Gary Stangler

May is National Foster Care Month, and I urge you to take this opportunity to increase people's attention to making a difference, especially among your friends, relatives, and colleagues.

This month also marks the fifth year of the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative. Many community organizations have been part of the effort to help young adults aging out of foster care, and we have been privileged and grateful to be part of that enormous effort.

I'm especially proud of the work our sites have done to help about 1,500 young people, ages 16 to 23, prepare to live on their own after foster care. The Initiative, a creation of the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Casey Family Programs, has funded pilot projects in ten states, in both urban and rural areas – from Maine to San Diego. The young people in those sites have saved nearly $860,000 and have bought 410 assets – everything from homes to cars to college educations. Many young adults also have found jobs through local employers offering special opportunities to youth from foster care.

Besides learning life skills and financial know-how, the young adults have learned how to be leaders by serving on youth boards. They also have learned how to advocate for foster care policy changes in state legislatures and on Capitol Hill.

Perhaps the accomplishment I'm most proud of is that many of our young adults have formed bonds with caring adults, who are trying to provide, at least in some small ways, the kind of supports we want for all of our kids. And the adults, all of us, have learned even more, especially about our urgent need to connect young people with families and adult mentors.

• May Is National Foster Care Month–Share Your Heart
• Casey Family Programs Hosts Foster Care Month Events, Including D.C. Lunch
• Michigan–Leading the Way in Transforming State Systems
• Three Sites Plan to Grow on Their Own
• Young Adult Tries His Hand at Investing–Loses a Little, but Gains New Skill
• On Their Own Due Out in Paperback This August
• Lights, Camera, Action! Young Adults in Connecticut Learn Media Savvy
• Casey Family Services Celebrates 30 Years of Helping Children and Families
• Convening of Initiative Grantees Slated for July 24-27 in St. Louis
• Youth Leadership Institute Gathering August 8-13 in San Diego
• Upcoming Conferences

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May Is National Foster Care Month–Share Your Heart

May is National Foster Care Month, and many Initiatives sites are planning exciting activities. Here are a few examples:

• In San Diego, a Community Partnership board member is submitting an op-ed to the paper; members of the youth leadership board known as Leadership Empowers All Possibilities will serve as panelists at the fifth annual Children's System of Care Conference on May 24; the site coordinator wants to present the site's efforts to the City/County Reinvestment Task Force.
• In Nashville, the Tennessee Youth Advisory Council (TYAC) is hosting a breakfast and the inaugural "Hope" awards for staffers from the Davidson County Department of Children's Services. TYAC members will nominate and award Davidson County DCS staff who encourage youth leadership, believe in and support teens, never give up on finding families for teens, involve teens in their plans, advocate for the dreams of teens, and work closely with community partners to support adolescents.
• In Michigan, the state Department of Human Services, the Michigan Association for Foster, Adoptive and Kinship Parents and the Michigan Federation for Children and Families are sponsoring a news conference and resource fair on the east lawn of the State Capitol on Tuesday, May 16. Speakers will include Michigan DHS Director Marianne Udow, Michigan Supreme Court Child Welfare Services Director Kathryn O'Grady, and Michigan Federation for Children and Families Board Member Martin Mitchell. Foster parent Mary Wood, who is president of Starr Commonwealth and president of the Michigan Association for Foster, Adoptive and Kinship Parents, also will speak. Former foster parent Deanna Rader and foster youth Adam Conway also will speak. Exhibit tables will be hosted by vendors and organizations which recruit, train and support foster parents throughout Michigan.
• Youth leaders from the Northern Michigan Youth Opportunities Initiative are holding a legislative forum for local representatives and senators May 5 in Traverse City. DHS Director Udow is facilitating the forum, an opportunity for legislators to meet face to face with young people transitioning from foster care and to hear about the issues they face.
• A broad coalition of organizations also has organized an array of activities across the country, beginning with an art exhibit by actress and foster care spokeswoman Victoria Rowell in Los Angeles, events at state capitols in Maine, California, and New York. Blue balloons will be released in Texas, and New York City will host a gala award celebrating foster parents. Events also are planned in Rhode Island, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

