Jacqueline Israel, a former parent advocate whose children spent six years in foster care, explains how to make the most of your visits:
1. Bring Toys and Games
When you visit at the agency, the room just isn’t a home environment. Bring games, coloring books, toys, crayons, and books to read to your child. You can even play soft music and bring a visiting blanket to play on the floor. If you’re not sure what the … Read More
People say there are no real men with real fatherly love for their children, or that a father can’t have the same bond with his kid that a mother has. When I hear people saying that, I tell them this story about my son and me, and the best and worst days of my life.
The best day of my life was when I was 21 years old and I found out that … Read More
If you’re a parent reading Rise, chances are you’ve been affected by the child welfare system. But do you know how child welfare gets funded, or how that funding affects you as a parent?
Right now a new bill before Congress could dramatically change the way child welfare is funded, and make a lot more money available for preventive services. As parents affected by the child-welfare system, it’s important to understand how … Read More
On Aug. 4, the executive director of the Child Welfare Organizing Project, Sandra Killett, a parent activist in New York City and mother whose son was placed in foster care, and Rosalina Burton, an intern with FosterClub and a former foster youth from California, testified before the Senate Finance Committee about a bill, The Family Stability and Kinship Care Act, that would increase federal funding for preventive services. (Click here to watch their … Read More
The federal Family Stability and Kinship Care Act, introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon on August 4, would give states more flexibility to provide family support services that could keep children safe at home and out of foster care. On Aug. 5, members of the New York Coalition for Child Welfare Funding Reform—a diverse coalition of advocates and foster care agency leaders—met with lawmakers to educate them about the need … Read More
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