Recently I attended the NACAC conference held in Hartford.  One of the keynote speakers was an amazing speaker, Josh Shipp - a former foster child made good.  Josh spoke to us about how he turned his life around.  As a teenager in foster care Josh told us he kept a notebook where he tallied the number of days spent in each foster home.  His goal was to try to beat his last total in his next placement. Like Luis, in the story in this month's newsletter, Josh urged us not to give up on teens.  He stated that many kids have lots of baggage when moving in but they also have potential.  

     Josh dared foster parents to think, "What is the potential?  Not the past, the potential.  Not the screw-ups, the potential."  He told us that he, like many foster teens was told so many times that he was worthless that he believed it and acted this belief out.  He urged kids to decide who they are for themselves.  He stated, "If you don't figure out who you are, someone will tell you who you are.  If you are told day after day after day after day that this is who you are you will believe it.  I believed it."  Josh also told of the power of faith.  The faith of his adoptive family who believed in him.  After one particularly bad screw-up they sat him down and told him, "We don't see you as a problem, we see you as an opportunity."  He declared that this was a life-changing moment for him.  He said that over time he came to believe what his adoptive family believed about him - that he was worthy of their love and help because he, himself, had worth.  Josh was a great speaker.  He was funny and eloquent.  And he wrote a book for teens - I've just begun to read it and I will write more about it next month.  I think after reading Luis' story you will find that Josh and Luis have a lot in common - someone who believed in them has made all the difference.

     November, National Adoption Month, is right around the corner.  Please consider asking your faith community or school to participate in Bells of Hope.  This project hopes to bring awareness of the need for foster and adoptive homes to the general public.

     It's been nearly thirteen years since the Adoption and Safe Families Act was passed and in 2008 only 54,000 of the 123,000 children eligible for adoption in the United States were adopted out of foster care. Nearly 29,000 children aged out of foster care in 2008 having never had the promise of permanency fulfilled. Nearly 48,000 children in the United States still spend over three years in out-of-home care.  Connecticut children fare better than children in many other states but we still need to get the word out.  We need more foster and adoptive homes. 
     According to the Casey Family Programs report, Improving Outcomes for Older Youth In Foster Care, 2008, 30 percent of youth who aged out of foster care do not graduate high school and less than half of them will secure a job within four years of exiting care. Approximately 32% will experience highly transient living situations meaning  that they will change residences at least five times anywhere from two to four years after aging out of care. In addition, 30 percent of the males who age out of foster care will be incarcerated at some point before their twentieth birthday.

     Together, we can and do impact these statistics. One child at a time and one family at a time we change lives so that kids like Luis and men like Josh do see their promise fulfilled.  We are all richer through their success.  Let's continue to explore ways we can bring foster care and adoption to the forefront of people's hearts and mnds.

 

Thank you for all that you do for Connecticut's children.