CONVENING CALLS FOR TRANSFORMATION OF FOSTER CARE SYSTEM

Permanent Family Connections are "Possible and Powerful"

Washington, DC. Child welfare experts and youth leaders will come together on May 1-2, 2008 for the National Convening on Youth Permanence. This two-day conference will bring together a broad spectrum of people who work with the nearly one million babies, children, and young people who are involved in the foster care system each year.

"Decades of research confirm that youth without a lifelong family are unprepared to join society as contributing, productive citizens," said Raymond Torres, executive director of Casey Family Services, the direct service agency of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. "We have come to a critical moment when the leadership in the field of child welfare and the foster care system are accepting a new challenge: permanent family connections are possible, powerful and must be our priority."

"The tide towards family permanence is turning and it is transformative," said Torres. "States are instituting new ways to achieve lifetime families for kids in care no matter what their age. These new approaches will be shared at the Convening to help set the roadmap to change."

The National Convening on Youth Permanence will bring together child welfare workers, social welfare experts and youth leaders from around the country to develop the plan for this emerging movement. The meeting will take place at the Renaissance Washington D.C. Hotel, 999 Ninth St. N.W. on May 1 and 2.

"We must work to put policies in place that support permanent families for youth in foster care," said David Berns, executive vice president, Casey Family Programs. "The Convening will give us the opportunity to devise strategies on how best to achieve that at the state, local and family level."

"Based on a deeper understanding of what best prepares youth for successful transition to adulthood, the Convening is part of a national movement to remake foster care into a safe and nurturing pathway to a permanent family relationship," explained Douglas Nelson, president and CEO, the Annie E. Casey Foundation. "While continuing to recognize the crucial role of foster parents and guardians, the foster care system must lead to family permanence for all youth in care."

The Need for Permanence
Data shows that children and young people thrive when in a safe, nurturing family. But for far too many American youth, the security of a lifelong family is not a reality. More than 28,000 foster youth age out of foster care every year before they can be reunited with their parents, placed permanently with relatives, or adopted. Without a safety net in early adulthood, the futures of these youth are at risk.

"All young people need a family to belong to, as well as close relationships with adults who can offer guidance, advice and solace," said Torres. "A family for life is essential to help all young people grow up to become well-adjusted and thriving adults."

The National Convening on Youth Permanence
The Convening will focus on the importance of empowering youth, parents, foster families and extended supporters to participate in permanency planning. It will also allow participants to delve deeper into the issues of disproportionality in the foster care system, with an emphasis on the troubling over-representation of African-American and American-Indian children and youth in foster care.

The program will feature a roundtable discussion by leaders in the child welfare field including: Douglas Nelson, president and CEO, the Annie E. Casey Foundation; Raymond Torres, vice president of the Annie E. Casey Foundation and executive director of Casey Family Services; David Berns, executive vice president, Casey Family Programs; actress, best-selling author, and foster care alumna Victoria Rowell, president of the Rowell Family Foundation.

For More Information
Please contact Patricia Haubner (phaubner@douglasgould.com) or Megan Freed (mfreed@douglasgould.com) by e-mail or phone (914) 833-7093. Both experts and youth leaders are available for interviews.

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