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, we highlight creative programming that goes above and beyond the usual scope of foster care. 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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New Phoenix Restaurant Helps Valley Foster Kids |
Last month a new restaurant with a mission to help children in foster care opened in Phoenix, AZ. Hãnai, an “upscale counter service” restaurant offering coffee, food, and alcoholic beverages, designates a portion of all proceeds to helping local youth in foster care. The restaurant also employs youth in the foster care system and adults with special needs. Hãnai is under the parent company of Ohana, an AZ nonprofit providing foster care and other services. Founder Ryan Senters says, “Hãnai actually is the Hawaiian word for ‘informal adoption’, where friends become family. My wife and I are foster and adoptive parents.”
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MN Offers Former Foster Care Students $3.8 Million in Higher Education Grants |
Although a majority of states now offer some sort of higher education tuition waiver or scholarship to students with foster care experience, most have strict eligibility requirements, with coverage limited to tuition only. However, starting this fall, Minnesotans who were in the foster care system will have access to one of the nation’s most comprehensive higher education grants. The Fostering Independence Grant covers college tuition, fees, books, housing and transportation for students under age 27 who were in the state’s foster care system at any time after age 13. There are dozens of schools participating in the program, including not just public institutions but private and tribal colleges as well. In a press release highlighting this opportunity, Office of Higher Education Commissioner Dennis Olson said, “This grant is not only an investment in Minnesota fosters, it is an investment in the future of our state.”
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New Center Offers Respite From Foster Care Stress |
It can be hard for children to transition to foster care when they are initially placed. Recognizing this, a New York State non-profit opened a new program last month that will offer temporary housing and behavioral services to up to 8 children and youth entering foster care. The new center, designed to feel like a home, provides variety of services, including medical, behavioral and educational, to help children through their initial placement into foster care. George Dermody, the president of the non-profit operating the home on behalf of the county, says, “We will say to each and every child, family and foster family who walks through those doors, you are welcome here, we’re here to help and we’re in this together.”
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Photographer Donates Graduation Photoshoots to Foster Kids |
This video news segment from Inside Edition highlights a recent opportunity for youth in foster care to receive free a graduation photoshoot. Tamara Niewolny is a part-time photographer that is passionate about supporting youth in foster care because she was abandoned into foster care by her mother when she was a child. She did not have any further contact with her mother, nor does she have any photos of her childhood. Many of the students who received the photoshoot had never had professional photos taken before. Niewolny worked with other businesses in the community to provide hair, makeup and clothing for the shoots as well. While her subjects had a lot of fun with the shoots and are appreciative of the services, Niewolny also says that providing this service helps her with her own process of healing.
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Bronx Nonprofit to Work with Foster Care Kids Up to Age 26 |
The City of New York recently doubled its funding in support of Catholic Guardian Services’ Fair Futures initiative. With the additional funds Fair Futures can now provide assistance to youth with foster care experience up to the age of 26, increasing the age from the former limit of 21. This expansion helps provide much needed support for these youth as they transition from foster care to independent life as adults. Fair Futures invests in these young people as early as middle school by assigning them each a coach and providing one on one tutoring to help prepare them for success in high school and beyond.
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The Field Center team would like to thank the staff who brought this newsletter together and their 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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