Saturday, May 9, 2009
Foster Care Video
**Music by Snow Patrol “Open Your Eyes” Album Eyes Open**
I wanted to achieve with this video several concepts. First I wanted to get past the concept that foster children only reside in extreme poor ridden areas, and are always the problem children in society. The fact is that foster children can be found in every level of society, in every city. They are anywhere and everywhere. Second, I wanted to point out that every level of society has its own problems and its own hindrances to society; for instance in every level of society there are drug problems, etc. However, it is important to note that these problems vary and are widely different depending on economic status, and may be more hidden or upfront in daily life depending on one’s status as well. Thirdly, the video is supposed to point out that this cycle of poverty and foster care needs to be broken. The biggest and most straight forward way of doing this is in fact through education, including higher education. Sadly, the most ironic part about all this is that our national education systems are not all equal making it increasingly and incredibly hard for those in poverty to then escape it. For instance, for one to escape poverty they have to find the resilience to work through high school and get good enough grades to get into college; possibly with a scholarship because even if one gets in they still must pay the incredible costs of a college education; once there they might find that college is exceptionally hard and that their high school did an inaccurate job of preparing them; because this high school is dealing with a completely broken down system that leaves kids behind the moment they start, because of lack of funding or other environmental reasons. This is all even with a supportive and encouraging and helping family support structure behind you. Now add all of the above in and take away that support structure, and people wonder why the foster children can fall behind and in the cracks of a broken system. Finally, I wanted the video to point out the wonderful accomplishments Kids Matter Inc. and CASA volunteers add to the community. This can be as simple as just being there for a child acting as a role model, mentor, just someone they can turn to, look up to, and go to for help. Someone that helps them feel connected and understood in a world that can be incredibly confusing and unkind. They offer the light at the end of the tunnel, as long as someone is willing to be helped.
Chapters for my interview with Robert
This is a great and wonderful interview and I would highly encourage everyone to listen to its entirety. I couldn’t figure out how to chop it and the sections and topics tend to run together anyways, so I figured I would just leave it whole. But here are some chapter points and some of the specific topics we talked about that I will refer to further on this site. (Approximate times)
1. Aging out (0:00)
2. Government or other type of help (3:00)
3. Group Homes (4:00)
4. Continuing with higher education (7:00)
5. Insurance Issues (8:00)
6. Nurture (10:00)
7. Parental values and Foundation (11:00)
8. A need for higher education (13:00)
9. Mental state (16:00)
10. Foster parents (18:00)
11. High school jobs (19:00)
12. Attitudes of Foster parents (21:00)
13. Abuse (23:00)
14. Social and job skills (24:00)
15. Success story (25:00)
16. Be open to differences (26:00)
17. Milwaukee foster care (28:00)
18. Race/Poverty- economics (32:00)
19. Kids Matter/CASA volunteers (35:00)
20. Robert’s story (37:00)
1. Aging out (0:00)
2. Government or other type of help (3:00)
3. Group Homes (4:00)
4. Continuing with higher education (7:00)
5. Insurance Issues (8:00)
6. Nurture (10:00)
7. Parental values and Foundation (11:00)
8. A need for higher education (13:00)
9. Mental state (16:00)
10. Foster parents (18:00)
11. High school jobs (19:00)
12. Attitudes of Foster parents (21:00)
13. Abuse (23:00)
14. Social and job skills (24:00)
15. Success story (25:00)
16. Be open to differences (26:00)
17. Milwaukee foster care (28:00)
18. Race/Poverty- economics (32:00)
19. Kids Matter/CASA volunteers (35:00)
20. Robert’s story (37:00)
Aging Out/The Cycle
(Chapters 1 & 8)
• “In the long term, these young people who are pushed out of the system to save a few bucks are too often a greater financial burden to taxpayers as a result of homelessness, substance abuse and other unfortunate events they often encounter. Conversely, investment in our children provides them and society with a significant return” (2).
• “A holistic approach is critical; for independent living, we should provide, as a minimum, services to age 21 and every opportunity for former foster care children to pursue post-secondary education or training. This is good human service and economic policy” (2).
• “Like you, I talk about building families, reducing the number of children in foster care and rebuilding a sense of community and hope. While those are admirable goals, they will not become a wholesale reality without changes in a public policy that currently builds more prison cells than classrooms. Yes, the makeup of our state governments varies; however, we are all connected by some pretty indisputable facts. Nationally, the gap between rich and poor is widening, often as a result of public policy decisions” (2).
• “Many students in foster care are not being provided fair educations or opportunities for academic achievement. They do not have access to the many special programs, advanced placement courses, extracurricular clubs and sports, and other activities that are vital to obtaining a well-rounded education.” (Vacca).
• “In addition, many foster children are not encouraged to pursue advanced education. It is safe to say, moreover, that the education of foster children is often overlooked, and they are one of the most educationally vulnerable populations in our schools. School personnel must develop a deeper understanding of the challenge of transforming their schools into caring and cohesive institutions that focus on helping every student succeed” (Vacca).
