Foster Care Awareness Campaign

The Children's Law Center plays a leadership role in sponsoring the annual Los Angeles Foster Care Awareness Campaign, drawing together a roundtable of advocacy, governmental, judicial, and public interest organizations to bring attention to the tremendous need for increased community support for the nearly 30,000 youth in the Los Angeles foster care system.

The May, 2007 Foster Care Awareness Campaign, in partnership with the Youth Aging Out Initiative and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, will sponsor a Foster Youth Job Shadow Day, pairing youth with a variety of local businesses. The goal of this pilot effort is to inspire and empower a group of young adults to identify their career interests, talents, and strengths and to provide tools and resources that will contribute to their long-term success. An annual highlight of the Awareness Campaign is nomination and recognition of "foster care heroes," who are acknowledged publicly and honored by the Board of Supervisors. These heroes exemplify the best of our foster care system - whether through working for systemic reform, advocating on behalf of foster children, providing direct assistance to youth in need, or preserving and attaining success even in the face of difficult odds.

Other key events and activities held as part of recent Foster Care Awareness Campaigns include:

An art and essay contest in which foster youth provide a window into their experiences in the child welfare system. Youth in Los Angeles participated in workshops conducted by author Kerry Madden, artist Judy Baca, and Self Help Graphics as part of this program.
Two booklets of art and writing produced by youth living in foster care, "My Voice, My Life, My Future - - Mi Voz, Mi Vida, Mi Futuro" and "My Past, Present and Future...Voices of Foster Youth."
A Foster Youth Mental Health Summit dedicated to improving the delivery of mental health services to foster youth. Summit attendees developed recommendations and action plans aimed at enhancing and expanding Los Angeles' efforts to better meet the needs of children in our foster care system.
A Youth Empowerment Summit that brought current and former foster youth together with child welfare professionals, advocates, judges, legislators, and other decision makers to address the importance of youth presence in court, the critical need for youth participation in the development of permanency plans, and ways to empower and enhance the voice of youth in the child welfare and legal process.
An Education Summit during which community leaders came together to identify key issues, challenges, and possible reforms related to the educational needs of foster youth in Los Angeles County. The Education Coordinating Council (ECC) that grew out of summit recommendations constitutes a critical step in toward breaking down institutional walls that may prevent the community from taking effective action.
Recognition of the work of Chief Justice of California Ronald M. George and Assemblymember Karen Bass and acknowledgment of momentum within California to achieve better outcomes for children in foster care.
County wide distribution of posters and flyers detailing how individuals in our community can engage and get involved in a variety of activities to "change the life" of a foster child.

For further information, see:

Job Shadow Days Press Release

Foster Care Outreach Fact Sheet

Foster Care Heroes and Success Stories

Nomination form for 2007 Foster Care Honors

Foster Youth Art and Writing Booklet

Sponsoring Organizations

Press Releases