Definition
The Freechild Project has found that young people in the
foster care system rarely have significant and meaningful opportunities to
share their concerns and ideas or make meaningful decisions about the
systems that control their lives. Decision-making opportunities
provide young people - particularly those in foster care - with the chance
to experience empowerment and to hone those skills today and in the
future.
Point on Ponder
Nationwide, about 500,000
young people live in foster care. They are removed from their homes when
the courts determine that they’ve been abused or neglected by their
parents, or when poverty, death, illness or other circumstances beyond
their control prevent their biological parents from properly caring for
them. Some older children go into foster care when their families feel
they can no longer supervise them. Some young people end up being adopted
out of the foster care system, but many others spend months or even years
in foster care, often lacking stability in their lives and a sense of
home. Who speaks for these young people? How about...
themselves? (Adapted from
here.)
Resources
These organizations and publications have been identified by Freechild as exemplary examples of
what foster youths' voice sounds like, and what they could be doing all
over the nation.
Organizations
Youth
Communications
Helps teenagers develop
their skills in reading, writing, thinking, and reflection, so they can
acquire the information they need to make thoughtful choices about their
lives. Much of their work is with foster youth.
The Voices of Youth
The goal of Voices of Youth is to make foster care a more supportive
experience for teens so they are better prepared for the transition out of
care. Our strategy is to help the staff become more aware of and sensitive
to youth needs so they can better meet those needs. Our method is to
integrate youth - and their stories - in training, curriculum, planning
and agency operations.
California Youth Connection
An advocacy/youth leadership organization for current and former foster
youth. We are young people, who because of our experiences with the child
welfare system, now work to improve foster care, to educate the public and
policy makers about our unique needs and to change the negative
stereotypes many people have of us. CYC is a youth-run organization that provides invaluable opportunities
to learn leadership skills.
Congressional Foster Youth Internship Program
Co-sponsored by the Orphan Foundation of
America and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, the
Congressional Foster Youth Internship Program offers college-age former
foster youth an opportunity to participate in legislative action by
interning with a congressman for six weeks. They receive training in
several areas including partisanship and workplace etiquette. They attend Congressional briefings on adoption issues and meeting with
the White House’s national spokesperson for children in foster care, actor
Bruce Willis.
Jonas Penn Youth Involvement Fund
The purpose of this fund is to create meaningful, authentic youth
involvement and opportunities for youth who are in or have been involved
with Systems of Care.
FYI3
Provides foster youth between ages 14 and 23 opportunities to become
involved, informed and independent in their transitioning journey towards
adulthood.
Publications
Foster Care Youth United
Foster Care Youth United, which began publication in June, 1993, is a
bi-monthly magazine written by and for young people in foster care. It has
a paid circulation of 10,000 with subscribers in 46 states. FCYU is
designed to give a voice to young people living in the system by providing
a forum for an open exchange of views and experiences by those most
impacted by foster care.
The Heart Knows Something Better: Teenage Voices from the Foster Care
System
The teenaged writers in our pages left their natural families because they
were abused or neglected, or because poverty, death, illness, or other
circumstances beyond their control prevented their families from properly
caring for them. They write about losing loved ones, but also about
finding new families in foster care. They describe coming to terms with
difficult childhoods, and drawing strength from the past. After reading
their stories we know how they feel about living in foster care, about
preparing for life beyond it, and, all the while, they give us insights
into how the system might possibly be changed for the better.
Mockingbird Society
Produces a newsletter written by foster and homeless youth that
is dedicated to improving the safety, quality of life and future
of the children and adolescents living in the Washington State
foster care/group home system.
Bill
of Rights for Children in Foster Care
By the National
Foster Parents Association
Florida Statute 39.4085
Legislative findings
and declaration of intent for goals for dependent children
Your
rights
Created by the
National Center for Youth Law
Bill of Rights for Children in Foster Care
By Casey National
Center in August 2002
Answers
By the Maine Youth
Advisory Team
Your Rights in Foster Care
By Lawyers for
Children in New York City
South Carolina Foster Child’s Bill of Rights
By GOALL Youth
Advisory Council
The Real
Deal
By the National
Youth in Care Network
