Financial Planning for Beginners
Financial Planning for Beginners
If you are living independently for the first time, or soon will be, you need to know the basics of managing money wisely. If you are entering adulthood after being in out-of-home care, you may not have had caregivers who modeled or taught responsible financial decision-making. Luckily, you don’t need a degree or a lot […]
Guiding Teens Into Extended Foster Care
If you’re caring for a teen, chances are high they will soon have the option to either become independent or transition into extended foster care. Extended foster care is a voluntary program for young people who haven’t reunified with their family, been adopted or found another form of permanency by the time they turn 18. […]
A Home After Foster Care
On a bright and sunny summer morning last year in New York City, 23-year-old Venessa Riley could not stop smiling as she gave reporters a tour of her furnished studio apartment. It was a bright modern space with high-end kitchen fixtures, chic pink and white furniture and a playpen for her small puppy. Growing up […]
Lighten Their Load
When did you move out on your own as a young adult? Did you have the support of a family? How many times did you need to lean on your family for support as you learned how to become a young adult? Unlike a gallon of milk, a child needing a family does not have […]
A Silent Suffering
If I had a mysterious ancient lamp that I could rub and be granted three wishes, I would use one to eradicate the need for the child welfare system. In its place, I would create a society that values community in its institutional practices. Effortlessly, there would exist in this mystical utopia unlimited support for […]
Fostering Individuality
As a foster parent or kinship caregiver, you play a crucial role in shaping the lives of the children in your care. One of the most significant challenges you may face is fostering a sense of individual confidence in each child, especially when caring for multiple children or along with your biological children. Parenting is […]
A Search for Identity
It all started when I noticed I was different from other kids I grew up with. Seeing the students in school who looked like their parents made me insecure about who I was. Many of them would ask me if my parents were my grandparents or “real” parents. This would always make me feel separated […]
How to Talk to Youth About Sex Ed and Self-Care
A 2023 investigation by the child welfare news outlet The Imprint revealed that dozens of states lack formal policies to support foster youth and families with essential information for navigating puberty. A search of tens of thousands of pages of manuals revealed little or no mention of healthy relationships or sex education, let alone sensitive […]
2025 Excellence for Children Awardees
Casey Family Programs has announced its annual Excellence for Children award winners, which this year include a former foster youth helping others prepare for adulthood in Puerto Rico, a pioneer in mental health, and the longtime editor of the nation’s only magazine for foster and kinship parents, Fostering Families Today. Each year, the Seattle-based organization […]
Child Welfare Bill Passes at the Last Minute
A significant piece of child welfare legislation made it through Congress at the end of the year and was signed by former President Joe Biden. The Protecting America’s Children by Strengthening Families Act is a renewal of what’s known as the Title IV-B program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars to states each year […]