Undocumented foster kids struggle
PRODUCED BY MALLIKA ARYAL MAKING THE UNDOCUMENTED IN US FOSTER HOMES LEGAL Fekri Kram was born in Tunisia, North Africa in 1990. When he was five years his mother sold him off to a French woman because she was too poor to support the family. But life with his new guardian turned into a nightmare […]
Immigrant Foster Children struggle for citizenship
PRODUCED BY MALLIKA ARYAL IMMIGRANT FOSTER CHILDREN STRUGGLE FOR CITIZENSHIP Special Immigration Juvenile Status (SIJS) allows immigrant children in foster care to apply for permanent residency but the system needs to be made more efficient so that no child is left behind. Related Story: Making undocumented US foster kids legal Fekri Kram was born in […]
LGBT foster kids struggle for support
PRODUCED BY SHEA CONNELLY LGBT FOSTER KIDS STRUGGLE FOR SUPPORT [Click here to learn more] Campbell Amy Brown spent 18 years of her life being shuffled between foster homes and group homes. By the time she aged out of foster care, she had been through over 40 placements. But even beyond the pain of not […]
Identity Crisis for LGBT Group Homes
PRODUCED BY JOSHUA FRANK IDENTITY CRISIS FOR LGBT GROUP HOMES For 19-year-old Qydell Jackson, Gramercy Residence was his last option. He was being beaten at home and was in dire need of a safe place to live. “I would get thrown down the stairs, just because I was homosexual,” he said. “If I hadn’t [run […]
Embracing Sexual Identity
PRODUCED BY JOSHUA FRANK AND SHEA CONNELLY EMBRACING SEXUAL IDENTITY TOUGH, BUT DIFFERENT IN FOSTER CARE Coming out can be hard for some, harder still without parents, without family, and without support. Fitting in with other kids in an urban foster care systems can be beyond intimidating. But for a lucky few, there are places […]
Getting into trouble
PRODUCED BY CLIFTON LEE AVOIDING TROUBLE TOUGH FOR SOME DISILLUSIONED TEENS Last year, approximately 2300 young adults aged out of the city’s foster care system, according to a recent report conducted by New York City Children’s Services. Many in this population will enter the world alone without a high school diploma. VIDEO STORY Related Content […]
Foster teens try to avoid trouble
PRODUCED BY CLIFTON LEE FOSTER TEENS TRY TO AVOID TROUBLE The odds are already against a child in the foster care system. They get even worse as they enter teenage years. Once they age out, there’s no structure or family to fall back on. Avoiding trouble can be troublesome for these young adults. Related Story: […]
Emancipated to Nothingness
PRODUCED BY LAURIE GUTHMANN EMANCIPATED TO NOTHINGNESS The foster kids who don’t end up with a foster parent may end up homeless. Though there are structures and programs in place to prepare teenage foster kids for adulthood, homelessness and poverty are just a reality for those preparing to “age out” of the system. Related Story: […]
Transitioning to adulthood without family
PRODUCED BY LAURIE GUTHMANN MAKING THE TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD ON THEIR OWN April Handler, 20, is a former foster child. Since she left the foster care system, she has been living in friends’ houses. Today, she stays in a shelter. On certain nights, Handler said she had to sleep on the subway or walk through […]
Left Behind: Teens and Adoption
PRODUCED BY BRIDGET LEAHY TEENS IN FOSTER CARE FACE BARRIERS TO PERMANENCY Teenagers make up a third of New York State’s “waiting children” – some 6,000 kids within the child welfare system who won’t return to their birth families. Their parents’ rights have been terminated to free them for adoption. Less than half of New […]
Foster teens face permanency barriers
PRODUCED BY BRIDGET LEAHY FOSTER TEENS FACE PERMANENCY BARRIERS Most foster care parents aren’t looking for teenagers. Most want babies, or young children. Where does this leave our young adults? Many foster teens face the struggle of finding permanency. For some, relying on themselves is the only source of permanency. Others are luckier. Related Story: […]