In the world of foster care, stories with happy endings can be difficult to find. But I recently heard about a young man — we’ll call him “Sam” — who experienced a bright spot in his life. Sam had just turned 18 and therefore “aged out” of foster care. Just before his case was closed forever, he was placed with a relative.
Even so, living with special needs and having been in foster care for 10 years, he was vulnerable. Thankfully, someone was paying attention. The behavioral and mental health specialist at his school enlisted her extended family to buy him a bicycle, clothes, and shoes for Christmas. And she will be able to follow up with Sam as he participates in an alternative program that will educate him until he turns 21.
The challenges Sam faces are reflective of those experienced by thousands of other children in foster care. Many are about to turn 18 and find themselves thrust into the world with no home, no family, and nowhere to turn.
The coronavirus pandemic brought unprecedented challenges to our nation’s struggling foster care infrastructure. Recent months have seen a dramatic increase in the number of children entering the foster care system, along with a dramatic decrease in the number of families willing to take them in. Nationwide, we have also seen higher COVID-19 infection rates for children in foster care, among other alarming trends.
Child welfare agencies were not idle when it became clear that the pandemic had plunged a vulnerable population to even greater depths of vulnerability. Just as the rest of us adapted to new technologies and methods of working, schooling, and communicating, so, too, did the child welfare world and the courts by using Zoom and Microsoft Teams for virtual hearings and embracing other changes to address safety and permanency for children at risk of abuse and neglect.
To its credit, the federal government stepped up to help children in foster care during the pandemic as well. One does not often think of the federal government as playing such a strategic role in the daily construct of child protection, but over the past year, we’ve seen the Department of Health and Human Services lead in a meaningful way around the issue of protecting our nation’s children.
For example, federal officials engaged in virtual forums to ensure they were listening to the youth being affected by the potential loss of food, shelter, and resources during the pandemic. Jerry Milner, associate commissioner at the Children’s Bureau and acting commissioner for the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, along with Lynn Johnson, assistant secretary for the Administration for Children and Families, shepherded engagement with governors and organizations to champion the All In For Waiting Kids campaign, which encouraged support and intervention for children and youth in foster care. These were critical actions that undoubtedly made a difference for children who might have otherwise slipped through the cracks.
As a passionate advocate for children with more than 30 years of experience in the adoption and foster care arena, I would like to see this trend continue. As President Biden and his team take office, I respectfully request, on behalf of the more than 400,000 children in foster care in the United States, that the proactive measures taken by the previous administration not be abandoned.
First, the Biden administration should continue its predecessor's willingness to collaborate with communities and faith-based organizations to ensure they are given equal opportunities to serve vulnerable children and like-minded constituents.
Second, it should also continue the All In For Waiting Kids campaign, which enjoys bipartisan support at the gubernatorial level. This campaign harnesses the voice and reach of government, faith-based organizations, faith communities, businesses, and others to remind everyone that our nation’s children need us advocating and taking actionable steps to help them attain permanency.
Third, Biden would do well to invest in programs that address the mental health needs of children in foster care, including ensuring they are covered by Medicaid so they won’t have to choose between critical medications and housing or food.
Fourth, his administration should maintain the Youth Engagement Team, recently housed in the Administration for Children and Families. The youth voice is critical in this arena. As Joshua Christian Oswald said during an All In campaign virtual call, “Nothing about us without us.”
Fifth, the federal government should provide solid guidance to states for better serving at-risk youth, as modeled by Milner. During the pandemic, Milner actively listened to national child welfare organizations about this issue and participated in numerous forums and discussions in order to hear from youth, understand their challenges, and craft guidance for states.
There are thousands of children across the U.S., like Sam, standing on the edge of the precipice. Only through continued bipartisan collaboration between the federal government, state governments, and the child welfare and faith communities can we hope to continue addressing their needs in a productive and life-giving manner. I pray that the Biden administration will make them a priority.
Sharen Ford, director of foster care and adoption at Focus on the Family, has worked in the child welfare field for over 30 years, including as manager of permanency services for the Colorado Department of Human Services and as a former president of the National Association of State Adoption Programs.
