Four ways to ensure success when petitioning for extending services for youth aging out of foster care
Efforts to extend services for youth aging out of foster care are most successful when they involve four key tactics, say the executive directors of two Alliance member state associations.
Linda Hall of Wisconsin Association of Family and Children’s Agencies, Madison, and Carroll Schroeder of California Alliance of Child and Family Services, Sacramento, have years of experience working with state legislatures to influence policies that positively impact children, families, and communities. According to the two, among the most successful tactics are:
Working Within a Coalition
Gaining a stronger voice through partnerships with other children’s advocacy groups is key; there is strength in numbers.
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“When there is a coalition, everyone is working as a team,” Schroeder says. “Everyone’s voice becomes stronger.”
Involving Former Foster Care Youth
“Nothing speaks louder than the experiences of kids who have been booted out at age 18 and have had to live in abandoned cars,” Schroeder says.
When former foster youth meet with legislators and their staff, the results can be powerful and influential.
“I think a lot of youth are nervous about going to the capitol, but once they get there, they are convinced that legislators need to hear their stories,” Hall says. “The former foster care youth we’ve taken to the capitol were often talking to legislative staff who were the same age as them. I have to believe that made an impression on these young staff members.”
The firsthand perspective also resonates with legislators, she adds, because many of them are parents themselves and recognize the difference between the supports they provide to their own children and the lack of support provided for youth who age out.
Finding a Champion
Recruiting an elected official who will speak out frequently provides a constant source of support when backs are turned.
“Identify someone who is really going to stand up for you in the body politic,” Schroeder says.
Getting the Story Out
Media coverage that explains the human cost that results when youth age out of foster care is invaluable. This can help to sway legislators, but also their constituents.
“Members of the media were interested in the stories our former foster care kids have to tell, and that opened the door for favorable press,” Hall says.
Schroeder adds, “Get messages out to the media that clarifies to the legislature ‘if you are going to take these kids away from their families, you can’t dump them when they are 18.’”
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