Thanksgiving Foster Care Alumni Reunion in Ohio

On November 27, 2008,  foster care youth and alumni from each of Ohio’s 88 counties were invited to enjoy a Thanksgiving buffet and time with our extended foster care alumni community.

Our event took place at the Holiday Inn Dayton. The hotel staff members were incredibly helpful to us - including the chef, who is a foster parent. Here is a link to more photos.

Doris Edelmann of Montgomery County Children Services played a strong role in orchestrating this event. Doris believes in the importance of this event so much that she brought her entire family to be a part of it!

We greatly appreciate the assistance given to us by OACCA, who sponsored the price of attendance for many participants, and PCSAO, who agreed to reimburse transportation expenses.

Many thanks also to valued allies, Assistant Professor Alvin Mares of OSU, and Bryan Brown of Starr Commonwealth, for joining us for Thanksgiving dinner.

Ohio chapter at FCAA Alumni Leadership Institute

Dayton Foster Youth Fight For More Reforms Han, Carol. News Center 7, Nov. 18, 2008.

WASHINGTON -- When President George W. Bush signed a foster care bill into law last month, foster youth from the Dayton saw it as a personal victory.

Foster Care Alumni of America estimates that there are currently 700 foster children living in our area. Last year, a group of them traveled to Capitol Hill to ask Ohio lawmakers to support the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act.

The sweeping reform bill helps keep siblings together in foster care and provides federal assistance to family members who become legal guardians of relatives' children. It also extends foster care benefits until age 21.

The bill passed with bipartisan support, and on Tuesday, the foster youth were back in Washington to thank lawmakers and to drum up support for more reforms.

Devaughn Staley, 18, wants to see Ohio foster youth be given the green light to get driver's licenses. Ohio is one of many states that do not allow kids in foster care to get a license due to insurance liability reasons. Staley wants to see the state help take up the liability. He told News Center 7 that it has been hard not being able to drive to the mall or to a job.

"We're pushing for Ohio to close that gap between foster kids and normal kids," Staley said. "Close that gap so we can be normal and feel like we belong."

Other students want to see more help extended to foster kids who want to go to college.

Alex McFarland described how credits from his high school in Tennessee weren't accepted by his school in Ohio. As a result, the 18-year-old could not graduate with his class and had to get a G.E.D.

"It was a big letdown for me because I really had that American dream about going to college with a high school diploma, walking across the aisle, going to my senior prom and I didn't have that," McFarland said.

McFarland now attends Sinclair Community College and has plans to transfer to Ohio State University.

Adrian McLemore, an 11-year veteran of Ohio's foster care system, is now a junior at Wright State University studying business and political science.

News Center 7 first met McLemore in May 2007, when he and the first group of Dayton foster youth lobbied Congress for foster care reform.

McLemore says he's happy to be back in D.C., especially so soon after President-elect Barack Obama's election win.

McLemore -- who plans to run for political office someday -- said, "Barack Obama beat me to it, he beat me to the election. But it's a testament to the resolve [about] working hard and working for the American dream. He just made it that much closer of a reality for me."

For video coverage, please visit: http://www.whiotv.com/news/18011200/detail.html

Overview of Goals, Projects and Accomplishments

Approximately 1,000 young people age out of the Ohio foster care system each year. As alumni of foster care, we share the same parent: the State.

Therefore, it is our privilege as members of the Ohio chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America to support young people aging out of foster care in our state during their journey to adulthood.

2008 Focus Areas:
1. Support Ohio statewide and local youth advisory boards.
2. Equip youth with the skills to share their personal stories in an effective and non-exploitive manner.
3. Educate others about available resources to assist youth on their journey to adulthood.
4. Educate others and ourselves about Best Practices in Child Welfare throughout the nation.
5. Provide trainings for child welfare professionals, foster parents and young people in and from foster care, focusing on preparation for adulthood and long-term emotional resiliency.

2008 Partnerships:
1. Assist VISION Board of Montgomery County with leading a series of trainings to develop county and regional youth/alumni advisory boards.
2. Support of the OHIO YAB; including creating a blog for their use.
3. Testimony regarding House Bill 7, in collaboration with Adoption Network Cleveland.
4. Involvement in OACCA’s Independent Living Legislation forums and subsequent workgroups.
5. Support IHS with their annual Trainer event and development of a Youth Ad Hoc Committee.

Workshops/Panels/Keynotes:
1. In March, we presented two workshops at the CO-OHIO Youth Advocate Services conference, presented one workshop at the IHS Trainer Event, and participated in a panel during the OACCA Advocacy Conference.

2. In May, we participated on a panel during the ODJFS Foster Care Month Event, presented a workshop and keynote address at the Daniel Memorial Foster Care Conference and presented two concurrent workshops for the Colorado Summit on Children, Youth and Families.

