Kayla Brockington’s Post

"It is time for us all to create open and respectful spaces for everyone. As the song lyric in my mom’s favorite song, Let There Be Peace on Earth, reminds us: And let it begin with me." -Holly J. Mitchell In 2023, during a Foster Youth In Action webinar, "Understanding the Crown Act: What are the Roots of Respect, How do we Build Resilient Spaces for Mental Health & Self-Expression", foster care advocates across the US joined in the conversation to discuss how the CROWN Act impacts child welfare system impacted populations. Listening to the voices of current and former youth who experienced care, allies, and philanthropic partners, one theme was made clear. Our youth do not feel supported in decisions around hair and wearing cultural wrappings because hair is not seen as a priority. It is evident how mainstream American societal issues such as hair discrimination and cultural discrimination can trickle down and intersect with our child and family serving systems. Our solution was rooted in collaboration and understanding the power of listening to the lived experience experts and allies who navigate communities and systems. In partnership, we created 5 Tipsheets for clinical staff & social workers, advocates & allies, caregivers, legal advocates(lawyers, CASA, GAL), and youth & young adults to inform about the importance of hair hygiene {maintenance and care} and cultural coverings for all populations in substitute care {foster care, kinship, juvenile, mental health, adoption} nationwide. Our purpose is to build capacity, connect people to resources, and challenge the way care is given & received within the United States, jurisdictions, territories, and tribes. In addition to the five tipsheets, there will be a Spanish version for the youth and young adults. Join us on October 29th, 2024, for the official release date of the tipsheet resource. This resource will be available on all social media platforms. Virtual PDFs will be shared upon request.  We hope to engage with you then. Onwards! Culture Creations Inc Glenda Clare, Ph.D. Kristen Nicole Powell Whitney Rodgers #AR4G #Advocacy #Community #Childwelfare #FosterYouthVoiceMonth

No one has more of an impact on the next generation than parents and guardians. On #NationalParentsDay, we recognize and celebrate the impact of all the parental figures in our lives and the lives of the youth we serve. Interested in Foster Care? Read about the difference you can make at https://bit.ly/lhfc

Foster care should be a place where all youth are safe to be their full selves. Representation and visibility are essential for #belonging, dignity, and agency in the child welfare system. In Richards words "When marginalized communities see themselves represented, it validates their experiences and identities, making them feel seen and heard. It helps break down stereotypes and biases one may have both within the public and with the youth themselves. By amplifying and uplifting diverse voices and experiences, we enable a system that truly values and supports every individual, regardless of their background or their identity. " We can all take action. Listen and learn from LGBTQIA+ youth, amplify those with lived experiences (like author Richard Gierman), attend trainings, continuously evaluate and improve practices, and involve diverse perspectives in decision-making. #FosterCare #DEIB

Black children represent 7.4% of youth in foster care but only 3.8% of Oregon's youth population. Racial disproportionality in the foster care system is rooted in many factors including systemic racism, stereotypes and biases, and lack of investment in the Black community.* At Project Lemonade, we continually work to respond to the needs in our community; 51% of the youth we serve are people of color, which is greater than the 33% of youth in care who are people of color. We strive to stay informed, humble, and to keep making progress as we rise to the call of meeting the needs of the Black youth and all youth of color we serve. There is no one solution to address inequity in the foster care system, but each agency, organization, and individual has a role to play. #BlackFutures #FosterYouth #Equity Stats: 2022 Child Welfare Data Book *Penny Lane Center website

"Data show DCF disproportionately interacts with children who are Black and Latino and with poorer families. As of last year, Black and Latino children were more than twice as likely as white children to be placed by DCF in foster homes or other residences." CLM's priority legislation, an Act to Eliminate Disproportionality and Inequities for At-risk Children (S.120 / H.153), would seek to address this very issue and drastically improve our ability to target and dismantle policies that perpetuate disproportionality and systemic racism in the sector. 👉 Read the news article: https://lnkd.in/gpsJBaEj 👉 Learn about CLM's disproportionality bill: https://lnkd.in/g2zexJir #mapoli #EndChildDisproportionality #ChildWelfare

Every year, at least 20,000 youths age out of the U.S. foster care system? In 2016, Jaquon Dean became one of them. "I was bouncing around from abandoned house to abandoned house," Dean said. It's a sobering reality for many young people, but stories like Jaquon's remind us of the challenges they face when they transition out of care. Video Credit: @WCNC Youth Empowerment Success Services - Helping Youth become housed, educated, employed, and connected 💚 www.yess4youth.org #FosterCare #YouthAgingOut #TransitionChallenges #SupportingYouth #ChangingLives #FosterYouth #YouthEmpowerment #InspiringStories #FosterCareAwareness #SupportingTransitions #FosteringHope #FosterYouthSuccess #AgingOutOfCare #OpportunityForChange #EmpoweringYouth

