Foster Care

From the Mouths of Children

Genevieve Piturro | Posted 05.31.2012

Read More: Orphanages, Group Homes, Pajama Program, Child Abuse, Pajama Charity, Foster Care Abuse, Foster Care Volunteering, Foster Care, Foster Care System, Impact News

I have learned a lot about life from some very smart people: children. Some of the simplest, purest truths have been told to me by six-year-olds.

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Will This Controversial Court Decision Help Or Hurt Kids?

AP | KELLI KENNEDY | Posted 05.29.2012

Read More: Child Hearings, Los Angeles County Children's Court, Open Hearings, Foster Care, Child Welfare, California Open Courts, Child Welfare Reform, Open Child Welfare Hearings, California Foster Care, Video, Los Angeles News

MIAMI -- A California judge's decision to open a county's child welfare hearings earlier this year has energized a debate among advocates in other sta...

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Commemorating National Foster Care Month

Rep. Karen Bass | Posted 05.24.2012

Read More: Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, Foster Care, National Foster Care Month, At-Risk Youth, Volunteering, Children, Foster Care in U.s., Problems With Foster Care, Foster Care System, Parents, Parents News

The health and happiness of foster children is in our hands, and together, with assistance from our communities, we can provide the same care that we give to our loved ones.

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Grandparents Raising More Kids Amid Bad Economy, Wars

HuffingtonPost.com | Saki Knafo | Posted 05.23.2012

Read More: Annie E. Casey Foundation, Adrian Charniak, Child Welfare System, Video, Grandparents Rights, Barack Obama Grandparents, Grandparents' Rights, Kinship, Multigenerational Families, Grandparents, Generations United, Foster Care, Kids Count, Kinship Care, Parents News

Adrian Charniak's grandson was born with cocaine in his blood. That's the first reason the Illinois child welfare agency decided the boy's parents wer...

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Foster Care Counts

Daniel Heimpel | Posted 05.18.2012

Read More: Foster Mother's Day, Mother's Day, Foster Care Counts, Slidepollajax, Foster Children, Foster Care, Los Angeles Foster System, Impact News

It is "Foster Mother's Day" and Gabbi is one of 2,200 foster children and their families who will cycle through Anthony and Jeanne Pritzker's 1.24-acre home and garden on Los Angeles' West Side.

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The Only Mommy War Worth Waging

Kristen Howerton | Posted 05.15.2012

Read More: Foster Children, Social Justice, Mother's Day, Mommy Wars, Motherhood, Global Motherhood, Foster Care, Mothers, Adoption, Parents News

Let's stop quibbling about what competent mothers are choosing for their kids, and step it up for the kids that don't have one

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For Joni's Whole Life

Genevieve Piturro | Posted 05.07.2012

Read More: Orphanages, Group Homes, Pajama Program, Child Abuse, Pajama Charity, Foster Care Abuse, Foster Care Volunteering, Foster Care, Foster Care System, Impact News

We often hear about children in our Pajama Program reading groups who are transferred -- children we'll probably never see again. I can't help but won...

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None of the Poor Children Matter

Pat LaMarche | Posted 05.06.2012

Read More: Mental Illness, Poverty, Homelessness, Foster Care, National Coalition for the Homeless, Mental Retardation, Soup Kitchen, Adoption, Impact News

Joan's mom died about a year before Joan's troubles began. Her pregnancy, jail time and homelessness began after her once life-long guardian was no longer there to protect her.

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New Student Aid Limitations Could Challenge Former Foster Youths

Ryann Blackshere | Posted 05.03.2012

Read More: Financial Aid, Congress, College, Foster Care, Foster Youth, Pell Grants, Education News

Looming changes to the Federal Pell Grant Program will jeopardize the college prospects of former foster youth, who often start toward higher education with no academic credentials and high financial needs.

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A New Solution For Child Welfare

Deborah De Santis | Posted 05.01.2012

Read More: Child Abuse, Housing, Homelessness, Foster Care, Children's Health, Federal Government, Children, Impact News

Many of our public systems have embraced supportive housing for their highest need populations. And now child welfare agencies are poised to incorpora...

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The Violence Against Women Act Helps Children, Too

Michael Piraino | Posted 04.27.2012

Read More: Violence Against Women Act, Vawa, CASA for Children, Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, Foster Care, Impact News

Children who grow up in abusive homes can become healthy adults. They need positive role models, therapy and support. Fortunately, there are systems and programs in place to help these children. Some are funded through the Violence Against Women Act.

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A Stranger Makes Magic

Genevieve Piturro | Posted 04.11.2012

Read More: Orphanages, Group Homes, Pajama Program, Child Abuse, Pajama Charity, Foster Care Abuse, Foster Care Volunteering, Foster Care, Foster Care System, Impact News

It was amazing to see him nestling close to her in complete silence, as she read to him page by page. Genna had no idea about Timothy's past behavior. She had no idea what magic had happened.

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Ripples of Change...

Tom W. Watson | Posted 04.04.2012

Read More: Create-a-Better-World, Child Abuse, Children, National Child Abuse Prevention Month 2012, Foster Care System, Foster Care, National-Child-Abuse-Prevention-Month-2012, Impact News

My birth parents were ill-prepared to care for me as an infant, and I was taken into custody by the Ministry of Social Services at the tender age of one. During the following four years, I endured emotional trauma and physical abuse.

