July 2010 Mockingbird Times

Vol. XI, Issue VII

>>Safety Key Topic at 2010 Summit by Diamonique Walker
>>The 2010 Foster Youth and Alumni Leadership Summit by Jerry Bobo
>>Power of Listening by Sam Evans (Region 6-Olympia)
>>Letter From the Editor by Jim Theofelis
>>A Look at Reunification by Ian Grant
>>From Shy to Strong by Josie Davis (Region 1-Spokane)
>>Homeless Youth Count in Spokane by David Buck
>>Drug Addiction by Amanda Bevington

>>Creative Corner
>>Community Events
>>Quote of the Month
>>News From The Mockingbird Network
>>Thank you for Listening!

Safety Key Topic at 2010 Summit by Diamonique Walker

The 2010 Foster Youth and Leadership Summit was a great success. It featured Mockingbird Network youth, from across the state, who presented key issues to the Washington State Commission on Foster Care. The Commission included a distinguished group of community leaders, co-chaired by former Supreme Court Justice Bobbie Bridge, Founder of the Center for Children and Youth Justice and Denise Revels-Robinson, Assistant Secretary of Children’s Administration. Justice Bridge said, “the Leadership Summit gets better every year.” It is the one opportunity for the Commission to hear from youth first hand.

Region 1 stated that there is an issue with homeless youth and older youth not having an avenue into the foster care system and receive the care that they need. To fix this, they recommended that the (Child in Need of Services) CHINS petition be revised so that older and homeless youth get the services and care they need.

Region 2 made a recommendation that foster parents have routine drug testing. Stating that drug use around children is not a good influence on their upbringing and leads to irresponsible and sometimes dangerous scenarios.

Mockingbird Network Youth at the Leadership Summit.

Regions 3 and 4 presented on the fact that all youth under the State’s care do not have adequate transportation to their dependency hearings as well as recommending youth get proper notification for their dependency hearings. Amend RCW13.34.070 or HB 2735, section 4 (6) to include a mandate requiring the state to notify dependent youth directly of all dependency hearings.

Region 5 presented to the committee to raise the standards, as far as requirements for potential future parents. In addition, they felt prospective foster parents should pay for the required testing on the grounds that if they are truly sincere they will do so. They recommended to the Committee that the requirements for becoming a foster parent be increased involving the following: A national criminal background check, a psychological evaluation, situational testing involving situations foster parents typically witness, lie detector testing, and the age requirement be changed from 21 to 25.

Chapter members from Region 2 (Yakima) presenting to The Commission.

Many youth in Region 6 who have been in or are in family foster care have stated that they do not have spending money to engage in typical youth developmental issues and recommended that it be required by law that allowances be given to youth in family foster care, in amounts and frequencies that are appropriate for age and ability.

One of the most powerful moments was after Region 4 presented the issue of being notified of hearings and transported to hearings, Representative Mary Helen Roberts (D-21st District) asked if youth who had not been to their dependency hearings could stand up. It was a shock to see that more than half of the participants had never been to their dependency hearing. And, it clearly showed how important the Leadership Summit really is, because in that moment dozens of youth put a face on that one issue.
Being a part of the Leadership Summit means putting a face on an issue, letting youth share their experiences and input, and standing up to make a change. And that’s what advocacy is.

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The 2010 Foster Youth and Alumni Leadership Summit by Jerry Bobo

June 24th and 25th marked the fifth year for the Foster Youth and Alumni Leadership Summit. The importance of the Summit is to bring all six Mockingbird Network chapters together, so youth leaders can present issues to the Washington State Commission on Children in Foster Care. The commission board consists of legislators, attorneys, judges, members of DSHS/Children Administration, and alumni of foster care. The Leadership Summit, its network youth, and the Mockingbird Society have successfully passed legislation for the past several years, and this year is shaping up to be no different.

The first day started early, but it was a fun and full of activities. To kick it off, we had a teambuilding activity, where the group was split into teams who had to work together to accomplish one goal: get to know one another better. In the afternoon, the main focus of the day was three workshops: 1) Community Engagement, 2) Individual Development, and 3) System Reform. All the workshops were geared to help us with key issues, build confidence and improve our presentation skills.

Chapter members from Region 5 (Tacoma) presenting to The Commission.

