents, placement with relatives, or adoption are examples of permanency plans. Also, some children receive services that teach them to be independent young adults if for some reason they cannot reunite with their family. The foster care caseworker assists the birth and foster families in obtaining the services, such as counseling and health care, needed to meet the goals of the permanency plan. Each foster care program also works to recruit, train, approve and retain foster care providers.

The Maryland Department of Human Resources has a toll free number 1-888-MD-KIDS2 to call for information on fostering.

Additionally, a number of private agencies offer treatment foster care to youth who have greater needs than in regular foster care. Treatment Foster Care is a model of care that provides children with a combination of the best elements of traditional foster care and residential treatment centers. In Treatment Foster Care, the positive aspects of the nurturing and therapeutic family environment are combined with active and structured treatment. Treatment Foster Programs provide, in a clinically effective and cost-effective way, individualized and intensive treatment for children and adolescents who would otherwise be placed in institutional settings. To get a list of treatment agencies call the Maryland Association of Resources for Families and Youth (MARFY) at 410-974-4901.

3) Become an Adoptive Parent

Adoption is the legal and emotional acceptance into your family of a child not born to you. The child will have your name and the same legal rights as a child by birth. After the adoption is approved by the court, you will receive an official decree and a birth certificate with your name listed as the parent. It is your responsibility to feed, clothe, house, and educate your adopted child. The adopted child should receive the same love and understanding as a child born to you.

View Maryland’s Heart Gallery to learn more.

To learn about all types of adoptions, contact Adoptions Together at www.adoptionstogether.org.

4) Become a Counselor at Camp Connect Camp Connect

Maryland's camp to reunify siblings separated in foster care welcomes adult volunteer counselors for this year's camp session, to be held this year from June 16th to June 22nd.  Donations of disposable cameras and funds for other camp materials would be appreciated. For more information, please contact Judith Schagrin, 410-853-3961, or Susan Loysen at 410-853-3741.

5) Become a member of a Foster Care Review Board.

Foster Care Review Boards meet monthly in most jurisdictions, on the same entire day every month, during the workweek. Local review boards are required by law to review the case of each child in foster care every six months. The board makes recommendations to the juvenile court regarding the department of social services' permanency plan for a child; the adequacy of the progress towards making the permanent placement, and appropriateness of the child's current placement until a permanent family is achieved. However, the court has final responsibility for decisions regarding the child. The board may recommend that the child return to his/her natural parent or guardian; be placed for adoption; become independent; or be placed in care. There are currently 62 local review boards throughout the state.

The local boards consist of volunteer citizens chosen by a local selection committee, recommended by the Secretary of DHR and appointed by the Governor. A board has seven members each serving a four-year term. Each board reflects the various socio-economic, racial and ethnic groups of the jurisdiction served. To find out more information call 410-585-2240 or go to the website.

6) Donate children items to the Maryland Foster Parent Association.

The Maryland Foster Parent Association is looking for people to donate new children car seats, cribs, strollers or children’s clothing for children coming into care. Gift cards to clothing stores would also be appreciated. You can make a direct donation to the Maryland Foster Parent Association and select the Baltimore, Maryland Walk. Finally, the Association is looking for items that can be used for a raffle at the Conference in June. Call Bernice Newman at 1-866-635-4371.

7) Support former foster youth organize a Maryland Chapter of the Foster Alumni of America

Foster Care Alumni of America (FCAA), Maryland Chapter is a local division of FCAA National; a non-profit organization made up of former foster youth whose mission is to connect the alumni community in Maryland and to transform policy and practice, ensuring opportunity for people in and from foster care.    They are looking to recruit current foster youth (18 -21) and former foster youth (22 and up) to be members of our local chapter.  If you have ever lived in foster care, including kinship care, group homes and/or residential placements or if you did not experience foster care but believe in our mission, please join!  They are in the early stages of our chapter establishment and are in need of help with the graphic design of our website and brochures, donations, and networking opportunities to reach out to organizations that have direct contact with aging-out foster youth or former foster youth. Please contact them if you're able to help!

8) Assist Foster Youth Incorporated (FYI) produce a DVD.

This group for foster youth is interested in producing a DVD to give to all foster youth entering foster care in Maryland to understand their rights. If you have experience producing DVDs or can donate money to produce this DVD call Shantel Randolph or Rhonda Lipkin at 410-625-9409

9) Plan a special event for foster youth.

If your company, civic group, religious group or community organization would like to plan a summer picnic, holiday party, other special event OR have an idea for a project for foster youth contact Duane St. Clair at 410-381-4800.

10) Be part of the Supportive Services NETwork for Vulnerable Youth in Montgomery County

The NET Program is an innovative 4-pronged program designed to provide adult support and career opportunities to vulnerable young adults willing to work toward a brighter future. The target population is young adults aged 16-25 who are aging out of foster care, or who have experienced homelessness or other trauma during adolescence and who are seeking adult connections. Program involvement is entirely voluntary; participants are motivated to make a difference in their life. The program is designed to allow "a la carte" access to services. The four areas for volunteers are:

• Be a Coach for Youth: Coach a young person aged 16 to 25 by working 1-on-1 to help them to explore their dreams, develop a life plan, and successfully transition into adulthood. Help a young person "aging out" of foster care and in need of adult support. Coaches will be trained and screened. Program to be administered by the Friends of Wells/Robertson House, Inc. (FWRH) and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Montgomery County.
  
  
• Teach Self-Advocacy Skills: Help young people "in the system" develop the negotiating skills necessary to navigate commonplace challenges. This highly acclaimed course uses the Socratic method and a casebook developed by the NYC-based Youth Advocacy Center. Motivated students develop career goals, job readiness skills, resumes, and interviewing skills. The culminating event is an informational interview with a professional in the student's field of interest.
  
  
• Join the Professional Advisory Council: Agree to talk to a young person about your career. At the end of the Self Advocacy Training Program, students interview a successful adult working in their field of interest. For young adults this can be a powerful and motivating experience.
  
  
• Hire an Intern or Provide a Scholarship: Studies show that foster children who work during high school are four times more likely to graduate than those who do not. Help us find ways to link motivated, disadvantaged young people to the world of work.

Contact Clare Herington, NET Program Director, at 301-461-5197 or email at clareherington@gmail.com.

Partners

Advocates for Children and Youth
MD Department of Human Resources

Documentary underwritten, in part, by The Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Community outreach made possible through the generous support of the Freddie Mac Foundation.