Radio interview with ODJFS Director Michael Colbert

OH Budget Proposal Bridges Gap from Foster Care to Adulthood

Public News Service Ohio, June 7, 2011.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - More than $2 million could help Ohio's foster youth find their way in the "real world," but only if the state Senate budget passes. Lawmakers are proposing the additional funding for programs that assist teens as they transition out of foster care and learn to live as independent adults.

Wright State University student Adrian McLemore says foster youth often walk alone on the rough road from their teen years to young adulthood - and he knows, because he aged out of the system in 2004.

"The system kind of says, 'All right, here's your bags, good luck in life,' without any really clear direction as to where they go from there, whether we're preparing them to go to college or go to a vocational or technical school, or just asking them to function as a productive citizen."

McLemore says funding for foster youth needs to be flexible, because their individual situations vary.

"Everyone has different needs and different responsibilities. Some people who come out of foster care have maybe further developed on down the road, and so we may not need to allocate as much services towards them. And then, we have young people who may need a lot of resources. "

The director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Michael Colbert, has met with many of Ohio's foster youth, and says he is impressed with their resilience. He adds that it's crucial to prioritize support for their future success.

"These are very good young people. They've had some tough times and, by giving them a small bridge to help them better themselves in life, we are making Ohio as a whole better, and this goes a long way for such a little investment."

Colbert points out that today's foster teens are Ohio's future citizens and leaders, and that by supporting them now, they won't need other types of support in the future.

"What you don't want is young people to leave our system and come back, right back in another system. You want them to leave our system and go on to become productive citizens in life."

The money in the Senate budget proposal would provide resources and support to help improve outcomes for these adolescents, such as job training, housing assistance and basic life skills. Each year in Ohio, more than 1,000 teens age out of foster care when they turn 18.

The Senate could vote on the budget as early as next week.

Foster-care cuts will be costly to kids, society

Op Ed: Foster-care cuts will be costly to kids, society
Columbus Dispatch, Sept. 5, 2009.

At a time when the needs of foster-care youths transitioning to adulthood are being recognized on the federal level through the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, Ohio has chosen to cut the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families-Independent Living Allocation by 100 percent.

The Independent Living Initiative was the only state program that provides transitional-living services to foster-care youths. These services include drivers' education, life-skills training, job-readiness preparation and food and housing assistance.

Gov. Ted Strickland eliminated this allocation, saying that it constrained county agencies' ability to use the allocated funds in a flexible manner that meets each county's needs to support children.

Approximately 1,300 Ohio teenagers emancipate from the foster-care system each year. Because they have no families to rely upon, these young people are at greater risk of poverty, homelessness, unwed pregnancies and incarceration.

Foster-care youths transitioning to adulthood are not a "line item." They are children who rely on the state to be their parents. They are teenagers entering into adulthood during a recession.

Ohio taxpayers will pay for their needs, whether now or later. Research by the Children's Advocacy Institute has shown that early investment leads to foster-care youths being three times more likely to enroll in college, 65 percent less likely to be arrested and 33 percent less likely to become pregnant.

According to Dr. Mark Courtney of the Chapin Hall Center for Children, every dollar invested in continued foster care supports and services results in a return of $2.40.

It makes better economic sense to intervene during their late teens and early 20s, a time when young people have open minds, high levels of energy and are actively engaged in the process of directing their future lives.

Lack of investment in independent-living preparation will lead more foster-care youths into situations of chronic homelessness, unwed pregnancies, unemployment and incarceration.

Left unchecked, the cycle will continue: One in four homeless adults is a former foster child.

Ohio's foster youths are "aging out" of care in the midst of a recession. They deserve far better than this.

LISA DICKSON
Founder, Communications chairman Ohio chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America Westerville

Hopes & Dreams Advocacy Strategy

DREAMS of Foster Care Youth and Alumni:

I am reaching… “To be the best mother that I can be, while pursuing my college degree.”

But I might need a hand to get me started! Independent Living funds helped Vanessa Jackson learn how to cook and budget.

***

I am reaching… “Toward serving my country in the military, while continuing to pursue my college degree.”

But I might need a hand to get me started! Independent Living funds helped Lamar Hammons find a mentor through the College Bound Mentoring Program.

***

I am reaching… “Toward safeguarding the lives and homes of others by working for Jefferson Township’s Fire Department.”

But I might need a hand to get me started! Independent Living funds provided emergency housing for Tim Hill when he first exited foster care.