At the Community Engagement workshop we talked about the importance of being involved with our community, and how the community really makes up the people who support us. We also talked about how giving the youth a voice is more powerful, and it helps if youth begin by volunteering at the local level. We saw three different film clips of people who have helped their community grow in a positive way. We discussed the clips, and why giving back is important and how it helps us grow. The Individual Development workshop provided a better understanding of how to present in front of large groups. Members of the staff preformed two different skits, the wrong way to handle a presentation and the right way. We then broke into teams, had ten minutes to pick a topic, and figure out how to present it to the entire group. The good thing about this activity was that we all had the chance to give and receive feedback from the entire group. We learned the importance of knowing the audience, being self aware, looking sharp, keeping a timely presentation, and keeping it short. All these tips moved us to the next level.

System reform is something the Network is passionate about. During this workshop, each chapter represented a different corner of the state. And, each chapter had the chance to craft its message in a powerful way, and present its key issue to opinion leaders and child welfare experts. This exercise gave us candid feedback, helped us hone the presentation and taught us the importance of stakeholder buy-in.

All these workshops were important and helped us youth grow as individuals. Tony Shellman was our guest dinner speaker. He wrapped up all three workshops by explaining how to use all these skills within our daily lives. He gave a very inspiring life story that uplifted every youth. It was a great way to close out our first day together. Day two was entirely dedicated to preparing each group presentation for the Commission on Children in Foster Care. It included speaking tips, practice in front of the entire group with feedback, and more practice. It became totally clear, that to be effective, practice and preparation are as important as the issues themselves.

The Foster Youth and Leadership Summit just keeps getting better. Each year new youth and alumni attend, and some return. If we didn’t have the Leadership Summit, when would the Commission on Children in Foster Care hear our problems? Would we be successful in our mission if we didn’t have the Summit? I can’t imagine our futures without it. We are making positive change. And, its change that is needed based on the real life experiences of youth and alumni of foster care and kinship care.

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Power of Listening by Sam Evans (Region 6-Olympia)

Sam Evans, shown here a second or two after she learned that she was the winner of our essay contest, will be spending a day with Secretary Susan Dreyfus, Secretary for the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. Her essay, reprinted below, speaks to her charisma, her dedication, and her passion for youth involvement. Josie Davis, our second-place winner, is also featured in this issue.

Sam Evans named essay contest winner. She will spend the day with Sec. Dreyfus.

There are several reasons that I want to attend the Youth Leadership Summit. (The main reason being that this is the year that I am able to attend this event). I am excited to have the chance to be a part of something so amazing that helps so many young people. I feel that attending the Summit is the perfect opportunity for me to grow not only professionally, but also personally. I feel that one of my biggest weaknesses is my fear of public speaking and being overly self-critical when it comes to public speaking. I am a bit of a perfectionist. And, when I get nervous I start to stumble and then get upset because I messed up, and I find it really hard to recover from that. Even though others reassure me that I did a good job, I am still hard on myself. This opportunity allows me to break out of my shell, be open to the idea that I am a good public speaker, and to inspire others with similar problems when it comes to addressing a crowd.

If I had the chance to go up to a legislator and tell them anything it would be that the biggest thing that anybody can do to better the foster care system is listening. Listening to voices of the youth in care; hear their stories about where the foster care system has taken them. Listening to the social workers and taking their ideas to improve their working conditions so that they can more effectively serve the youth. There are many youth in the system that have not had a horrible experience, like mine. In my opinion it would be more effective to see what is working and expand on that instead of over glamorizing the negative. Yes, the foster care system is not perfect and it may never be. But why can’t we, as concerned citizens and former foster youth, who have firsthand experience with system flaws, highlight what works currently in the system and build on that? It’s just like a parenting. In order to encourage my son to do better, I focus on what he is doing well and not focus on only the bad. We are talking about changing the states “parenting style” with its foster youth. Why not take a productive approach?

What is leadership to me? A leader is someone who steps up and is an example to those around them no matter what the situation.. Some of the qualities that make me a better leader are my openness to new things, my perseverance, my resilience and my spirit. I am from the mindset that you can’t have an opinion on something without finding out as much about it as you can. How can you be effective fighting a battle without ammunition? You can’t; it is setting yourself up for failure. An example would be that when I am in meetings as a youth voice, before hand I like to talk with other youth to gain perspective on things that I have not been through or may not know as much as they do, so I can be as effective as possible.

