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QUEENS WEEKLY, MAY 19, 2019
Queens foster youth and advocates call for funding support programs
2019 * plus tax and season pass.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
During the final weeks
of budget negotiations between
the mayor and City
Council, young people
in foster care, advocates
and child welfare agencies
rallied on the steps
of Queens Borough Hall
on May 14 to demand full
funding for tools that will
provide equal opportunity
for young people in
foster care.
Child welfare agencies
such as Forestdale Inc.,
New York Foundling and
SCO Family of Services
joined forces as part of the
Fair Futures Campaign
urging Mayor Bill de Blasio
and City Council to
invest in long-term coaching
and robust academic,
career development and
independent living support
for foster youth from
middle school through
early adulthood.
Jamaica/St .Albans,
the Rockaways and
Queens Village are among
New York City neighborhoods
with the most foster
care placements, with a
majority of foster youth in
Queens coming from Black
and Latino communities,
according to the Fair
Futures Campaign.
“We have accepted far
too long that it is okay,
even normal, for youth in
foster care not to graduate
from high school, rarely
go to college or have access
to the necessary social
supports all young
people require as they
transition to adulthood,”
said Bill Baccaglini, president
and CEO of The New
York Foundling.
Over 4,000 middle and
high school-aged children
and youth are entrusted
to the care of New York
City through the foster
care system, and approximately
600 to 700 children
age out each year at age
21 without any adult to
turn to for guidance, according
to a 2017 ACS report
on Youth in Foster
Care. Foster youth who
age out are disproportionately
likely to become
homeless, involved in the
justice system, or face
unexpected pregnancy.
“Only 12 percent will
enroll in college or vocational
programs. That
doesn’t sound right, does
it?” said Keith Little, executive
director of SCO
Family of Services. “Absolutely
not... There’s
a sense of urgency in
terms of moving this initiative
forward and we
need our city and state
legislators to make this
a priority.”
Foster youth with access
to a long-term coaching
program will end up
on a successful trajectory,
according to the Fair Futures
Campaign. At two
New York foster care agencies
that have implemented
comprehensive coaching
programs, nearly 90
percent of participants
who are 21 years old have
a high school diploma
or equivalency.
Advocates are pushing
to ensure every foster
youth in New York
City has access to those
resources, changing outcomes
for foster youth
and saving taxpayer dollars
through reduced
public costs for homelessness,
incarceration and
social services.
Jahlika Hamilton,
of Forestdale Inc. and a
Fair Futures youth advisory
board member,
shared her testimony of
support received from
the coalition.
“I never imagined getting
so far in life as I have
if someone didn’t realize
the potential in me,” said
Hamilton.
The Foundling collaborated
with the City University
of New York (CUNY)
and the Administration of
Children’s Services (ACS)
in 2016 to launch the Dormitory
Project at Queens
College.
According to William
Weisberg, Forestdale executive
director, given
the right support, young
people who have been in
foster care will graduate
from college, find living
wage employment,
obtain housing and form
healthy adult relationships.
Read more on QNS.com.
Forestdale Inc. Executive Director William Weisberg (l.) speaks at the rally on supporting foster
youth on the steps of Queens Borough Hall. Photo by Carlotta Mohamed/QNS
/QNS.com