It's not too late to organize an activity in your community, and there are plenty of ways to get involved. Use this month to recognize a foster parent in your community by writing a letter to the editor of your newspaper. Or make a presentation to your school PTA, encouraging others to support families and services dedicated to helping youth in foster care. National Foster Care Month is also a great time to coordinate a donation drive at your local faith-based organization for suitcases, books, computers and other items that could help young people in foster care. For more ideas, please visit http://www.fostercaremonth.org/Home.

Casey Family Programs Hosts Foster Care Month Events, Including D.C. Lunch

Casey Family Programs is organizing a number of events to celebrate National Foster Care Month, including a luncheon on May 18 at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. to honor Sen. Slade Gordon (R-Ore.), Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.); and Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.). There will be an event that evening to honor Tom Birch, a leader of the National Coalition Against Child Abuse. Casey Family Programs also will host other programs in May to recognize and honor foster parents and to heighten public awareness of the need for people to get involved in the lives of young people in foster care. The events will be held across the country. For more information on these and other events, please click here: http://www.casey.org/Resources/Projects/NFCM/. Please note that all events are by invitation only, unless specifically noted.

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Each of the sites affiliated with the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative has its own personality. This is one in a series of profiles of the sites.

Michigan—Leading the Way in Transforming State Systems

Michigan Youth Board Members

The Michigan Youth Opportunities Initiative has emerged as a leader in developing advocates of young adults who are transitioning from the foster care system. These young adults, in partnership with the state Department of Human Services (DHS) and community leaders across the state, have led the way in developing recommendations that will positively affect the foster care system.

A coalition representing youth boards across Michigan developed a message to policymakers, called Voice, and presented it to DHS Director Marianne Udow and key DHS staff. They also shared it at the first meeting of the Michigan task force on permanency and at a legislative breakfast that they hosted. Youth board members now are scheduling appointments with their legislators as well as key committee members and chairs. Governor Jennifer Granholm invited them to meet with her and her Cabinet to present Voice. (Read youths' recommendations in Voice. (PDF, 466KB)) That meeting resulted in top government officials volunteering to be mentors for older youth in and out of care and in several departments giving priority to foster youth for paid internships and summer jobs.

More >>

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Three Sites Plan to Grow on Their Own

Staff Members Alisha Jordan
and Courtney Ivy of
Youth Connections in Nashville

Now, like the very young people the foundation serves, some Initiative sites are preparing to "age out" of the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative and keep going on their own.

That was always the intent. From the start, the plan was that the Initiative would fund pilot projects with the understanding that those projects would develop their own plans to continue after Initiative funding ended. For all sites, the Initiative funding is reduced after the third year, with some continued funding for up to six years. In the foundation world, the term is sustainability. Three of the most developed sites – Atlanta, Nashville and Michigan – have been immersed in developing "sustainability plans."

"I think sites need to look at sustainability in the broader definition, not just finding funding to keep the work going," says Tyronda Minter, program officer at the Metropolitan Atlanta Youth Opportunities Initiative. "Sites need to think of it as growing community leadership to keep the work going."

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Young Adult Tries His Hand at Investing—Loses a Little, but Gains New Skill

Dakota Irsik

Many young adults use their Opportunity Passport™ matched savings accounts to buy cars or pay for college tuition. But Dakota Irsik, 19, is using his to make more money. He's dabbling in investing.

Irsik, who, along with his two brothers, lived with a foster family for three years, took the six-week financial literacy classes offered by the Nashville site little more than a year ago. The freshman at Austin-Peay State College already knew some of the material, but also learned about budgeting, taxes, debit and credit cards and balancing a checkbook.

