"Foster kids are bad, right?"
The very question, if not articulated out loud, is a cutting perception which still confronts many of the 5,000 foster children in San Diego County. It’s bad enough that these children suffered in abusive and neglectful homes before entering the foster care system. But they also must endure the stigma which surrounds foster youth.
Rosie Burton knows this well. Entering foster care at the age of 3, she spent 12 years as a foster child quickly realizing there are not only bad myths about foster care, but also positive perceptions which are, sadly, wrong.
Myth No. 1: A Foster Child goes to one foster family and lives happily ever after.
Rosie: “It’s false. Kids end up bouncing around a lot. In my case I moved from foster home to group home and although some of those placements were loving, none were forever. I moved 23 times while in foster care.”
Myth No. 2 : Even if moving homes, foster children remain at one school for consistency.
Rosie: “That’s false, too. I moved to 15 or 16 different schools while I was in care and because of that I fell behind. I had trouble making friends. I kind of gave up in the classroom because I moved around so much. I never had time to learn the teachers' methods.
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Rosie’s experience illustrates why statistics just released for the first time by the State of California indicate foster kids are not learning as much as non-foster students.
Advocates say the constant moving of schools sets back foster students four to six months of learning progress for every school change resulting in poorer test scores and lower grades.
Myth No. 3: Kids enter Foster Care because they are bad kids or got in trouble.
Rosie: “No. Children actually enter foster care because of abuse or neglect. And it is at no fault of the child.”
Myth No. 4: Brothers and sisters can remain together in a foster home.
Rosie: “I have seven siblings and after the age of 10, I didn’t live with any of them and because of that I don’t have good relationships with some.”
This troubling reality will give you an idea why so many foster kids end up with big problems and limited futures. About half don’t even graduate from high school.
But that’s not the outcome for Rosie who got a lucky break when she was assigned a volunteer advocate dedicated to helping her.
The nationally recognized San Diego-based Voices for Children organization trains citizen volunteers to watch over and advocate for foster children while seeking a permanent home for them.
Rosie’s Court Appointed Special Advocates (or C.A.S.A.) named Dawna lobbied the system to make sure Rosie stayed in the same school and could grow a community, had a safe home all while cheering her on as the one consistent, caring adult in her life.
“I needed for someone to show me how to use the gifts that I have. Dawna was that person. She showed me that I could be anyone or go anywhere regardless of my circumstance. Because of that I built my confidence and I was able to believe that I could do anything”
In fact, Rosie, now 24, is a communications major at Palomar College with three years of experience already as a mental health counselor at a local high school. Her future is bright. She credits Dawna, her C.A.S.A. volunteer, for empowering her.
C.A.S.A.s like Dawna come from all walks of life. No legal background is required and typically only 10-15 hours of volunteer time a month can completely transform the life and future of a young woman like Rosie. C.A.S.A.s are trained by Voices for Children and supported afterwards by staff.
Voices for Children is considered the most successful organization of its kind in the nation but it needs more volunteers and the money to to train them. Hundreds of Foster Children are waiting for a C.A.S.A. right now.
