USC sisters advocate foster youth | Daily Trojan

For twin sisters Carmen and Lucero Noyola, there is no denying the importance of education in their lives. Juggling packed schedules as single moms, workers and USC students, the pair is on a mission to make higher education more accessible to foster youth like themselves.Working with Jesse Aguiar, the director of the Beyond Foster Care […]

Program helps Colorado teens coming out of foster care system

  Like most teenagers, Holli Gutierrez craved independence and freedom. But it wasn’t the type of unfettered existence her peers wanted, not exactly. Not the life without curfews, without adults asking questions, grounding them or offering unwanted advice. She wanted the independence from living with people who hurt her, the ones who said she wouldn’t […]

Lack of volunteers is hurting children in Arizona’s foster-care system

Each of the 15,869 children in Arizona’s foster-care system are supposed to have an advocate, someone who fills a role somewhere between friend and lawyer. But only 10 percent of those children had court-appointed special advocates to assist them through the trauma of being separated from their families, according to figures from late June. The court-appointed special advocates, or CASA, program, which […]

Louisiana trying to extend foster care program until age 21

Louisiana has taken steps to expand the foster care program, recently agreeing to pay for students to finish high school, rather than immediately cutting off aid when a child turns 18. Now, state officials want to find a way to care for foster children until they turn 21. Lawmakers had to come up with $1 […]

8 Common Myths About Foster Care Dispelled | Confessions of an Adoptive Parent

For years, foster care has been misunderstood, unfairly judged, criticized through local media and television shows, and the subject of harsh headlines. It’s time to set the record straight. We spent 9 years in the foster care system, as a care-givers to more than 23 children. Six of those children never left our care and […]

Immigration crisis spurs foster care interest in Michigan

It started with a phone call. Randi Fremuth was so heartbroken by the stories of children being separated from their parents at the U.S./Mexico border in late June, she dialed Bethany Christian Services. The 33-year-old mother of three from Chelsea was powerless to intervene in the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance immigration policy in every way but one: She could open her […]

In Focus: From foster child to foster care advocate

We meet Tanisha Saunders, a former foster youth who uses her experience to advocate for change and resources in the foster care system. Source: In Focus: From foster child to foster care advocate

Foster care students honored in annual academic achievement awards – Sun Sentinel

Thirty-seven students crossed the Broward College Performing and Cultural Arts Center stage, recently. For some, it was to signify a high school graduation, for others, conquering fourth-grade long division, but for all it was to celebrate an accomplishment. Children’s Harbor — a Pembroke Pines-based family group home — hosted its 5th Annual Academic Achievement Awards, […]

From the Frying Pan of Foster Care to the Fire of Adulthood

Homelessness is a big problem for former foster care youth in Kansas City and around the country. “We’ve heard stories of kids who were dropped off at City Union Mission by their social worker because it’s the kid’s 21st birthday,” said Nathan Ross, youth programs supervisor at the nonprofit social service agency FosterAdopt Connect. “Here’s […]

National Foster Youth Institute Announces Restructuring

(June 18, 2018/Los Angeles, CA): The Board of Directors of The National Foster YouthInstitute (NFYI), an organization dedicated to transforming the child welfare system so that it strengthens support for children and families and to substantially improving outcomes for foster youth, announced today that the organization is entering a period of restructuring to ensure future […]