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The Raindrop That Changed My Life

Genevieve Piturro | Posted 05.29.2012

Read More: Orphanages, Group Homes, Pajama Program, Child Abuse, Pajama Charity, Foster Care Abuse, Foster Care Volunteering, Foster Care, Foster Care System, Impact News

As the children came into the room to sit and read with me, I gave each one a pair of pajamas. One little girl wouldn't take pajamas from me. She stood perfectly still, looked up at me, and asked in a whisper, "What are these?"

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Focusing on Foster Care

Rep. Alcee L. Hastings | Posted 05.28.2012

Read More: Power & Politics, Bv-Politics, Foster Care, Black Voices News

Far too often, attention is only given to the failures of the foster care system. As necessary as this may be, only through greater awareness of both the system's failures and accomplishments can we better serve our children in need.

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Momentum for Children's Welfare, Equality

Rep. Pete Stark | Posted 05.23.2012

Read More: Equality, Marriage, Kids, Children, Gay Adoption, Foster Care, Adoption, Marriage Equality, LGBT Rights, Politics News

We should be opening up more homes to kids, not denying qualified parents who are willing to provide a safe and stable home to children solely because of their sexual orientation or marital status. The only criteria in adoption and foster care placements should be what is in the child's best interest.

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On the Outskirts of Skid Row

Daniel Heimpel | Posted 05.22.2012

Read More: California Community Colleges, Foster Care, Community Colleges, Foster Youth, Education News

California's much-maligned community college system stands an important but tenuous bulwark against homelessness for former foster youth.

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Her Name Is Mom

Genevieve Piturro | Posted 05.16.2012

Read More: Orphanages, Group Homes, Pajama Program, Child Abuse, Pajama Charity, Foster Care Abuse, Foster Care Volunteering, Foster Care, Foster Care System, Impact News

A little boy once asked me, "If the children don't have moms, how do they grow up?" He looked very puzzled. It was a good question and I didn't have a good answer for him.

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The Business of Foster Care

Ryann Blackshere | Posted 05.14.2012

Read More: Corporate Philanthropy, Education, Foster Youth, Credit Union, Washington DC, Washington State, Foster Care, Credit Unions, California, Impact News

College students excitedly anticipate opening their mailboxes to find care packages filled with food, school supplies, and other college essentials sent from mom and dad. But for students who grew up in foster care, the care packages don't often come.

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A National Foster Care Movement

Daniel Heimpel | Posted 05.07.2012

Read More: National Foster Youth Action Network, Rep. Loretta Sanchez, Foster Care System, Rep. Michele Bachmann, Dcfs, Rep. Tom Marino, Rep. Karen Bass, Foster Youth, Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, Foster Care, California Youth Connection, Video, Impact News

Over the span of the past two weeks, from my unique vantage point, I have seen two telling signs that the national movement to improve foster care is growing and, more importantly, developing the infrastructure for a sustained, youth-driven political movement.

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Pajamas, Like Brown Bag Lunches, Mean Someone Cares

Genevieve Piturro | Posted 05.03.2012

Read More: Orphanages, Group Homes, Pajama Program, Child Abuse, Pajama Charity, Foster Care Abuse, Foster Care Volunteering, Foster Care, Foster Care System, An Invisible Thread, Impact News

Laura and her young friend Maurice, shared meals at the start of their relationship, but it wasn't until an impromptu conversation about lunchtime did Laura learn the true meaning of a brown bag lunch.

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"Adoption" Needs to Become a Buzz Word in the Social Lexicon of America

Steven Kurlander | Posted 04.30.2012

Read More: Virginia Legislature, Cnn, Foster Care, A&e, Madonna Adoption, Madonna, Personhood, Angelina Jolie, Cambodia, Mtv, Adoption, Angelina Jolie Adoption, Parents News

Any adoptive mother or father will tell you that the memory of the first day they held, hugged and began bonding with their adopted child is the strongest remembrance of fulfillment in a lifetime.

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Desperate to Be the Girl They Would Love

Genevieve Piturro | Posted 04.21.2012

Read More: Orphanages, Group Homes, Pajama Program, Child Abuse, Pajama Charity, Foster Care Abuse, Foster Care Volunteering, Foster Care, Foster Care System, Impact News

I have always felt enormous compassion for the teenagers in foster care. Recently, I got to know a woman named Ivy.

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An Adoption Plan With A Happy Ending

Dr. Jane Aronson | Posted 04.17.2012

Read More: International Adoption, Global Motherhood, Adoption Orphans, Taiwan Adoption, Foster Care, Worldwide Orphans Foundation, Adoption, Impact News

As an adoption medicine specialist for more than 20 years, I have read and agonized over the social histories of thousands of children adopted domestically and internationally.

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A Child Can't Be Raised by a System... or a Court

Rhea Perlman | Posted 04.16.2012

Read More: Foster-Care-Adoption, Los Angeles, Foster Care, Juvenile Justice, Adoption, Video, Impact News

The most important element of the foster care system is getting kids out of foster care and into a permanent placement so they don't have to spend their entire childhoods in courtrooms, wondering if they will ever have a place to call home.

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