My life has never been easy, even before entering the foster care system in my life I had been knocked down so hard so many times, but each time I came back with a renewed spirit and drive. I think about this every time someone tells me that I cannot do something because of my position in life and it makes me need to prove them wrong. I have always considered myself to be a free spirit and have used it to my advantage. My personality is such a melting pot of awesomeness that I have no problem relating with others and really getting along with anybody. The fact that I have also had the opportunity to have some very powerful women in my life to show me what good leadership looks like, and how to be a leader and peer without overstepping your boundaries and still being respected, has given me strength.

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Letter From the Editor by Jim Theofelis

Dear Friends,

Wow! The 2010 Foster Youth and Alumni Leadership Summit demonstrates, once again, that by bringing youth and alumni together; providing them with the skills and confidence to lead and present their ideas; and most important by listening; true change can take place. Thank you to our distinguished group of sponsors; Casey Family Programs; the Washington State Commission on Foster Care; the Center for Youth Justice; and the Department of Social & Health Services.

Each Mockingbird Network Chapter brought forward one proposed policy. One thing is clear: youth want to feel safe in their homes; and some experiences have led youth to conclude foster parents need more support – whether it is family counseling services or respite care – youth can see the ‘burn out factor’ in some foster parents, and they are asking for help. Region 1 is seeking a new Child In Need of Services or CHINS policy that would allow homeless youth to opt-in to the foster care system. This is based on data that shows the connection between poverty, homelessness and vulnerable populations entering the system!

Another highlight was our 2010 Leadership Essay contest. Youth submitted essays on the power of the leadership and the Summit to change lives. The winning writer Samantha Evans from Olympia will spend the day with DSHS Secretary Susan Dreyfus. She touched on the power of listening and the ‘good parenting’ to support children who rely on the state as parent.

A heartfelt thank you from all of us at the Mockingbird Society. Thanks to our community it was a great success.

P.S. Save the Date: The 2010 Annual Luncheon is slated for October 6th at the Seattle Sheraton. Circle your calendar and join us for a special event that I promise will inspire!

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A Look at Reunification by Ian Grant

Not all foster care stories end badly. In fact, roughly 61% of the youth that exit foster care in Washington State go back to their families. National Reunification Week, which took place June 13-19, was launched this year to celebrate the families that come back together after care.

One of the fundamental principles upon which child welfare in Washington is founded is the notion that a child is best raised in a healthy, intact family. So, whenever possible, the State hopes to reunify parents who have followed through with their court-ordered intervention plan with their children. Many people don’t realize that foster care is designed to be temporary; it’s supposed to be an emergency alternative to an unsafe home, not a long term placement. Most reunifications happen within a year of a child entering care.

Of course, those children were removed for a reason. And not every reunification is successful. According to a US Department of Health and Human Services report to Congress, roughly 16% of them end with the child reentering foster care within a year. And, the parents have to be willing to work through what is a very difficult and complex process. One interesting fact from a 1999 study entitled “Parental visiting and foster care reunification” was that, youth who had regular visits with their mother while in care were roughly ten times more likely to be reunified with their birth family.

In particular, foster youth have the right under certain conditions, such as three years in care, terminated parental rights and no placement plan secured to petition the courts to reinstate their birth parents’ parental rights. The parents have to have complied with any and all court-ordered requirements. Foster youth are entitled to a lawyer during this process. The lawyer, youth, and parents work together to establish that returning home would be in the best interest of the foster youth. Unfortunately, the petition is not an option if a youth has already been adopted or entered into a legal guardianship.

It’s hard to find data on what happens to youth after reunification. One 2001 study, entitled “Children Who Return Home From Foster Care: A 6-Year Prospective Study of Behavioral Health Outcomes in Adolescence,” is sobering. According to their research, “reunified youth showed more self-destructive behavior, substance use… received a ticket or have been arrested, to have dropped out of school, and to have received lower grades.” It concluded that “youth who reunify with their biological families after placement in foster care have more negative outcomes than youth who do not reunify.”