More >>

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On Their Own Due Out in Paperback This August

On Their Own, the prize-winning book chronicling the lives of ten young adults as they transition from foster care, will be released in paperback in August. Co-authored by journalist Martha Shirk and Initiative executive director Gary Stangler, On Their Own proposes reforms that are "part solid journalism, part advocacy," according to the St. Louis Post- Dispatch. The new edition includes updates on the profiled youth and a discussion of policy changes since the enactment of the federal Foster Care Independence Act. The paperback edition, published by Basic Books, has a list price of $16 ($10.40 on Amazon.com.) The authors hope the lower price will enable Initiative sites, agencies, and other community organizations to put more books in the hands of people in the community to continue increasing the attention given to this population. The book could be used to organize reading and discussion groups for youth. It also could help prospective donors and community leaders understand the difficulties confronting youth in foster care. Bulk purchases of 20 or more will be available at a 50-percent discount ($8) through the publisher. Sites considering large purchases should pre-order them so they will be available immediately upon publication. For bulk sales, contact special.markets@perseusbooks.com or 1-800-255-1514. Please visit the Initiative's website for ways that you can use the book in your community.

Lights, Camera, Action! Young Adults in Connecticut Learn Media Savvy

Young adult participants in Connecticut media training

On Saturday, April 22, about a dozen young adults from the Hartford and Bridgeport, Connecticut, sites met in New Haven to learn how to handle media interviews. The young people were trained on how to successfully communicate to the media about issues related to youth transitioning from foster care. Youth advocates Jessica Lindsey and Mona Perdue from Detroit offered lessons about sharing personal stories without sharing too much. Angie Cannon, veteran journalist and partner at the Hatcher Group, explained what reporters are looking for in stories. Kathleen Holt Whyte, owner of Success Strategies, gave tips for interviewing on TV and then conducted a fun part of the day: interviewing the young people, taping their answers, then critiquing their on-camera performances. Lee Mullane and Roye Anastasio-Burke of Casey Family Services also shared what worked when Connecticut young people spoke before state legislators. This communications training in Connecticut is the first of other planned sessions. "We hope to take this training on the road and better prepare young people in other sites to handle the press," says Carla Owens, communications director of the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative.

Casey Family Services Celebrates 30 Years of Helping Children and Families

Thirty years ago, UPS founder Jim Casey established Casey Family Services as the direct service agency of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. From its start in 1976 as a foster-care provider in Bridgeport, Conn., Casey Family Services has grown to offer an array of services in eight divisions throughout New England and in Baltimore.

The organization strives to help children build enduring relationships. "Every child needs and deserves a family for life, an adult who will be there for them, and this has become Casey's goal for every child in foster care," says Raymond L. Torres, Casey Family Services executive director.

During its first 15 years, Casey provided long-term foster care. Identifying needs within its communities, the agency began developing family-strengthening efforts in the late 1980s that today include family advocacy, preservation, and reunification programs, as well as family resource centers. Casey also launched a post-adoption services initiative in 1992 and now also offers technical assistance, consultation, and training to child-welfare providers across the country. Casey Family Services continues to work closely with Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative sites in Connecticut, Maine, and Rhode Island, supporting young people develop vital vocational and independent-living skills.

Casey will celebrate its 30^th anniversary at September's National Convening on Permanence for Youth in Washington, D.C.

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Convening of Initiative Grantees Slated for July 24-27 in St. Louis

The third annual convening of Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative grantees will be held the evening of Monday July 24 through noon, Thursday, July 27 in downtown St. Louis. This meeting is for youth, adult site leaders, and community partners. More details to come, but mark your calendars!

Youth Leadership Institute Scheduled for August 8-13 in San Diego

Back by popular demand: The Initiative will host the second annual Youth Leadership Institute for young people to learn media training, tips on sharing your story, advocacy, and building permanence. This year's institute will be held in San Diego and will start the evening of August 8 and run until the morning of Sunday, August 13.

Foster-care youths, advocates, practitioners, and parents should take note of several upcoming conferences:

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