The Good Stuff in Child Welfare
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Welcome to The Good Stuff in Child Welfare!
Our team at the Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice, & Research recognizes that between the all too frequent and grim child welfare stories that make us teary-eyed, clenched-fisted, and faint-hearted, there are inspiring accomplishments and heartening endeavors taking place all over this country at every level of practice. To elevate and promote these encouraging stories, we are pleased to bring you this monthly newsletter emphasizing news stories only about “The Good Stuff” from the broad field of child welfare. This month, the stories we highlight from around the nation address show how positive impacts can be made by individuals, educational systems, non-profits, for-profit corporations, community organizations, and local government. We hope this read gives you a few moments of hopefulness and a sense of possibility.
If there's something you'd like to see here, shoot us an email. Know someone who could use a little Good Stuff in Child Welfare? Send them a copy! We hope you love it as much as we do.
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Fresno State Receives $1 Million Gift for Renaissance Scholars Program |
An unexpected $1 million donation will help Fresno State students in the Renaissance Scholars Program, which provides emotional, social, and financial support for students who have experienced foster care or homelessness. The Renaissance Scholars Program helps with admission assistance, counseling, and mentoring, serving roughly 100 Fresno State students. With the new gift, each student will now receive a $2400 stipend for their hours interning at previously unpaid internships. They will also have ongoing meetings with a mentor to discuss their experiences and outcomes. Fresno State Senior Carissa Contreras says “A lot of our students are non-traditional. I’m older than the regular college-age student, but I feel like they give me a sense of belonging and purpose, and make me feel like Fresno State is a home.”
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Little Elm Foster Care Child Inspires Texas Law Titled "Jace’s Law" |
TX H.B. 725, otherwise known as “Jace’s Law,” was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott this past summer. The bill adds a provision to the Texas Education Code allowing children from the foster care system of another state to be admitted to a public pre-K program so long as they currently reside in Texas. Chip Norman, a foster father and husband of Little Elm Councilwoman Lisa Norman, said, “We were able to help people see a challenge that was there and get through it [and] make it better for children in the future that need that help.” Little Elm Mayor Curtis J. Cornelious recognized the law last month in a proclamation issued in proximity with National Adoption Month, observed throughout November.
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Nevada Inspires With Three New Programs Supporting Older Youth Aged Out of Foster Care |
With three exciting initiatives in Nevada addressing housing, social connection, employment and more, older youth exiting foster care now have access to additional critical supports. A new 10-unit affordable housing complex in Reno, NV is set to break ground next month. The apartments will be designated for five young women who transitioned out of foster care and five senior citizens in need of affordable housing. Intergenerational housing communities like these mutually benefit the often-isolated seniors and youth who find themselves lacking support. Already operating, El Shaddai Refuge Homes, a community development corporation in the Las Vegas Valley, recently expanded services to provide housing and other resources, including employment training and transportation to young adults aging out of foster care. Finally, addressing employment, the MGM Resorts Public Policy Institute at UNLV’s Greenspun College of Urban Affairs recently launched the Foster Youth Initiative – a job training program designed to increase interpersonal and financial stability. Program participants are referred by Clark County Family Services and receive assistance networking, taking headshots, and polishing their interview skills. Some participants will land jobs with MGM Resorts International.
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Bethany Christian Services and Little Springs Farm Break Ground on Indoor Equine Therapy Facility |
Bethany Christian Services, an international Christian nonprofit, partners with churches and communities to strengthen and preserve families, support refugees and immigrants fleeing danger, and find safe, loving families for children who need them. Bethany Christian Services of Central Pennsylvania along with Little Spring Farm, a recreational riding center, offers equine therapy programs for children in foster care and children who have been adopted from the foster care system. The organization broke ground on a new indoor facility at Little Springs Farm last month, which will allow children who have experienced trauma to continue receiving equine therapy year-round.
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Students Build Tiny Homes for Foster Children Aging Out of the System |
A Colorado nonprofit, Five Star Foundations, recently partnered with the Adams County, CO School District to create a tiny home village built entirely by teens for other students in need, with guidance from other Adams county officials. “Being able to see this come to fruition is not only cool, but it’s also really inspiring,” said Luca Mastroeni, a junior in the district working on the project. He said that one rewarding part for him is the sense of giving someone who may have been shuffled around for years in foster care a place to finally call their own. Instead of building something just for a grade, Luca and his classmates are building a future.
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Santa Clara County Foster Youth to Help Design New Facility |
Allied Housing, in San Jose, CA, is designing a brand-new community center and housing facility with 81 housing units, half of which are designated for transitional-aged foster youth and their children. The organization is incorporating the input of a focus group of 43 transition aged youth, who requested a warm, comfortable place with friendly colors and art, as well as an outdoor space for informal meetings, a children’s play area, garden and barbecue area. The housing program above the community center will provide case management and subsidies for transportation, food, clothes and utilities while the community center will offer job training, mental health services, counseling and opportunities to get a GED, as well as opportunities to relax and hang out with other young people. The facility, called the Parkmoor Hub, is expected to open in 2025.
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New Project Dedicated to Ensuring Tribes Have Representation in Child Welfare Cases |
The Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake, a Native American tribe in California, recently donated $100,000 to the California Tribal Families Coalition to help fund the launch of a groundbreaking legal child welfare project. The new “Legal Council of Tribes” project will focus on child welfare court compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). The coalition seeks to recruit Native American lawyers or lawyers of other backgrounds who understand ICWA, child welfare, and tribal sovereignty to support tribal members and children in court. Though ICWA gives tribes the legal right to be parties to cases involving their children, in many cases the tribes have not been represented by attorneys. This new endeavor hopes to train young attorneys to be dedicated advocates for Indian child welfare.
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Ohio Launches New Tech to Match Families, Foster Children |
Last month, Ohio launched new technology to assist child welfare caseworkers in locating family and kinship homes for children in foster care. The new “family mapping” technology is the first of its kind in the nation. With this new technological tool, caseworkers now have access to a digital “family connections” tool that helps build a child’s family tree, and a “people search” tool which pulls in information from hundreds of public sources to find kin. The developers estimate it could cut weeks of searching for family or placement matches down to seconds, identifying and vetting possible caregivers and forever homes.
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The Field Center team would like to thank the staff and students who brought this newsletter together. Specifically, we recognize our Fall 2021 student Richard Wren for his contributions in providing readers with this uplifting content. Many thanks to our Program Manager Sarah Wasch for editing and our Administrative Coordinator Felicia Saunders for handling design and distribution. Special thanks to our Managing Faculty Director Dr. Johanna Greeson for her idea to curate the “good news stories” happening in child welfare! |
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