Making Vulnerable Children and Families a National Priority

Twenty five years ago I was asked to lead a residential facility in Massachusetts that was in the midst of a significant crisis. As I began my tenure there, I was overwhelmed by the critical issues that it faced. The interim administrator advised me to contact the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) to seek some advice on how to rectify the situation. It turned out to be the best advice I received and the beginning of a partnership with the premiere child welfare organization in the country. Throughout that very challenging period in Massachusetts I was able to count on CWLA for expert advice on organizational, practice and advocacy issues--that was true then and it is true today.

In addition to the support that I received over these years, some wonderful relationships have developed with colleagues from around the country who have served as role models for me in this field. Their willingness to lend an ear, offer advice and provide encouragement has been a wonderful collateral benefit of my membership and one of the principle reasons I have stayed so involved with CWLA.

For the past few years I have served on the Western Regional Advisory Committee of CWLA, as its chair and most recently as the regional representative to the CWLA Board of Directors. While on the board I have chaired a number of committees, served as a vice chair and on May 14 was selected as the chair of the board for the next two years.

Like most national membership organizations, CWLA has been impacted by the economic downturn of the past several years. In spite of the recent challenges, CWLA has remained faithful to its historic mission to be a strong voice for vulnerable children and their families, advocating for their needs to be a national priority! Unlike other membership organizations that may be quickly dismissed as self-serving interest groups, CWLA is truly seen as a leadership organization, bringing together both the public and private sectors to advance excellence in practice as well as advocating for what is best for children and supporting its members to be more effective.

I am honored to serve as the CWLA Board Chair and can only hope that I might, along with its dedicated staff and faithful members, help give voice to the often forgotten vulnerable children and families of our nation. I am particularly pleased that this leadership opportunity might also serve to feature Hillsides as a strong partner with CWLA in effectively advocating at a national level for the children and families we serve.

As always, my efforts are strengthened by the support I receive from the Hillsides community. Learn more about CWLA at www.CWLA.org and join with me to make the needs of vulnerable children and families a priority not only in our community, but nationally. 

“You need to find me a home”

The other day I ran into one of my favorite residents (they are all my favorites!) who asked to speak with me. He is one of several sibling groups we have in residence. He and his sister had been adopted, but after a few years of attempting to salvage the adoption, it failed. They are, once again, available for adoption. Both he and his sister have one message for me every time I see them and that is, "Find me a home."

My day came to a standstill as I heard his plea. He was accompanied by his therapist who encouraged him and commented on the courage he displayed by persistently pursuing his dream of having a home, a family. It is such courage, like his, that we honor each day as we lend our energies and resources to serve these children.

There is urgency in this plea, a desire to be like other kids, to be part of a loving family and community. For this brother and sister, it is not because they are not happy at Hillsides, but it is because they know better. In spite of the tremendous disappointments they have experienced and the challenges they confront, they are still longing for that one person, that family who will accept them and support them for a lifetime.

Like many other agencies, Hillsides has developed a capacity to assist families to be equipped to, once again, receive their children back at home and if necessary to identify other family members to serve as lifelong resources for these children. For those without a family resource, then we partner with other agencies to identify adoptive families.

The obstacles are many: an unnecessarily bureaucratic system, the traumas experienced at the hands of adults, a cycle of failure, learning and emotional challenges. But in spite of the challenges, we must not lose hope, but rather strengthen our commitment to restoring every child to their family or to a permanent home.

Renaming Foster Care

Years ago there was a Saturday Night Live (SNL) skit with Mike Myers impersonating a female talk show host that always ended with a statement to be discussed among the guests. They always took a phrase and questioned how it is commonly understood. As we celebrate Foster Care Awareness month, I’m wondering in the spirit of this SNL skit if we would ask, “Foster Care….is neither foster nor care……talk amongst yourselves.”

The number of children in foster care is staggering: nationwide more than 500,000 children,  in California 100,000 children and in Los Angeles County, more than 33,000 children receive child welfare services.  Though the numbers have been reduced over the last several years, they are still daunting. For each of these children, the disruption of their lives is traumatic, the impact significant and the potential for long-term failure frightening.

So what of the foster care, child welfare system? While many of us know it as a worthwhile endeavor making a positive difference in the lives of children, nationally both “foster care” and “child welfare” continue to evoke negative impressions. Many actually do ask, what kind of “care” is it? The other day I received a call from the parent of one of our residents very concerned that her daughter was identified as a foster child in materials she received recently!

Maybe it is time to rename foster care? Of course, renaming it without changing the system would only be a gimmick.  The only solution is an unwavering resolve to provide a system of care that never loses sight of the needs of each child and family; a system that, although always focused on safety, is committed to providing families with the resources they need to care for their children; a system that is not punitive, but rather oriented around what is effective and committed to strengthening families.

The fact is that the child welfare system is changing to become more child driven and family friendly, and these efforts have contributed to the decline in the number of children entering the foster care system. The need of each child and family in care, however, has not diminished and the challenge to provide them the resources and services continues to be great.

In an effort to “rename” foster care here at Hillsides, we have developed an ingenious way to rally community support while drawing attention to the needs of the children and families we serve. Check out Foster Soles and join in supporting our efforts.

Thanks.

Justice Has Been Done

The surprise announcement on Sunday that Osama Bin Laden had been killed has rekindled for all of us memories of that fateful day when we were confronted with the reality of global terrorism on our shores. We all remember where we were and how it affected us. I recall on that day receiving a frantic call from a friend in Massachusetts to ascertain that I had gotten back safely to Los Angeles after a week visiting with family and friends there. He was unsure of my travel plans and was afraid that I had been on the flight from Boston that crashed. As fate had it, I was on that same flight, but traveled September 10! Had I left on September11, I would have perished along with others like Lynn and David Angell.

Many of you know, Lynn Angell, who as a volunteer, single handedly started our campus library.  Her photograph is prominently displayed in the library as a reminder of her extraordinary dedication to our students. Motivated by a conviction that she could make a difference, she committed to provide our students with a place and resources to learn, to improve their lives and to become successful.  Her spirit lives on here and we continue to benefit from her support through generous grants from the Angell Foundation.

In spite of the tremendous sense of loss we experienced as we mourned the deaths of so many innocent victims, our lives have not been centered on retribution, but rather on their living legacies.  On Monday, the 13-year-old son of one of the heroes, a fireman who perished at the World Trade Center, said that he did not feel vengeful. To him, it matters little that Bin Laden had been killed, it was the loss of his father that 10 years later he still mourned. As much as justice has been done, the losses are still profound, the threats are still ever present and the impact of that day is still being felt.

The lesson of course is that the best “revenge” is to live full and fearless lives especially in the face of threats. As we begin May, Foster Care Awareness Month, it is appropriate for us to recall that the greatest instruments we have in the face of daunting obstacles are courage, hope and resolve.

Lynn Angell continues to counter the senseless acts of terror of September 11 each time a student is welcomed into the library that honors her commitment.  Join us to help our students and residents confront the challenges they experience and learn to be strong and fearless, hopeful and confident. Just as this is Lynn Angell’s impact on children served by the foster care system, it can also be yours.