In a senseless act of gun violence, at least 17 people lost their lives at a high school in Parkland, Florida—one of the deadliest mass shootings in American history. Contact your Congressional representatives to enact sensible gun control at 202-224-3121.

This week, the Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee plans to vote on SB 375, which would allow service providers the right to decline services to a child on the basis of “sincerely held religious beliefs.” Children’s Rights strongly opposes this measure, which would effectively provide a license to discriminate against LGBTQI youth in foster care in Georgia.

2017 was a groundbreaking year for Children’s Rights. With individual donation dollars we have accomplished major achievements across the country. Read our 2017 Action Report now!

23-year-old Edgar Carranza is a former foster kid and a foster youth advocate working with Georgia EmpowerMEnt. Read his powerful description of the realities and impact of living in state care.

In response to the Trump administration’s announcement regarding the formal end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program, Sandy Santana, executive director of Children’s Rights, released this statement.

21-year-old Shay House is a foster youth advocate and LGBTQ activist from Oakland, California. Here, Shay shares her story with us and offers advice for foster kids and their advocates.

Children’s Rights joined a national coalition of advocates in filing an amicus brief challenging the federal government’s practice of detaining unaccompanied minors in institutional and lock-down facilities without demonstrating the need for such harmful settings.

As Fostering the Future 2017 winds down we are taking a moment to reflect on lessons learned. Read Samantha’s account on what she struggled through within the foster care system while she was on her way towards attaining a college degree and becoming a social worker. “My message to my brothers and sisters in care? DO IT. Go to college. It’s scary. Everything that you’re unfamiliar with is scary. But you’re going to find so many new things about yourself and learn to advocate for yourself. And once you obtain your degree it’s the best feeling in the world. It’s something that foster care can’t take from you. It can rob you of your sense of stability and self-worth, but it cannot rob you of your education once you’ve earned it. And that’s more powerful than anything.” Click “Daily Spotlight” to read her whole story.

There are many reasons why youth in foster care–and those who aged out–miss school. Nyeelah, who had to commute almost 2 ½ hours during her senior year of high school, explains one of them in today’s post: “I was … yearning for the love and support of a parent, and I just wasn’t getting it. I stopped going to school some days, or would forget to turn in my homework, and just gave up.” Click “Daily Spotlight” to read all of Nyeelah’s story!

Over the past month we have given you many first-person accounts from foster youth discussing the obstacles they faced on the path to higher education as part of #FosterMyEducation. Now, as Fostering the Future 2017 wraps up, we’ve collected accounts and perspectives of academics from across the country who are working towards bridging the gap between foster youth and higher education. Read now and discover why #FosterMyEducation was only the first step towards building a brighter future for America’s foster youth. Click “Daily Spotlilght” for the whole story.