3. During June, we attended Montgomery County's Rising Up and Moving On event and spoke with Ohio First Lady Frances Strickland during the Ohio Family and Children First Forum.

4. In July, we participated in four regional youth advisory board trainings and two of OACCA's four legislative forums.

5. During the fall, we led two workshops, one general session and a keynote address during the NILA Growing Pains conference, two workshops during the Casey It's My Life conference, facilitated a one-room resource fair during the IL Summit, and led a breakout session focusing on foster care during the YEP statewide retreat for homeless youth.

Ongoing Projects:
1. Continue to provide workshops for Village Network.
2. Continue to work with IHS to certify foster care youth and alumni as state child welfare trainers for the Ohio Child Welfare Training Program.
3. Continue to offer support, training and encouragement to local, regional and statewide youth advisory boards.
4. Maintain our active support OACCA’s advocacy efforts regarding Independent Living legislation.
5. Continue serve on the planning committee for Ohio’s annual Independent Living Summit and the Youth Housing Board of YEP.

2009 Initiatives:
1. We will support Cincinnati Works with their Next Step Network, designed to assist young people in and from foster care in achieving employment and stability.
2. We will present at two national adoption conferences about the importance of maintaining sibling connections and providing for adoptees during the transition to adulthood.
3. We will work with Professor Alvin Mares on housing, peer mentoring and education initiatives.
4. We will work with Village Network to develop a supportive structure for young people from their program to return to after emancipating from foster care.
5. We will strive to build a stronger partnership with Franklin County Children Services and the Ohio Family Care Association (statewide foster parent organization).

Foster Stories

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words....

This is even more true when that picture has been created and dramatized by Darrin Hoover.

To read more, please visit this link.

Four recent Ohio statewide events

The Ohio chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America shared support and insights at four recent Ohio statewide events focusing on the needs and concerns of young people aging out of foster care.

1.) On Aug. 10, 2008, YEP hosted a statewide retreat for homeless youth . Because half of the youth in attendance had a history of foster care, Lisa Dickson led a breakout session focusing on resources and opportunities.

2.) On Aug. 19, 2008, during the statewide foster care rally "Success is a Choice," Lisa Dickson gave remarks about what policymakers and the community stakeholders can do support foster youth.

The keynote address was led by foster care alumni and motivational speaker Cedric Riley, sponsored by Franklin County Children Services and attracted an audience of over 150 youth, representing Athens, Hamilton, Franklin and Cuyahoga counties.

3.) On Sept. 18, 2008, during the youth track of the PCSAO annual conference, presenters included representatives from FosterClub and the National Campaign to Prevent Youth and Unwed Pregnancy.

The final workshop of the day was led by Misty Stenslie, Deputy Director of Foster Care Alumni of America, during which she shared about the Culture of Foster Care.

4.) On Oct. 3-4, 2008: Ohio's second annual statewide Independent Living Summit was led by OACCA and supported by youth advocacy organizations throughout the state.

The Ohio chapter of FCAA facilitated a one-room resource fair, including the Door to the Future and information about Job Corps, WIA, ETV funds and Dress for Success.

NILA Conference

The 2008 NILA Conference was a huge success!

The Dayton V.I.S.I.O.N. Board hosted and led pre-conference activities:


Lisa Dickson of Foster Care Alumni of America gave a keynote address, after which O.H.I.O. YAB President Adrian McLemore and members of the VISION Board shared “My Vision” T-shirts.


The second keynote of the conference was led by FCAA ally member and highly acclaimed national speaker Michael Sanders:

Opening the Door to the Future, Closing the Door to the Past

Do you see this tall slab of wood? It began as nothing more than an ordinary door. But it was transformed over a weekend into a vehicle for dreams.

The front of this door was decorated by young people in and from the Ohio foster care system with their hopes and dreams.

The theme for Ohio's second annual Independent Living Summit, hosted by OACCA, was: "Opening the Door to the Future."

Next month, during the FCAA Thanksgiving event, the theme will be: "Closing the Door to the Past."

The back of this door will be decorated by young people in and from foster care with symbols of things from our past which, as we move forward, we are going to leave behind.

For some people, this might be anger or bitterness. Others might try to save their biological family at the expense of themselves.

Sometimes we who have experienced foster care feel we are unworthy of love, because we weren't loved as children. We might remember negative predictions that other people have made about the future outcome of our lives, and foolishly measure ourselves based on other people's shortsighted estimations.

These are the kind of things we want to leave behind as we continue to move forward. And, we want to support one another and move forward together.

Many thanks goes to Home Depot to donating this door to the Ohio chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America.