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Foster Youth for #FamilyFirst
Dear Members of Congress:
 
We have personal experience in the foster care system and we are signing-on to this letter to support your efforts to improve the outcomes for thousands of our brothers and sisters in foster care.  The following is a short list of provisions of the proposed Family First legislation that we are most hopeful about:

     • Reducing the number of children that must experience what it’s like to enter foster care (prevention services). Entering foster care is a moment we all remember well, because of the uncertainty and amount of pain we felt as we were separated from our families. Many of us are still unsure why we were placed in foster care, and our families should have had more options beyond separation. We support provisions that include options to prevent us entering and/or remaining in foster care.

     • If we are placed in a group home or congregate care facility, ensuring we receive quality services. The trauma that led to our families’ involvement with child welfare was compounded by the separation from our families and the continuing issues we faced while in foster care. We support provisions that recognize the importance of trauma-informed services and the impact services have on our outcomes.

     • Making sure we aren’t warehoused in facilities instead of living with families. Even those of us who had good experiences in group homes recognize that we may have missed out on opportunities for normalcy and to build lasting, permanent relationships with people who could serve as family down later in life. Staff members in congregate care facilities don’t generally walk us down the aisle, do grandparent-ly things with our children, or financially support us in adulthood if we lose a job or have a serious illness. If it’s necessary to temporarily place us in congregate care, we support regular evaluation of our placement to ensure we are in a placement that best meets our current needs.

We appreciate your efforts to take our voices into consideration as you’ve crafted the Family First proposal. We look forward to working with you to ensure that foster care reforms are informed by our voices and will truly benefit our brothers and sisters. Thank you for your continuing leadership on our behalf.
 
Sincerely,

The undersigned and the following foster youth organizations:
- FosterClub
-       Foster Care Alumni of America
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