***

I am reaching… “Toward finding a job after graduating from Wright State University
with a Bachelors in Criminal Justice and a minor in Political Science.”

But I might need a hand to get me started! Independent Living funds equipped Sarah Callihan with life skills that helped her transition into college life easily.

***

I am reaching… “Forward to my junior year at Miami University, where I’m pursuing a double major in Psychology and Sociology with double minors in Black World Studies and Political Science.”

But I might need a hand to get me started! Independent Living funds helped Kierra Williams get involved with a youth advisory board, and find out that she has leadership abilities.

***

HOPES of Ohio Foster Care Alumni on behalf of their younger brothers and sisters:

Hoping you, like me, invest in their future: As a former foster child, Denee Foster knows the importance of Independent Living preparation.

Not a handout, but a hand-up… Denee volunteers her time at Children’s Hospital and
teaches life skills to foster care youth at Village Network.

***

Hoping you, like me, invest in their future: As a former foster child, Grace Hilliard has testified several times about the importance of the Independent Living Allocation.

Not a handout, but a hand-up… Grace graduated in May from CCAD with a BA in Fine Arts, and is entering graduate school at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

***

Hoping you, like me, invest in their future: As a former foster child, Adrian McLemore has testified several times about the importance of the Independent Living Allocation.

Not a handout, but a hand-up… Adrian was recently named FosterClub’s Outstanding Young Leader of the Year. He is actively involved in Student Government at Wright State University – and he aspires to be President someday.

***

Hoping you, like me, invest in their future: Lisa Dickson is a 30-something former foster child. She founded the Ohio chapter of Foster Alumni of America three years ago.

Not a handout, but a hand-up… Lisa has Masters degree in Library Science, and has used her skills in research to craft workshops for national conferences and to assist the Ohio Child Welfare Training Program.

***

Hoping you, like me, invest in their future: Ralph Wills spoke before an audience of 100+ higher education officials and 100+ social workers during the 2009 Ohio Reach event.

Not a handout, but a hand-up… Ralph recently graduated from Muskingum College and
found employment through Maxim Healthcare Services.

Hannah Report: Special Budget Edition

Vol. 128 – Special Budget Issue Saturday, May 30, 2009
Public Crowds Senate Chambers for Mixed Budget Testimony

The room was crowded Saturday for a public testimony session in the Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee, with several dozen witnesses prepared to either praise changes made Friday to HB1 (Sykes), or to urge the chamber to restore funding to a cut program.

Acknowledging the long day ahead of them, Chairman John Carey (R-Wellston) said that he was invoking his powers as a committee chairman and allowing audience members to bring in water and coffee despite warnings against it outside the hearing room.

Independent Living Initiative
The first group of witnesses testified in support of restoring full funding for the Independent Living Initiative through the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

They were Lisa Dickson, founder and communications chair of the Foster Care Alumni of America Ohio chapter; Doris Edelman, legislative liaison for the Ohio Independent Living Association; and Alexander McFarland, president of the Overcoming Hurdles in Ohio Youth Advisory Board.

All three advocated restoring the funding to $2.5 million in each of FY10-11.

Dickson, a former foster child and youth advocate, said the program had lost its funding but that the Senate had restored $1.5 million of support. She said Ohio is the only state making cuts to such a program, which she said offers training and life services to prepare foster care children to face the world alone.

She said foster children are not a line item and rely on the state to act as a parent. Without proper intervention, Dickson said, those children are at higher risk for poverty, unemployment and incarceration. "Ohio taxpayers will pay for their needs one way or another," she said.

McFarland shared his experience as a child who spent five years in foster care. "Without these services, I would not have been the person that I am today."

Sen. Dale Miller (D-Cleveland) asked more about the funding mechanism. He was told it had been previously funded using TANF money but now is a line item in the children and family services portion of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services' (ODJFS) budget.

****************************************************

*Two misquotes:

- Lisa Dickson didn't say that Ohio was the "only state making cuts to such a program." She spoke about the Fostering Connections Act, and how these cuts come at a time when the needs of transitioning foster youth are being recognized on a national level...

- Nor was Independent Living "previously funded using TANF money but now is a line item in the children and family services portion of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services' (ODJFS) budget"

It was and still is an earmark of the TANF budget. Both Lisa and Doris mentioned in their testimonies that Independent Living funding in Ohio should not be an earmark, and that young people transitioning out of foster care each year should not have to fight to maintain the only state source of funding allocated to prepare them for adulthood.