Their tragic story is easily one of the most horrific stories to come from our nation’s foster care system, but it has brought national attention to one major player in national child welfare system: the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC). Initially conceived of almost 60 years ago, the ICPC finds itself under scrutiny today as more accounts emerge of how this agreement sometimes works against the best interests of the children interstate adoption is supposed to serve. Continue reading
The study, published in the medical journal Pediatrics, found that these teens are also three times as likely to have considered suicide.
According to a report from Reuters: “Roughly a third of teens living in foster care are LGBT(QI), the research found. Overall, 11 percent of the U.S. population is LGBT(QI), according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.”
The report, based on a study of 600,000 students ages 10 to 18 in California, also found these youth suffer from higher substance abuse issues, perform worse in school and experience poorer mental health.
According to the study, teens revealing their sexuality to their families can result in harassment as well as homelessness.
“We need to start examining whether LGBTQ youth are more likely to be removed from their families of origin, or whether they are more likely to get ‘stuck’ in the system by not getting permanent placements, or both,” Stephen Wilson, a public policy faculty member at UCLA School of Law and author of the report, told The Daily Texan.
Many LGBTQI adults who understand the specific trauma and issues of these youth often foster and adopt. However, there has been a fight across the country to prevent these parents from adopting.
Most recently President Donald Trump’s administration granted a request from the governor of South Carolina to allow federally funded child welfare agencies to deny parents services based on religious beliefs.
To view the full Reuters story, click here, and to read the full Daily Texan story, click here.
To learn more about the South Carolina adoption fight, click here.
Foster children experience trauma far more often than others, and this trauma can shape not only their behavior but also their worldview. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) occurs in foster children at very high rates – a grim testament to their experiences. To give context to – and promote understanding for – their situation, it is important to know how trauma functions for children in care and what states can do to prevent these traumas before they can happen.
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The comedy, which features Wahlberg and Byrne as a couple who decide to foster a teenage girl and her two younger siblings with the intention of adopting, presented an interesting recruitment opportunity for foster care agencies – and at a time when many states are dealing with a shortage of foster parents and an increase of children in care.
With moviegoers getting a glimpse into the lives of foster parents and the children who need them, recruiters in Ohio, North Carolina and New Jersey have set up shop at movie theaters to talk with prospective parents and answer any questions they may have.
According to the Tribune Chronicle in Ohio:
“Trumbull County Children Services officials hosted a special caregivers night Wednesday at Regal Cinema in Niles, which is showing the movie “Instant Family” — a comedy-drama about foster care.
Megan Martin, senior supervisor for foster care and adoption, said the meet-and-greet event was held for prospective foster parents to present them with information on programs as well provide an early screening of the movie.
She said about 50 Trumbull County residents interested in fostering and adopting attended. This is the first time the agency has held such an event at a movie theater, but noted the film relates to what services they provide to families.”
Interest in fostering is important in Ohio where there are almost 16,000 kids in care. The same can also be said about North Carolina, which has more than 10,500 children in care.
After hosting a recruiting event at Regal Cinemas in Gastonia, the Gaston County Department of Health and Human Services said more adults have expressed interest in becoming foster parents after seeing Instant Family, according to the Gaston Gazette.
“According to Julie Murphy, a licensing supervisor with Health and Human Services, the majority of individuals who attended the screening took applications.
“We had a great response and have continued to get phone calls daily as a result of the event,” she said.”
The movie is based loosely on writer-director Sean Anders’ life after he fostered (and adopted) three kids.
“I think the message of the movie is: no matter what, love first,” his wife, Beth Anders, told The Columbian. “They need parents, and we’re here.”
To learn more about the film, Instant Family, click here.
The first approach, prevention services, has the goal of reducing the need for child welfare systems entirely. Through the establishment of mental health services, substance abuse treatment and prevention programs and in-home parenting skill programs, the FFPSA will help states work with biological parents to ensure that not only do their children get to experience bright futures but also that those children get to do so in their own home, with their biological family.