Everyone should read this article on the transition age of former foster youth by the wonderful Julie Cederbaum USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work The Conversation US

#Americanhistory #childpolicingsystem #poverty #affordablehousing #BlackChildren #Clintonerawelfarereforms #familyseparation #slavery #stereotypes 'When I caught up with Dorothy Roberts, a professor of law, sociology and civil rights at the University of Pennsylvania, she had just finished a packed book talk at Revolution Books, a small, aptly named bookstore in Harlem. "Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families and How Abolition Can Build a Safer World", applies that scrutiny to the American child-protective system—a web that Roberts believes doesn’t deserve that name. She argues that child-welfare workers are effectively punishing families, particularly Black families, because they are poor. (Only about 17% of children removed from their homes nationwide are in foster care because of allegations of physical or sexual abuse.) The problem intensified after Clinton-era welfare reform reduced direct aid to poor families, Roberts says; there are now major U.S. cities where 60% of Black children have had some form of contact with child-welfare officials. One of the most striking findings in a recent study is that more than half of all Black children will experience a child-welfare investigation by the time they reach age 18—53%. I mean, that is just an astounding amount of state intervention into the homes of Black children. But then Black children are also more likely than white children to be taken from their families and put in foster care. They’re more likely not to go to college after experiencing foster care, more likely to go to prison. So the outcomes are bad too. [That’s] the enslavement of Black people, when children of Black parents were considered the chattel property of their enslavers. The parents had no right to custody or to raise their children the way they wanted to. And that also meant the families could be separated at the whim of the enslaver for their economic convenience. And also past that, going into the post-Civil War era and the apprenticeship system, where judges would order Black children to be returned to their former enslavers, on grounds that their parents were neglecting them. Even if you think about the Black “welfare queen,” the idea was she only had children to exploit white taxpayers. I mean, the stereotype about the Black father is he’s not around at all. There are studies that show that a third of children in foster care right now could be released to their parents if their parents had adequate housing...'

Let's listen to the voices at the center of #FosterCare and reflect on valuable lessons learned from the past 3 years of iFoster's Voice of the Foster Care Community Report, turning insights into action for the betterment of our youth. Read the report here: bit.ly/3Qkuf4L #iAmiFoster #CollectiveImpact #ChildFirst #VOC3

Anne-Marie Markos is an advocate and primary carer for two sons with complex disabilities, and an NDIS participant herself. She is our #DemocracyFirst candidate for the seat of #Petrie. Anne-Marie was formerly Manager of Waste and Environmental Services at Brisbane's #Mater Hospital. She was a leader in sustainability and resource management in a big institution and increased recycling in the Mater by 150%. She won the Lord Mayor's #BusinessAward for Sustainability in Business. She was a Hotel Services Manager before that. But then #health and #disability issues intervened to change her life's direction. "I am a dedicated advocate with a passion for creating a more inclusive, supportive, and accessible society. I have championed the rights and needs of individuals and families navigating complex health, disability, and mental health systems. My lived experience as a pwd, a carer and a parent of two children with significant disabilities has fuelled my commitment to driving meaningful change in policy and support structures, particularly with the NDIA and NDIS. No one should be left behind due to bureaucratic challenges or systemic barriers. At home, I am a devoted mother and wife, navigating the challenges of my own disabilities alongside caring for my two sons. I live with Bipolar and ADHD, and various physical conditions including Erythromelalgia. A incident during my pregnancy with my son Hunter resulted in permanent damage to my shoulder, leaving me with partial paralysis in one arm." #Petrie is based on #Aspley and #Redcliffe in Brisbane's north. It is held by the Liberal Party. Our #Agenda in Petrie and other #Liberalheld seats: 1. Get #careerpoliticians out of Canberra and get #CANDO people into parliament. We need politicians who have actually made an impact in difficult circumstances and broken barriers. 2. #Defund political parties, curb lobbyists and remove the duopoly from Canberra. 3. #Build an innovative, entrepreneurial economy and encourage out-of-the-box thinking. Level the playing field for #SMEs. 4. Reform the #school system so teaching and learning can be #personalised for each child, with parents coached in how to be co-educators of their kids. The next federal government will be a #minority government. We need a bunch of #crossbenchers like Anne-Marie Markos who will contribute to leading a sensible, mainstream minority government. ____ Both #majorparties are in long-term structural and cultural decline. They are no longer fit-for-purpose. A broad #movement of mainstream Australians is emerging to replace these failed parties with new instruments for addressing the #challenges we face as a nation, and the deep #crisis we have in public governance. We are committed to parliaments in which MPs are free to act on their #conscience at all times, on all issues. ___ #Share this post if you support the election of candidates like Anne-Marie. #Join #DemocracyFirst today. https://lnkd.in/gB7mz-3d