It can be a long road to finding permanent homes for kids in the New York State foster care system, but many find it worthwhile.

Megan Battista is a Wendy's Wonderful Kids recruiter who saw this in Merriah, a child in a temporary foster home that wasn't on the path to permanency.

Battista said she knew Merriah was longing to settle past traumas and knew finding her a mentor was the best thing to do. The hope was to have someone who could work with Merriah on her goals and guide her in navigating certain challenges.

She found a mentor in fellow Wendy's Wonderful Kids Recruiter, Emilie Kenneally. After awhile, Kenneally decided to adopt Merriah.

Battista said this wasn't always the plan, but she had an idea it might happen.

"I think that you can tell when a resource is ready to be permanency when they start to be, like, really concerned about wherever that kid is," said Battista. "So, I think there were some things that came up where she was like, 'I'm just really worried. I want to make sure that Merriah's getting the best', when she was not going to be a placement for them."

Kenneally went from mentor to mother. She and her husband John became certified foster parents to do respite for Merriah, and adopted her after a placement fell apart.

Battista said she feels that while Merriah is unique, her circumstances aren't. She said it can be easy to not want to rock the boat when placing an older kid, especially when they're not eager to be in a certain placement.

It was an interesting experience for Kenneally to be on a different end of the foster-care spectrum. Although she's worked in child welfare for many years, this was quite a different experience.

But, after getting to know - and later adopting her - Kenneally noted that Merriah has changed for the better since they first met.

"After being adopted, she can finally dream of the future," said Kenneally. "She knows that she has a safety net and people who care about her and that she can lean on, no matter what. And, so I think having that has really given her the opportunity to think of what her life could be and to have dreams, and not have to focus on just making it through the day."

One piece of advice Kenneally has for others is to manage your expectations. She said acknowledging what foster kids come from and have been through can be helpful to potential foster parents.

She's learned that things may not go the way a parent plans, but it still is likely to turn out all right.

A new report focuses on "girl power" in Indiana - with an analysis of how young girls are faring in the state, and recommendations for improving their lives.

Using Kids Count data, the Girl Coalition of Indiana found girls under 18 are experiencing trauma and mental-health concerns at rates higher than boys - from bullying and depression, to dating violence and a lack of emotional support.

In one survey, eight in 10 girls said neighbors "don't notice" or encourage them when they do a good job. Mackenzie Pickerrell, executive director of the coalition, described the purpose of sharing these findings.

"Being deeply embedded into communities to understand from their perspective," said Pickerrell, "what girls need to thrive, and what are the barriers for their girls to live their best lives."

The coalition plans to create programming in partnership with the six Indiana Girl Scout councils to make headway on some of the areas of concern.

This first-ever "Indiana Girl Report" was compiled in collaboration with the Indiana Youth Institute. It's available online at 'girlcoalitionindiana.org.'

Other findings in the report: In 2022, Indiana's middle and high school girls reported feeling a sense of hopelessness or depression for two weeks or longer. One in four "seriously considered" suicide.

Girls are twice as likely to be victims of traditional bullying, and three times as likely to face cyberbullying, compared to boys. Pickerrell noted what could be one reason behind these statistics.

"Girls experience mental and emotional pressures at a much higher rate," said Pickerrell, "and a very different reality than boys do."

She added that the report produced some positive data as well. Girls in Indiana are achieving academically at a stronger pace than boys, including higher high school graduation rates.

They're more likely to obtain advanced degrees. And nine out of ten girls say they have at least one caring adult or mentor in their lives, other than their parents.




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A recent ruling from the Washington state Supreme Court lowers the barriers for bringing some childhood sexual abuse cases to court.

Justices unanimously ruled that the three-year statute of limitation for these cases applies from the date of discovery of each element of the case. Seattle-based attorney Nate Roberts of the Connelly Law Offices said that, for instance, if someone in their mid-twenties suffers psychologically because of childhood abuse, they have three years to file a claim against their alleged abuser. He added that there are more situations where the Wolf decision applies.

"If they find out in their thirties, for example, that they were a ward of the state at the time of the abuse and the state knew they were being abused and didn't intervene," he said, "then they would have three years from the date they acquire that knowledge in which to file a lawsuit against the state."

Roberts said this makes more sense than applying the three-year statute of limitation to the date of the abuse.

Washington state lawmakers are considering eliminating the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse cases completely. Roberts said other states have already done this.

"The insidious thing about sexual abuse and physical abuse of children is that the kids don't necessarily understand the scope or degree of harm sometimes ever, but often until much later in life," he said, "and I think a simpler, more equitable rule would be to say that if you're the victim of childhood abuse, you can bring the lawsuit whenever you're ready to do so."

House Bill 1618 was introduced in the Legislature this year and passed in the House but died in the Senate. It will be up for consideration again in 2024.

The Keystone State has some work to do to provide more access to quality pre-Kindergarten programs for the youngest Pennsylvanians.

Only 43% of eligible 3- and-4-year-olds are in high-quality, publicly funded pre-K, leaving more than 87,000 without access, according to the new "State of Early Care and Education in Pennsylvania" report.

Maggie Livelsberger, policy director for Pennsylvania Partnerships For Children, said young children need access to programs preparing them to start Kindergarten. But she points out that inadequate funding for child care has led to issues of supply and demand, affecting a family's ability to find care they can afford.

"It also impacts child care providers, and their ability to be compensated fairly, to pay their teachers and maintain their business expenses," Livelsberger outlined. "We are living in a world where there is a very historic workforce shortage within the child care system, and a lot of that is due to unlivable wages."

Livelsberger added in the Keystone State, child care center workers earn on average less than $12.50 an hour, or less than $26,000 a year. The report recommended the state increase funding for the child care sector, and develop a pay system to put pre-K teachers on par with K-12 teachers with similar education levels.

Livelsberger acknowledged child care providers have benefited from supplemental stimulus funding the state received, and there is some new money in the state budget for child care. But she insists more is needed.

"Child care has historically been underfunded," Livelsberger emphasized. "Even though there are new funds for child care in this budget, it's not nearly enough to be able to combat this workforce shortage that the sector is facing. And that's really closing classrooms and not allowing families to access that care."

The report recommends the state's Office of Child Development and Early Learning produce a report every three years to give what it calls a "clear picture" of the early-childhood workforce and recommend ways to expand and improve it.