Advancing the Well-Being Framework
 |
| Mary Lee |
1)
Well-Being Presentation at the National Summit on Authentic Youth Engagement: At the national conference on August 5-6 in Chicago hosted by Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative with its
partners, the Andrus Family Fund, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Marguerite Casey Foundation and the Walter S. Johnson Foundation, Aisha
van Ter Sluis, Mary Lee, Jennifer Miller, and Sue Badeau engaged in a dialogue
with the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative Youth Fellows about youth
perspectives on well-being.
The
Youth Fellows gave FCWG members extremely useful feedback on what “well-being”
meant to them when they were in care and specific ideas on how the work group’s
well-being framework can be applied to support youth still in and transitioning
from care. Potential ideas included an “inventory” for young people and their caseworkers
to help assess their well-being; video clips of young people talking about what
well-being means to them; workshops, trainings, and products that help young
people and adults bridge the gap in how they think about well-being for youth
in foster care; and trainings for social workers to have the well-being
discussion with young people. We will discuss these and other ideas about a
youth guided well-being agenda in the coming months.
In
the meantime, some memorable quotes from the Youth Fellows:
•
Well-being is a journey, not a destination;
•
Well-being is when you stop surviving and start living;
•
Well-being is when I feel like everyone else and can just
be like everyone else;
•
In foster care, well-being is sacrificed at the altar of
safety;
•
Letting people help you is not giving up control –
well-being is knowing it’s OK to ask for help;
•
Well-being is being able to navigate life spaces –
knowing how to act socially and professionally;
•
Well-being is about exposure --the opportunity to see
what else is really out there.
2)
Well-Being Presentation at Foster Family-based Treatment Association (FFTA)
Conference: FCWG
member Mary Lee also presented on the FCWG’s well-being agenda at
the FFTA Conference in July.
3)
Leonard Burton Shares His Parenting Wisdom on PBS Online: Leonard Burton
wrote an article for the PBS online column Parents’ View called
“Taking on a Dual Role as Dad and Granddad.” To read it, click here.
Recent Events
Congressional
Hearing on Psychotropic Medications: On May 29, the Subcommittee on Human
Resources of the House Committee on Ways and Means held a hearing on the use of
psychotropic medications among children in foster care, how states have
implemented recent federal laws designed to ensure such medications are used
appropriately, and how the federal government can continue to work with states
to improve the oversight of these medications. More information and testimony
given by hearing witnesses is available here.
Senate
Roundtable on Financial Literacy: On June 16, the Senate Foster Youth
Caucus and the Senate Caucus on Financial and Economic Literacy Caucus
co-sponsored a roundtable discussion on financial literacy for youth in foster
care, including issues of consumer fraud. Since 2012, states have been required
to conduct credit checks before a young person leaves foster care, but there
have been some challenges at the state and agency levels in implementing this
mandate.
AAP
Symposium on Child Health, Resilience and Toxic Stress: On June 17, the
American Academy of Pediatrics held a symposium on child health, resilience and
toxic stress which included AAP members, national and state advocates, and
federal officials. The AAP called for a federal policy agenda that promotes
resilience, and in particular, a recommendation to strengthen the child welfare
system to ensure that children have long-term, stable, supportive relationships
with adults.
Advocates
for Families First Hearing: On June 18, the newly formed coalition of
organizations called Advocates for Families First hosted a congressional
briefing to unveil a policy agenda to promote permanency for youth in foster
care. The coalition is made up of Generations United, the National FosterParent Association, and the North American Council on Adoptable Children, whose
mission is “to build a unified national movement in support of kinship, foster and
adoptive families who care for children and youth, promote their healing, and
help them thrive.” You can view their full policy agenda and
recommendations here.
Briefing
on Medicaid to 26: On
June 26, the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth hosted a briefing on Medicaid to 26
for youth who have aged out of foster care. Panelists included Shadi Houshyar,
VP of Child Welfare Policy at First Focus, Sarah Helvey, Child Welfare Policy
Director at Nebraska Appleseed, and Amy Woolard, Senior Policy Attorney at
Voices for Virginia’s Children. They discussed the new Medicaid coverage for
former foster youth under age 26 who aged out of the system, including the
regulatory decisions that have been made, and provided examples of other health
programs for former foster youth, outreach and engagement efforts, and lessons
learned.
Report
by CCAI Foster Youth Interns: On July 29, the Congressional Coalition on
Adoption Institute (CCAI) released its annual report of policy recommendations
authored by this year’s Foster Youth Interns. You can view the full report and
recommendations here.
Senate
Roundtable on Financing Reform: On July 30, the Senate Foster Youth
Caucus hosted a “Discussion on Child Welfare Finance Reform.” This event was
one in a series that the caucus has been hosting to update Senate staff on
various child welfare topics. The caucus issued an open invitation to
organizations that wanted to offer financing reform proposals to present at the
discussion; 17 different proposals were ultimately presented. They
ranged from ideas to change the current IV-E and IV-B funding structure to more
targeted reforms such as realigning and improving Medicaid and mental health
services, changing the current eligibility link between AFDC and foster care,
realigning SSBG funding, and the appropriate use of residential care.
Relevant Resources and Reports
Unaccompanied
Minors: As
you know, in recent months there has been an unprecedented increase in the
number of children fleeing their home countries in Central America to seek
refuge in surrounding countries, including the United States. In the past,
unaccompanied children have been primarily male and older teens, but this new
population includes more girls, pregnant and parenting teens, and younger
children. Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees has compiled a fantastic
list of resources on this issue, which you can access here.
The
Invisible Achievement Gap: The Stuart Foundation, in partnership with the
Center for Teaching and Learning at West Ed and the University of California,
Berkeley, recently published The Invisible Achievement Gap Report: Part
2, which provides the first statewide comprehensive educational snapshot of
all K-12 students in foster care in California. The report demonstrates the
unique characteristics of youth in foster care as students, and illustrates the
need for policies and strategies that improve their academic success. To view
the report, click here.
NAEHCY
Report on Financial Aid for Unaccompanied Youth: The NationalAssociation for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY), in
partnership with the National Association of Student Financial Aid
Administrators (NASFAA), released a report called Financial Aid for
Unaccompanied Homeless Youth, which describes the results of a national
survey on financial aid barriers encountered by unaccompanied homeless youth.
To view the report, click here.
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