Cherie Miller On What a Terrible Parent a State Makes

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I went into foster parenting with a touch of optimism, a dash of parenting skills and a whole heap of naiveté, none of which prepared me for the role of foster parent. One of my first lessons was the tenuous role I actually was allowed to play in two little girl’s lives. I welcomed Jayden* and Alicia* into my suburban Wheaton, Ill., home on a sunny morning in August. The bedroom was prepared with bunk beds and a chest of drawers ready to fill with little girl clothes and toys. We had a great set-up for adding children to our family of three sons.

Georgia Youth Workers Celebrate GJSA’s 40th Training Summit

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SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Professionals from every major youth-oriented field in the state of Georgia, governmental and non-profit, converge on Savannah this week for the Georgia Juvenile Service Association’s (GJSA) 40th Training Summit. The three-day event, Aug. 23-25, will host a long-list of speakers, workshops and society happenings. Members can choose from a spread of workshops covering everything from Georgia’s Cybersafety Initiative to tactics for reintegrating juvenile offenders upon their release.

Michelle Barclay and Mary Hermann on A Foster Child Pining for his Mother

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Logan* was five when he entered foster care for the second time. Nine years later, at 14, he’s still in foster care.  This Georgia boy’s long stay in the foster care system started when his mother signed a temporary voluntary relinquishment of her parental rights because of her alcohol and drug abuse. Back then, the plan was to have Logan stay in foster care or placed with relatives while she worked on her rehabilitation.  The goal was to reunify the family and the plan didn’t change. Logan has had seven placements while in foster care.  Today, he lives in a group home and has a close relationship with the director of that home and his court appointed special advocate.  He has also maintained a bond with his mother over all this time. They talk by phone, have weekly family counseling by phone and last summer he spent a week in her home in Texas. Logan’s mother has changed and improved her situation over the last nine years.  She is no longer using drugs and she has had another child whom she is raising in Texas. She is fragile, but has been fairly stable for six years. She expresses affection for Logan, something that has sustained him during all these years of being so alone.

Tom Jacobs On Foster Care and LGBT Youth

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It’s a good time to reflect on some troubling statistics concerning LGBTQ foster children and do something to make a difference. It is estimated that approximately 260,000 youth are in the foster care system in the United States at any given time, according to the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Additionally, it is estimated that up to 18 percent of children in foster care are LGBTQ youth. These youth are falling through the cracks and are more at risk of becoming runaways, homeless, suicidal and harassed by peers. According to the research conducted for the American Bar Association’s Opening Doors Project, judges and lawyers who work with youth in foster care acknowledge they don’t have the knowledge or resources to help LGBT foster kids.

Brian Dixon

The Other Side of the Rainbow: Young, Gay and Homeless in Metro Atlanta

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["The Other Side of the Rainbow: Young, Gay and Homeless in Metro Atlanta" is part 1 of a 3 part series on LGBT issues. Bookmark this page for updates.]

In April 2008, Brian Dixon was 18-years-old and homeless. Being gay, he says, only exacerbated his predicament. After allegedly enduring years of mental and physical abuse, at age 14 Dixon left home to live with his grandparents. Within a year, they placed him in Georgia’s foster care system.

Michelle Barclay and Patricia Buonodono On Danielle’s Story

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*Danielle was born HIV positive. Her mother, while constantly in and out of jail, abused alcohol while pregnant with her. Her father couldn’t manage to care for her, often forgetting to give her the HIV medications she needed to survive. She was a year old when she entered foster care. Her father had finally given up, dropping her off at an AIDS clinic, saying he couldn’t handle it any more.

April 29, 2011

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Read up:

Newt Gingrich Among Conservatives Backing NAACP Prison Reform Report:
http://bit.ly/NAACPreports

Want to Ask the Nation a Couple of Questions?:
http://bit.ly/juvypoll

Georgia Foster Kids' Psych Drug Use Under Review:
http://bit.ly/fostermeds

Host: Ryan Schill
Multimedia: Clay Duda

Georgia Foster Kids’ Psych Drug Use Under Review

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More than a third of foster children in Georgia are prescribed psychotropic drugs — medications like antidepressants and mood stabilizers. Because so many foster children are using the drugs, a new review aims to provide better oversight over their usage. The review is expected to reduce prescriptions of expensive psychotropic drugs within the foster care system. “You are going to save money, and you’re going to provide good medical care,” Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Decatur, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Georgia currently spends $7.87 million year on psychotropic drugs.

Federal Funds Available to Help Foster Kids

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The federal government is now pushing states to take part in two foster care programs that support guardianship placements and the extension of foster care up to age 21. The two programs are part of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, which was passed in 2009 and allows for federal IV-E funds to be more freely used, according to Youth Today. According to the Act, teens will be eligible for these funds if they continue their education or get a job among other things. As JJIE.org reported last month, more than 700 fostered teens in Georgia turn 18 this year and face an uncertain future, and a quarter of young people who age out become homeless within two years. But Georgia has apparently not applied for the money that might help them.