Child advocates push for adoption of teens
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Children’s Caucus, a group of Tennessee child advocates, is asking more people to adopt teenagers who are too old for state custody but still need support.
Each year an estimated 800 teenagers get too old to stay in the state system and are left without any further assistance. But they still have a difficult time making the transition to adulthood.
That’s why several state officials and foster care supporters are asking for more Tennessee families to adopt them, providing a safety net for the older teens.
“The purpose of the meeting is to help people see what they can do to improve the state of foster care,” Linda O’Neal, executive director of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, said Wednesday. “We need everyone to make a commitment to tell others.”
The group addressed various foster care issues at the state Capitol in hopes of attracting the attention of lawmakers and the public.
Within the past year, a federal court has ordered the state to improve its foster care. A new commissioner of the Department of Children’s Services, Viola Miller, took office in January to make sure the state complied.
Michelle Crowley, a 21-year-old who grew up in foster care in Nashville, spoke at the meeting and said people are much more suspicious of teenagers without parents.
“When people see teenagers, they think ‘What did they do?'” Crowley said. “Four- and 5-year-olds, it’s ‘What was done to them?’ (But) we’ve all been abused.”
Cristina Silva, 21, a product of the Miami foster care system, said the Miami court system helped her land an internship with the Miami Herald newspaper. She’s now studying journalism at New York University.
The Commission on Children and Youth also wants to see more businesses help these teenagers, like the Florida-based staffing company Spherion has done. It sets aside various job openings just for foster teens, O’Neal said.
“We need businesses to give these young people jobs,” she said.
Other recommendations from the caucus were federal funding of current state foster care programs and the creation of more adoption incentives.
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On the Net:
Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth: http://www.state.tn.us/tccy/