This all speaks to the importance of working with the family to make sure that it is a safe and healthy one where children can thrive. Washington State does do a reunification assessment to determine that a particular family is safe before a child is reunified, and works with the family to create a transition and safety plan. Unfortunately, they also cut funding for parental visits by $1.3 million, and family intervention by $287,000. The effect of these decisions on the number and success of reunited families remains to be seen. We need more data on what happens after reunification in order to have a good approach to reunite broken families. It’s not an easy or a quick process, but we owe it to the youth and families affected by the foster care system to ask them if our approach is working.

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From Shy to Strong by Josie Davis (Region 1-Spokane)

Previous Foster Youth and Alumni Leadership Summits have impacted my life dramatically. I used to be a shy girl because of how I was raised. I grew up in a foster home and was emotionally abused by my former foster mom. I was quiet and actually believed I was disliked by everyone because my foster mom treated me differently from everyone else. She also told me that I was different and not normal. Going to the Summit helped me to realize a lot about myself. I determined what I wanted to do for a career. I also realized I have a “family” of fellow youth and alumni of care to stand up for. Aging out of foster care and going to the Summit made me realize that people think I am beautiful inside and out. I am not different from anyone else.

I have always had a passion to help people and going to the Summit helped give me the skills to become a leader, have my own voice and help others by advocating. By listening to the stories of others, I learned that I was not the only one who had suffered from abuse. The more stories I heard from foster youth, the more I wanted to take a stand for them or with them. Now, I look at them as my family, and families take care of each other. Now I go to the Summit to take a stand with my family to fight and advocate for foster youth who struggle in foster homes or who may be suffering from abuse. I am an alumni, but I look at myself as a big sister with responsibilities. And, every time I go to the Summit I learn something new.

Policy makers need to know more about foster parents. My experience has taught me that foster parents get burnt out after so many years of working as a foster parent. So I would make a suggestion to policy makers that foster parents should be required to get an evaluation on their mental and emotional health every five years. My former foster parent was my guardian for twelve years of my life. One day after a tragic fire, she told me that she didn’t care about me and kicked me out. Because of this experience, I believe foster parents should be required to get an evaluation or go to counseling.

Leadership to me is taking the initiative to do something and to be pro-active. As a leader I have responsibilities and I am a mentor. I am responsible for setting a good example for my peers. Helping my peers is equally important to me. As a leader, being a good listener is important, because everyone has a voice and a story. It also is my responsibility to try to encourage my peers to find their voice, communicate, and work together. I also look at myself as a mentor. In other words, I like to mentor my peers into becoming leaders as well. Being a leader helps a person grow into a strong-willed, confident, independent individual and that’s what I want my peers – my family to have and more.

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Homeless Youth Count in Spokane by David Buck

Every year more youth leave home for the streets. How many is not certain; they are a critically understudied population. One study by Portland State University gives a figure of 1.6 million homeless youth in the nation. A little over a million of them are between 15 and 17 years old.

Homeless youth need a safe place to live. Life on the streets is very painful and sometimes deadly. Homeless youth are highly overlooked by people ranging from service providers to legislators, and for that matter, the foster care system. And when families fall apart, older youth often have no place to go but the streets. The Mockingbird Network (Region 1 – Spokane, Washington) hopes to change that by reforming the Washington State Child in Need of Services (CHINS) petition to be better suited to help older runaway youth.

The CHINS petition itself is a temporary request for services where the court will decide whether or not a youth receives services. This can include housing, food vouchers, educational services, counseling and others. Just filing a CHINS petition is not enough, the policy, and ultimately the judge decide on whether they are provided And, as of right now there is no legal policy on how to handle homeless youth filing a CHINS petition.

Chapter members from Region 1 (Spokane) presenting to The Commission

Region 1 heard about a youth who was looking to get into foster care and who had been denied more than once. Region 1 investigated further and decided to bring the idea of reforming the Washington State CHINS petition to the Mockingbird Society’s 2010 Foster Youth and Alumni Leadership Summit. The hope is that community leaders and Legislators will see the wisdom of supporting homeless youth and back a change in the policy.

The problem is there is no way for homeless youth to really enter foster care. When a child typically enters care it usually involves an investigation by CPS and a dependency hearing with a judge. These cases tend to focus on younger children, and there is minimal assistance for older youth. But every family is different, and what the child welfare system still hasn’t prepared for is the outcomes that leave an older youth on the streets and the parents or guardians have decided to exclude that youth from their life. Where do CPS and dependency hearings come into play by that point?

