What's New
Foster Care Alumni of America Builds First
Nationwide Network of Its Kind
FCAA brings together alumni like Carol Shinn
and Gibby Serna from around the country and
across generations.
About 12 million adults in America have been in foster care during their lives. But there hasn't been a formal national advocacy or support group for "alumni" of the system – until now.
Foster Care Alumni of America (FCAA) is seeking foster care alumni and allies to join its growing association dedicated to connecting alumni and advocating for better futures for people in and from foster care. Last year, FCAA unveiled a strategic plan that includes adding 13,000 new members and establishing 40 local chapters by 2010. Already, through word of mouth, the organization has received a steady flow of roughly 25 new members each week.
For more information about membership, visit www.fostercarealumni.org.
"What we're trying to create is one-of-a-kind," says Nathan Monell, executive director of FCAA. "Many adults who experienced foster care when they were children are anxious for this movement to take off."
FCAA has received more than 400
postcards like this one for its
community art project, Exploring the
Culture of Foster Care.
To support and unify alumni, FCAA plans to establish local chapters, create an active online community and build networks of business support typical of any alumni association. To bolster advocacy, FCAA also plans to create a speakers' and writers' bureau of alumni to address issues on behalf of the organization.
FCAA also has launched a community postcard project, called Exploring the Culture of Foster Care, for foster care alumni to artistically express their own experiences, lessons, reflections and thoughts on postcards and anonymously mail them to the organization. Submitted postcards can be viewed on the web site and will be displayed at future events and exhibits.
In 1999, the roots of FCAA began when Casey Family Programs conducted a survey of more than 1,800 alumni of foster care. The need for an organized alumni organization was undeniably evident - throughout the surveys, people expressed wanting an avenue to advocate for improvements in foster care. Five years later, FCAA was born.
A postcard reflecting on one alumnus' experience
in foster care was anonymously submitted for the
FCAA community art project.
"A large part of our work will be bringing the alumni voice to the table around policy and legislation to encourage best practices in foster care and to create the political will to make our governments do what they should," Monell says.
For alumni like Dawn H., the opportunity to be part of a group like FCAA is a significant one. "Overcoming the challenges to independence has been a very difficult journey for me and I could not have done it alone," the 25-year-old Californian says. "I want to be a part of helping other foster youth."
The potential for the alumni movement to become a powerful voice in the public sphere is an exciting one, according to Monell.
"This will be the first national opportunity for adults who may have been out of care for a decade or more to get involved and have a way to plug into the system," he says.
