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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]