Runaway youth and homeless youth are a vastly understudied population. They should be as supported by the child welfare system, as foster youth. A wise man once said “the success of a nation is dependent on those who depend on the nation.” In other words, our nation’s success depends on how we treat our poor and neglected populations. And when a population like homeless youth is ignored; what does that say about our community or our child welfare system? Homeless youth have to rely on homeless youth drop-in centers which are nonprofit organizations dependent on private donors. And, given that policy that the police must be notified when at youth is at one of these resource centers or shelters, most youth continue to run.

By revising the CHINS petition, or finding a better system of getting runaway youth and homeless youth the care they need to have any kind of life at all, we can get many youth off the streets and with a higher chance of success at life.

Resources:
http://www.youthnoise.com/page.php?page_id=6145
http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/?q=node/340
Portland state university study titled “Stronger Youth and Stronger Communities”

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Drug Addiction by Amanda Bevington

According to www.drugabuse.org, addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use harmful consequences to the individual who is addicted and to those around them. Drug addiction is a brain disease because the abuse of drugs leads to changes in the structure and function of the brain. Over time the changes in the brain caused by repeated drug abuse can affect a person’s self control and ability to make decisions, and at the same time send intense impulses to take drugs. It is because of these changes in the brain that it is so challenging for a person who is addicted to stop abusing drugs.

When I was younger I watched a lot of my family suffer from drug addiction. Watching my family drifting away each other from drug use was the hardest thing for me. I love them so much and would do anything to help them get sober. According to sparkaction.org children who are exposed to alcohol and drugs frequently shows difficult motor skills, delayed language development, attention deficit, hyperactivity, aggression toward others, and impulsiveness. It’s not fair that due to my mom’s mistake I have to try harder to succeed in life then other youth who are not exposed to drugs and alcohol. I remember many times my family interaction always seemed to turn into conflicts. When you experience drug addiction with loved ones it extremely hard to communicate with one another. I always felt like I was stuck in the middle of a problem that I could not fix. I remember asking my grandma why my mom won’t love me the way I want her too. She explained that when people use drugs their trying to hide some type of pain weather it’s from physical or emotional abuse. Even though taking drugs is voluntary, it’s still hard for the addict to change, because of the changes in the brain chemistry cause intense craving.

I understand that it is very difficult for parents to overcome their addiction, but imagine how hard it is for the youth to watch their loved one throw their life away due to alcohol and drugs. I can’t remember how many times I told myself, if my mom really loves me she’d come back for me. Unfortunately that’s not always how things work. My whole life I have been struggling with mixed emotions toward my birth family. I’ve felt mistrust, guilt, shame, confusion, anger, insecurity, and sadness. As I have gotten older I have learned how to deal with those emotions, but I will never get over the fact that I will always be missing a part of my life.

Even though my birth mom neglected me, I still forgive her. Yes, my childhood has been a challenge for me, but if I never forgave my birth mom I wouldn’t be able to forgive my self and move on in life. The best way to help your family and loved ones fight addiction is family therapy, and in-and-out patient drug rehabilitation. I have found out the hard way that you can not force loved ones into rehab to get better. Unfortunately it is a choice thing, not a force thing. They have to do it for themselves. To get help you can call 1-800-662-HELP for information and answers on addiction.

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Creative Corner

Great Mind by Evan B

The moon shines brightly in the night.
The forest glows with a great sight.
Water seems to sparkle as it trickles down a stream.
Fish sit and chill in the pond with time to kill.
A lonely wolf prowls in the darkness waiting for its next victim. It sees a wild hare running into its hole.
The hare is scared, tired and wounded — wounded by life, and his mind, hidden from spite,
Scared of the way life has been seeming to get worse, and worse as each day goes on.
Tired of trying to survive without a great outcome in life.
Life is a path of survival and discouragement.
It may get better.
It may just fester. Fester in the minds of an angry soul, causing more trauma that it can hold.
If your one with a great mind, you can put it behind. Look the wolf right in the eyes, as it comes to attack.
Face it and relax.
You stare the darkness dead on.
It gets weaker and slowly shines — to light.
Let it brighten up your day and make the best of your stay.