Vacca, James. Breaking the cycle of academic failure for foster children. Children & Youth services Review. Vol. 30 no. 9 Sept. 2008. p 1081-1087
• “In the long term, these young people who are pushed out of the system to save a few bucks are too often a greater financial burden to taxpayers as a result of homelessness, substance abuse and other unfortunate events they often encounter. Conversely, investment in our children provides them and society with a significant return” (2).
• “A holistic approach is critical; for independent living, we should provide, as a minimum, services to age 21 and every opportunity for former foster care children to pursue post-secondary education or training. This is good human service and economic policy” (2).
• “Like you, I talk about building families, reducing the number of children in foster care and rebuilding a sense of community and hope. While those are admirable goals, they will not become a wholesale reality without changes in a public policy that currently builds more prison cells than classrooms. Yes, the makeup of our state governments varies; however, we are all connected by some pretty indisputable facts. Nationally, the gap between rich and poor is widening, often as a result of public policy decisions” (2).
• “Many students in foster care are not being provided fair educations or opportunities for academic achievement. They do not have access to the many special programs, advanced placement courses, extracurricular clubs and sports, and other activities that are vital to obtaining a well-rounded education.” (Vacca).
• “In addition, many foster children are not encouraged to pursue advanced education. It is safe to say, moreover, that the education of foster children is often overlooked, and they are one of the most educationally vulnerable populations in our schools. School personnel must develop a deeper understanding of the challenge of transforming their schools into caring and cohesive institutions that focus on helping every student succeed” (Vacca).
Vacca, James. Breaking the cycle of academic failure for foster children. Children & Youth services Review. Vol. 30 no. 9 Sept. 2008. p 1081-1087
Race/Poverty
(Chapter 18)
• “Studies have found that certain racial groups, particularly
the children of African American families, are placed in foster
care at a higher rate than children of other races. These
families are also sometimes found to be afforded fewer
services that might prevent these removals, relative to families
of other races. It is unclear why this is so. Poverty has
been suspected, and sometimes found, to be the primary
cause of the disparity” (1).
• “Findings indicate that even when controlling for risk and
poverty (as well as other relevant factors), race affects the
decision to provide services and to remove children” (1).
• One fifth of U.S. children grow up in poverty – 13.4 million kids (Atkins)
• 407,000 children are put through the foster care system (Atkins)
• 100,000 U.S. children are homeless (Atkins)
• “Black children are the most overrepresented demographic in foster care in the United States, and the culprit is poverty” (Burroughs).
• “According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, blacks make up 34 percent of the foster-care population but just 15 percent of the general child population” (Burroughs).
• “Study after study reviewed by Northwestern University law professor Dorothy Roberts in her 2002 book Shattered Bonds: The Color of Child Welfare reveals that poverty is the main cause of children landing in foster care, and blacks are four times more likely than other groups to live in poverty in the United States. In order to prevent the entry of poor kids into the foster care system, state and federal government has to confront poverty-related issues” (Burroughs).
Atkins, Norman. Marian Wright Edelman: on the front lines of the battle to save America’s children. Rolling Stone. Dec. 10-24 1992. p 126-127
Burroughs, Gaylynn. Too poor to parent?. Ms. Vol. 18 no. 2. 2008. p 42-45
• “Studies have found that certain racial groups, particularly
the children of African American families, are placed in foster
care at a higher rate than children of other races. These
families are also sometimes found to be afforded fewer
services that might prevent these removals, relative to families
of other races. It is unclear why this is so. Poverty has
been suspected, and sometimes found, to be the primary
cause of the disparity” (1).
• “Findings indicate that even when controlling for risk and
poverty (as well as other relevant factors), race affects the
decision to provide services and to remove children” (1).
• One fifth of U.S. children grow up in poverty – 13.4 million kids (Atkins)
• 407,000 children are put through the foster care system (Atkins)
• 100,000 U.S. children are homeless (Atkins)
• “Black children are the most overrepresented demographic in foster care in the United States, and the culprit is poverty” (Burroughs).
• “According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, blacks make up 34 percent of the foster-care population but just 15 percent of the general child population” (Burroughs).
• “Study after study reviewed by Northwestern University law professor Dorothy Roberts in her 2002 book Shattered Bonds: The Color of Child Welfare reveals that poverty is the main cause of children landing in foster care, and blacks are four times more likely than other groups to live in poverty in the United States. In order to prevent the entry of poor kids into the foster care system, state and federal government has to confront poverty-related issues” (Burroughs).
Atkins, Norman. Marian Wright Edelman: on the front lines of the battle to save America’s children. Rolling Stone. Dec. 10-24 1992. p 126-127
Burroughs, Gaylynn. Too poor to parent?. Ms. Vol. 18 no. 2. 2008. p 42-45
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
