Nationally, there are nearly 700,000 children in our foster care system. Did you know these foster children experience PTSD at twice the rate of returning US soldiers? And because they move so often between foster homes, 50% never graduate from high school, 50% are unemployed by age 24, and 50% are homeless after leaving the system.
As a mother, I found these statistics alarming. The children who wind up in our foster care system are removed from their homes due to parental abuse. Their parents have failed them and this failure shapes the life of a foster child.
This month I was privileged to sit down with the leaders of San Diego Voices for Children to discuss how they help this vulnerable population. I was so impressed with the hopeful work they are doing and wanted to share with you what their volunteers are doing to help.
Voices for Children (VFC) is a national organization that believes every child deserves a safe and permanent home. They work with the court and community stakeholders to link our foster children with appropriate services and a secure safe, permanent home. Through their CASA program foster children are assigned a volunteer advocate who are dedicated to a single child or sibling group.
CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate. These are volunteer men and women in our community who become the voice of these abused children. They are people just like you and me. Their CASA gets to know them in depth and truly understand their case to help design a case plan to achieve the best possible outcome for that child. CASAs make recommendations on behalf of their child to the Juvenile Court judges who make life changing decisions for each child.
CASAs are not only advocates, though. They serve as trusted mentors and friends. They show up for these children where their parents have not. This might be taking them to a museum, playing a sport, helping them live normal lives. Actions that we as parents take for granted as normal, unexceptional actions in the lives of our well loved children. But for foster children, these are foreign and rare actions that they have been denied.
Voices for Children shared a story with us about one of their former foster youth and his CASA. Suamhirs, a San Diego child, had experienced terrible circumstances at the hands of his parents, and grandmother. His own family trafficked him for sex at a young age. After being taken in to the foster care system, Suamhirs was appointed a CASA, Marco. Marco became Suamhirs voice and advocate; his friend, mentor, and supporter. Not only did Suamhirs graduate from high school, he was appointed to the US Commission on Human Trafficking in 2016. He is not only the youngest member of the commission at 26, but the only former foster youth. He summed up the wonderful work VFC does:
“Voices for Children gave me a voice. And my CASA, Marco, taught me to be strong, not to let my past define me. He believed in me and is still with me—the longest stable, positive relationship I have had in my life. This man. A total stranger. A regular person with a regular job… and an extraordinary heart. With extraordinary skills to set someone free. That is my CASA.”
You can read more about Voices for Children and the CASA program here.
At WealthChoice we believe in giving back, and we consider it a priority. We are proud to support organizations like Voices for Children through the San Diego County Bar Foundation, as well as the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women campaign.