Hope by Steven Phan

Hope
There’s hope for the homeless,
There’s hope for the poor.
There’s hope for the little girl down the hall, (crying)
Don’t misuse hope,
For hope isn’t for destruction,
For hope is to cleanse.

For the little girl,
Please don’t cry,
Please don’t cry,
Hope is to believe,
Believing is to hope.
For one to hope,
Is for one to desire.

From a time to cry,
To a time to care,
Please don’t cry,
I’m here.
From a time a butterfly decides to land on your shoulder,
To a time the butterfly decides to leave.
There’s hope

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Community Events

Region 1

July 25th: Royal Fireworks festival and Concert – In the evening at the floating stage in Riverfront Park. FREE.

Region 3

Latin Expression concert The City of Everett Cultural Arts Department presents the Saturday Evening Waterfront Concert Series and welcomes Latin Expression, power salsa orchestra.
Location: 1700 W. Marine View Dr. (turn on 18th)
Site Link

Region 4

July 10th-12th: Pacific Days
Parades, activities, car smash, car show, raffles, vendors, food, crafts and dance with live music.
Pacific City Park, 600 Third Ave. S.E., Pacific; free
Site Link
Contact: Glenda White chairperson@pacificpartnerships.org

Region 6

Every Thursday, all day: Fresh Organic Vegetable Pick up for Youth
Community Youth Services
711 State Ave NE
Olympia WA 98506
Independent Living Skills Lobby

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Region 1 (Spokane) by Josephine Davis

The Leadership Summit was AMAZING! I can confidently say that every person who attended the Summit brought a piece of the experience back with them. Whether it was going home with more confidence, or becoming an advocate or public speaker, or five years down the road, remembering how much fun we had watching Lauren, Tammy, Kara, and Graham break it down in our dance circle. Nearly all the foster youth and alumni will surely remember coming together to put their individual passion, voice, enthusiasm, and leadership skills to work. We also went back with excitement around winning two great awards: the Systems Reform workshop, and two of our members Sam Evans and me were acknowledged for our Leadership essays!

Region 2 (Yakima) by Brandy Baxley

Taylor and I trained mental health workers on the “Culture of Foster Care.” It was a success, and one participant said that “[she] needs to continue to work towards eliminating the clinical language.” We also had a chapter meeting where Tiffany, Kara, Amanda, and David visited from Seattle. They helped us figure out our one-pager to hand out at the Summit. We believe that we did really well in our presentations! We are PUMPED for next year!

Region 3 (Everett) by Garrett Nadeau

The June chapter meeting featured a special guest, Representative Mary Helen Roberts and preparation for the Foster Youth Leadership Summit. We talked to Rep. Roberts about the summit, and then spent a little discussion time getting to know her. Georgina facilitated the voice development training. As for food — and the theme — it was very low key, we ordered pizza and had pop and snacks. For the next chapter meeting we will decide what we want to do to give back to the community around us.

Region 4 (Seattle) by Rashunda Johnson

At the Region 4 Change chapter meeting our agenda was to choose one main topic to present to the State Commission. We wanted it to be a “representative tribute” to youth and alumni of foster care. The issue: Youth of all ages are not being adequately notified of their dependency hearings and not ensured of proper support/transportation to be in attendance of initial and ongoing hearings. We argued youth of all ages should be present and part of Dependency proceedings with an attorney. The youth should feel motivated to participate and be able to discuss their current foster care situation.

Region 5 (Tacoma) by Tianna Oliver

This year at the Summit, Region 5 members did an excellent job presenting why we feel it is important that foster parents have psychological evaluations done. We participated in workshops the staff planned out for us. We were active and involved, asked questions when needed, and took the criticism given to us, and effectively used it to enhance our proposal. When we presented it to the panel, we were all confident and spoke loud and clear making sure that the panel understood our needs, wants and concerns were.

Region 6 (Olympia) by Graham Parrington

Another month has flown by here in Region 6. I attended another Transformation Design Committee Legal and Practice Subcommittee meeting in which we talked about what the intake and exit process might look like under the new law. We pulled our group of people attending the Summit together and held the Voice Development Training to help us prepare for our presentation to the Washington State Commission on Children in Foster Care. At our chapter meeting, we began discussing what we would like to do to give back to our community and how we also can improve the image of foster youth and get more youth involved in our chapter.

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