PORTLAND, Ore. - Copies of the new Oregon Bill of Rights for Foster Children are being sent to every foster home and group home this week, and given to foster children and the people who work with them. Now, the same team of kids who developed it is making new recommendations to policymakers.
They address concerns that teens aging out of foster care need more financial guidance and housing options to live on their own - and that foster children could be better matched with families to avoid kids bouncing from one home to another.
In Royce Markley's childhood, it was nine foster homes.
"It's horrible for your sense of belonging," he said. "It creates all these emotional and developmental problems when you're moving all the time, because you never have any time to focus on yourself. You're constantly focusing on the next move - 'Am I going to be moved? Am I going to have to make new friends?' You're kind of in this defense mode all the time."
Markley and other members of the Oregon Foster Youth Connection are recommending a compatibility survey for foster parents and kids prior to assigning placements, and more funding for the Independent Living Programs in every county that help foster teens transition to adult living - but now serve only half of those who need the assistance.
The recommendations were presented at a conference last week. They are practical - and in some cases, blunt - about overloaded caseworkers, and a system the kids say is inconsistent and lacks accountability.
Pamela Butler, Oregon Foster Youth Connection director, said the focus isn't on complaining - but on fixing things.
"The recommendations they're making, they believe will help kids right now in foster care - not larger, high-level policy discussions where we talk about change happening in a decade," she said. "These youths are talking about things that right now, on the ground, aren't going well - and sometimes wouldn't even take a law change to make that better for foster youth."
She said prior years' recommendations created the new hotline and ombudsman for foster youth in Oregon. The team will hone its new recommendations to present to the Legislature next year.
Perhaps the most poignant concern raised by foster youth is that they're "seen as statistics, rather than individuals." Now age 20, Markley said that was his impression, too.
"Oftentimes I just felt like I was floating along," he said, "and that most people just kind of agreed to the consensus that, you know, 'They're good kids but they're not really going to amount to anything, because statistics show that foster youths just really don't go anywhere in life.' "
Markley, who is working and in college now, said he aims to prove them wrong.
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An evidenced-based social work model to help parents struggling with substance use stay connected to their children is offering hope to Ohio counties ravaged by the opioid epidemic.
A new survey of parents in predominantly Appalachian Ohio counties finds most had positive experiences with Ohio Sobriety Treatment and Reducing Trauma or "START."
Erin Mills, Ohio START family peer mentor for Summit County Children's Services, said the program uses a trauma-informed approach to help parents forge healthy relationships with their children, while voluntarily agreeing to enter a recovery program.
"It's an amazing tool within the community as we are facing this opioid epidemic," Mills asserted. "We have tons of children who are being displaced due to addiction issues."
According to the survey, many parents gave credit to Ohio START for helping them keep custody of or reunite with their children, and say their experiences led to a more positive perception of child protective services. According to 2022 state data, more than 5,000 residents died from drug overdoses and the majority of the deaths involved opioids.
Jen McClellan, Ohio START regional manager for the Public Children Services Association of Ohio, explained substance abuse in the home increases the odds of child abuse and neglect but pointed to research which shows removing children from their home and placing them in foster care can cause mental distress and in some cases, lead to worse outcomes.
She believes the program's success is driven by its use of peer mentors and wraparound services aimed at keeping parents and kids together safely.
"We use more intense practices, the family peer mentor is paired with a caseworker who serves the families together," McClellan explained. "And they see their families much more frequently than in a traditional Children's Services case."
Jessica Okolish, Ohio START family peer mentor for Summit County Children's Services, said the intensity and speed of recovery services to participating families can help set in motion positive changes, noting without the START network, parents could wait months for a bed in a recovery program.
"Another big thing is recovery coaches having a seat at the table to show the positive impact of peer support and that it works. I think Summit County has proven that." Okolish reported.
Most survey participants said the shared lived experience between family peer mentors and parents helped established trust and made a difference overcoming resistance in working with child protective services.
Disclosure: The Public Children Services Association of Ohio contributes to our fund for reporting on Children's Issues, Family/Father Issues, Livable Wages/Working Families, and Mental Health. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
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Advocates for accessible child care saw wins during Washington state's legislative session this year but still see room for improvement.
Lawmakers invested in a number of programs to increase funding for child care providers.
Genevieve Stokes, director of government relations for Child Care Aware of Washington, said the state is building a foundation for universal access for families.
"The investments this year were modest but still really tackled some of the crucial things that we were hoping they would look at," Stokes acknowledged.
Some of the investments include $1.75 million for free infant and early childhood mental health consultations, more than $8 million for the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, and nearly $7 million in additional grant money for capital improvements for early learning facilities.
However, Stokes emphasized gaps remain.
"The funding this year and the funding so far doesn't address the child care crisis for middle-income families," Stokes noted. "And it doesn't solve the issue of child care providers not being able to make a living wage."
Stokes added not finding care puts parents in a bind and impacts the economy.
"When parents can't find child care or can't afford child care, they can't work and then they're faced with impossible choices with few good outcomes," Stokes stressed.
Disclosure: Child Care Aware of Washington contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy and Priorities, Children's Issues, Early Childhood Education, and Mental Health. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
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This month is National Disability Awareness Month, and in Ohio, parents who've adopted kids with special needs say living with a disability isn't always a barrier to independence and thriving.
Aaryn McGregor, a nurse in Richland County, said her husband adopted 15-year-old Samantha from foster care nearly four years ago. Samantha was born without some of her organs and was placed in foster care as a toddler because of medical neglect.
With both physical and cognitive disabilities, Samantha has high needs for day-to-day care, but McGregor said she's made progress in her new home and is learning independent-living skills.
"We realize they have a disability, but we also want to see past that a little, just so that they can reach their full potential, it's not just the label, because people of all ages with disabilities, they can achieve a lot in their life. We think that's important," McGregor said.
Research shows children with disabilities have significantly more disruptions and longer stays in foster care. Of the more than 680,000 children in the U.S. foster care system in 2017, 22% had a medical or disability diagnosis requiring additional or specialized care.
Rita Soronen, president and CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, said no matter what race, age or background, children with any type of disability or special needs are more likely to linger in foster care or age into institutional care. She said it's important for families interested in adoption to build a network of support, and points to the Wendy's Wonderful Kids Program as a model for pre-adoption relationship-building.
"Making those connections -- access to medical or psychological resources that they'll need before that adoption is finalized -- is critical, so that families feel that they will be supported, that they will have access, and that they can successfully raise a child in their home," she explained.
According to the Dave Thomas Foundation, its Wendy's Wonderful Kids Program is responsible for more than 14,000 successful adoptions across the United States and Canada.
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