The Good Stuff in Child Welfare
|
|
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 display innovation and creativity in meeting the needs of older youth in foster care and the achievements that they are capable of. 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.
|
|
Local Teen in Foster Care on Her Way to Harvard University |
Kelisha Williams, an Ohio teenager in foster care, is fulfilling her dream of studying political science and psychology at Harvard this fall after receiving a full-ride scholarship. Williams entered the foster care system at 16 years old, and though she had a tough few years in the system, she remained focused on attending college. With stellar ACT scores, she applied to Harvard, among other elite institutions, even talking to Michelle Obama and Lin Manuel Miranda as part of Harvard’s admissions interview. Williams said, “To any of the foster kids that are watching, everyone always says it’s going to get better. I never used to believe that when I was going through it. Eventually it does.”
|
|
Helping Young Adults Out of the Foster Care System (Iowa) |
With over $5 million in new funding allocated by the Iowa Department of Human Services, organizations like Children’s Square U.S.A. can continue to provide assistance to young adults aging out of the foster care system. Additionally, Iowa joins a small group of states that has established a distribution process for direct federal pandemic relief funds for former foster youth. Iowa DHS announced that former foster care youth will be eligible for a pandemic relief payment of $750. The funds can be used for rent, education, transportation, and mental health services. To learn more about Iowa’s pandemic relief or apply, click here.
|
|
iFoster Phone Program for Foster Youth Critical |
Many of us don’t think twice about using our smartphones and connecting to WiFi. The COVID-19 pandemic then showed all of us how important technology is for our work, our learning, and staying connected to our loved ones. Without this kind of access, life can quickly derail. For youth in foster care, the impact can be even worse. The national nonprofit iFoster recognized this need. As part of a pilot program, so far, they have distributed a free phone, equipped with a prepaid plan with unlimited minutes and texting, and high-speed data, to 11,000 current and former young people in foster care in California. Based on positive findings from an independent evaluation conducted by state officials with the Public Utilities Commission, the program will likely receive a $10 million ongoing investment to make it a permanent fixture for youth in care in California.
|
|
UCLA Receives $1 Million To Support Foster Youth In Bruin Guardian Scholars Program |
Success in college is often largely dependent on the adults who are there to show us the way. Professors, administrators, coaches, support staff, and others. They all play pivotal roles. For young people with foster care experience attending the University of California – Los Angeles, this now includes a full-time social worker dedicated to their success. The university has received $1 million to fund the Bruin Guardian Scholars Program, which now serves 200 young people, in perpetuity. The first task? Hiring a full-time social worker. The gift comes from former foster parents and longtime advocates for young people in foster care, Jill and Timothy Harmon. Read more about the Bruin Guardian Scholars Program and this amazing commitment from the Harmons here.
|
|
C.B. Community Schools Wins Impact100’s Philadelphia Core Mission Grant for Education |
Young people in foster care often experience more than their fair share of change, including bouncing from foster home to foster home. These disruptions also frequently mean that they lose their school communities. Yet, sometimes school is the one place that feels like “home,” where there are caring adults to nurture, champion, and mentor them. In 2015 C.B. Community Schools opened in Philadelphia. The promise of the school was simple: This is the one place – no matter where you move. Today, C.B. Community Schools is a vibrant learning community that provides a safe, supportive, and stable education environment to some of Philadelphia’s most vulnerable young people. In recognition of the critical role that C.B. is playing in the lives of young people involved with the child welfare system, Impact100 Philadelphia recently awarded the school one of its $100,000 core mission grants. Read more about Impact100 Philadelphia’s grant-making and its commitment to ensuring C.B. can continue to focus on helping its students develop into caring, confident, and competent citizens of the world.
|
|
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! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
