In general, young adults ages 19-26 are overrepresented among the uninsured in the U.S. Estimates from the Centers for Disease Control show that 27.5% of youth in this age group were uninsured in the first 3 months of 2012, compared to 15.4% of the general population. According to a 2012 article from Policy, Politics, & [...]
According to a study by researcher Alice Home, from the University of Ottawa School of Social Work, the major challenges for Canadian adoptive parents are finding and accessing post-adoption support and services, and getting a diagnosis and then understanding what that means for a child with special needs. Particularly challenging for parents who adopt internationally [...]
[Uncredited photo from Governing Magazine] On August 13, 2013, Jonathan Walters looks at the myths and challenges of kinship care for children in the child welfare system for Governing magazine. In Agencies Taking a Second Look at Kinship Care, Walters relates a commonly uttered phrase when caseworkers hesitate to place children with relatives, "The apple [...]
Foster Focus Magazine is currently featuring a photo and short descriptive gallery of former foster alum's thoughts about what how it felt to be in foster care. Foster Focus Magazine is the only monthly magazine that is solely focused on the issues around foster care. Owner and Editor Chris Chmielewski, himself a former foster alum, [...]
Writer Cris Beam's new book, "To The End of June: Stories from Foster Care" offers in-depth stories of foster children and foster parents. Beam, a foster parent, spent several years with foster families, social workers, former foster children and other professionals who work with foster children. In an interview with Publisher's Weekly, Beam states, We [...]
Regina Calcaterra spent time in foster care, and in 1980, emanicipated herself at the age of 14. In her book, "Etched in Sand," Calcaterra describes her chlidhood of abuse and neglect and advocates for adoption, not aging out of foster care. In an interview with Caroline Linton for Women in the World, Calcaterra shares, Now [...]
KLEW-TV in Washington state created a three part series on foster care. The series starts with a personal story of one youth's experience bouncing around foster care and eventual stay in a residential facility. In Part 2 Melissa shares how she ended up in the system as a foster child, and the broken promises foster [...]
The Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative has created an infographic aimed at educating the public on the costs of "doing nothing" to prevent youth from aging out of foster care. In an op-ed in the Huffington Post, Executive Director Gary Stangler wrote, "for every young person who ages out of foster care, taxpayers and communities [...]