Youth and Alumni Participate in FCAA Leadership and Advocacy Training in Cincinnati

Link to more photos.

 

Roleplays of Legislator Visits

 

Link to photos.

Lisa Dickson and Zelma Brown named 2010 Triad Advocates of the Year

Link to more photos.

Adoption Triad Advocate: An individual or group who has made a significant contribution to the adoption or foster care field as demonstrated by a specific accomplishment, project, program or milestone during the year, meeting one of more of the following criteria:

• Contributed through exceptional volunteer efforts
• Influenced the wider community through their advocacy and outreach efforts
• Improved the lives of individual children and teens awaiting adoption
• Enhanced the experiences of adoption triad members by providing information, advocacy or other support

We Can Do Better for Ohio's 3,000 Waiting Children

"I aged out of foster care in 1989 - but it wasn't until over a decade later, in the year 2000, that my picture frame was finally filled." (At this point Lisa held up her wedding photo). "I was 27 years old when I married my husband, and finally became a legal member of a forever family.”

“Our children shouldn't have to wait that long. We can do so much better for the young people in and from foster care today. Every year, over a thousand Ohio youth "age out" of the foster care system without being connected with forever families.”

"When I married my husband, I became a stepmother to his two beautiful daughters. We've been married for ten years now, and I learn more every day about what it's like to love two children who are not biologically my daughters - but whom I love more than anything.”

"As I watch my stepdaughters enter their teenage years, and young adulthood, I know that my husband and I will be there for them no matter what. They won't face the uncertainty that I faced as a child.”

"They will know that they are loved. They will know that they are safe. They will know that they have a place to belong to.”

"If they make a mistake while budgeting in college, they won't be homeless. If the road is difficult, I won't pull over the car, and tell them to get out. They will know that, even during the hard times, my love will still be there.”

"There are more than 3,000 children in Ohio who are waiting for that kind of assurance and certainty today.”

"Right now, at this moment, is an opportunity to fill their picture frames with our love. Our consistency. Our perseverance.”

"We who are here today have the strength to love, and the confidence to let adoptees tell us their story. We can build pictures of the future, and face pictures of the past. We can open our hearts and our homes, and provide FOREVER.”

Lisa Dickson, Communications Chair of Foster Care Alumni of America's Ohio chapter, speaks from the heart at the Nov. 6th Adoption Rally “Filling Family Portraits” on the Statehouse Steps. OACCA Weekly, Nov. 9, 2009.

Resources for Ohio Youth Aging Out of Foster Care

Employment

• Foster care youth are 100% eligible for WIA funds.
• Contact your local WIA Board.

Food

• Go with the young person to apply for food stamps, or accompany him or her to the nearest Food Bank.
• Here's a list of Food Banks in Ohio.

GED

• Job Corps is a great way to complete a high school education, and even provides housing!
• Ohio has three Jobs Corps Centers.

Healthcare

• Foster care youth who "age out" of the system can receive Medicaid until age 21.
• Navigating the adult Medicaid system can be challenging.
• Don't assume that the staff at the Medicaid office will be aware of this program -- bring a copy of the flyer.

Higher Ed

• Ohio Reach is a statewide initiative to increase the number of foster care youth who enroll in and graduate from college.
• A good place to start in choosing a college is to look over the list of Ohio Reach Campus Liaisons.

Housing

• The Family Unification Program provides housing vouchers for which foster care alumni are eligible.
• Find out if your county has applied for FUPS - and how to make this happen.

Legal Assistance

• Mission Transition is a free online resource.
• Capital University Law School plans to pilot a Foster Youth Legal Clinic (currently under development)
• Another free online source is the Foster Youth Rights Handbook created by the Ohio YAB.

Literacy

• Have you contacted your local library and/or Literacy Council?
• The Ohio Literacy Network offers a free online membership.

Mental Health

• Each Ohio county has a Mental Health Board, and it's up to us to advocate for specific services for transitioning foster care youth.
• It's important to be aware that former foster youth suffer from PTSD at a rate twice that of Vietnam war veterans.

Parenting

• The Ohio Parent Information Network provides free information and support, and the State Library of Ohio has compiled this list of additional resources.
• Foster Care Alumni of America recently published a book, FLUX, which includes a chapter on parenting after foster care.

Phone Bills

• Lifeline, Link Up, and Toll Limitation Service (TLS) help keep Americans connected by making basic, local telephone service more affordable for more than 7 million Americans.

Social Security

• Emancipating foster care youth with disabilities can submit SSI applications up to 90 days before federal foster care payments are supposed to end.
• Remind the staff member that this is an exception to the general rule regarding this process.

Spotlight on FCAA Ohio Members: Sarah Callihan

If you were to ask me to come up with one word to describe Sarah Callihan, that word would be Determination: “Firmness of purpose.”

Sarah is determined to change the outcomes of foster care youth – and she began first by building a successful young adult life of her own.

After “aging out” of foster care, Sarah was the first person in her immediate family to obtain a college degree and go on to graduate school. She earned a 4.0 last quarter. Sarah plans to use her Criminal Justice degree to become both a college professor and victim/youth advocate. She’d like to eventually go to law school and to attain her MSW, as well as becoming a foster/adoptive parent for teens.

Sarah benefited greatly from the independent living courses provided to her before she turned 18 years old. The life skills that she learned helped her to transition smoothly into college life, and be self-reliant when setting up a bank account. When Ohio’s state funding for Independent Living services was in jeopardy, Sarah testifed before the Ohio House of Representatives to advocate for this funding to be reinstated.

One of Sarah’s dreams is to create a safe place in Dayton neighborhoods for community members to go when they are in need of help and safety.

Sarah’s writing has been published by EMK Press in a book for teen adoptees titled, Pieces of Me: What Do I Want to Be, and she is also scheduled to have her writing published in Rhonda Sciortino’s From Foster Care to Anywhere publication sometime this year.

Spotlight on FCAA Ohio Members: Jeremie Brown-Austin

If you were to ask me to come up with one word to describe Jeremie Brown-Austin, that word would be Potential: The inherent capacity for growth and development.

Jeremie is constantly learning new things, and exploring new opportunities. During the 2007 Teen Resource Fair in Stark County, Jeremie performed a rap song, which led to his being chosen to go to Hawaii and share his musical talent in the making of a CD. During his time in Hawaii, Jeremie participated in a statewide rally, advocating for the needs of foster care youth.

Jeremie is currently an active member of the Stark County Youth Advisory Board. In this role, he has helped train social workers, and spoken at Malone College’s Foster Forum. Jeremie would like to see Ohio and other states implement consistent aftercare provisions that would continue to support emancipated foster care youth after age 18, throughout young adulthood, helping them to succeed in the adult world.

Jeremie’s interests and passions include music, psychology and Theology studies. He can play an impressive game of basketball – in fact, one of Jeremie’s suggestions for mentoring young men in foster care is to participate in sports with youth. He’d also love to see a summer camp for foster care youth, staffed by foster care alumni.

Jeremie is known for his creativity and energy. Wherever Jeremie goes, he brings with him a stabilizing faith and a desire to make a positive difference. Regarding his music, for example, Jeremie wants “to bring foster kids together through my music, and make them feel like part of a family.”