Sara Bartosz, lead counsel at national advocacy organization Children’s Rights, shed light on the failure of many states to properly oversee the administration of psychotropic medications to kids in foster care during the recent American Bar Association (ABA) Annual Meeting in Chicago. Bartosz was a panelist on “I Feel Like a Zombie: Legal Ethics and […]

My son Julian spends hours racing his toy cars, sprints to be the first when the doors open at school, and slowly nibbles his dinner to savor every morsel – and delay bath time. He also listens, watches and absorbs everything that goes on around him. Julian, 7, is a quiet, sensitive kid. A stern […]

My name is Ernesto, and I’m a 24-year-old gay man. I wasn’t always open about my sexuality. I spent years in foster care, afraid to come out of the closet. When I was 13, my little brother and I were put into state care and placed in a shelter. I was scared, the guys were […]

Childhood is supposed to be a time of discovery and innocence. But it doesn’t always work out that way. It didn’t for me or my sister. We grew up in foster care in a loving home out in the country. We had a big back yard, chickens, pigs, fresh vegetables to eat and caring foster […]

I never thought I would say it, but you must go through something in order to gain experience for your true calling. Going through foster care affected my life by making me stronger. My mom was an alcoholic and heroin addict who would eventually die from her addiction. She would lose track of time and […]

Foster kids know “Imposter Syndrome” better than anyone. New families, schools, dynamics, politics and rules make finding yourself and trusting who you are a near impossibility. We learn to mistrust authority by having parents who couldn’t parent. We learn to question ourselves by having no stable place to explore identities and personas. I learned early […]

I once read a quote that stated, “A strong woman loves, forgives, walks away, lets go, tries again, and perseveres … no matter what life throws at her.” By that definition, I am a strong woman. My mother is also a strong woman, and I love her more than I can fathom, but when she […]

I spent most of my small town Kansas childhood on the fast track to a life destined for failure. My parents were plagued with addiction, and because of that, I was surrounded by drugs, alcohol, and depression at an early age. This created an environment of limits — limited prosperity, limited stimulation and limited expectations. […]

Growing up in foster care can be challenging. It can also be a good thing, as weird as that sounds. Some children come from terrible situations within their biological families and they will be helped in a home where there is love and support; at times foster care can provide more opportunity and a better […]

I still remember the chaotic day when my seven siblings and I went into foster care. My mom left to go drinking, and my 2-year-old brother was locked in the house by himself. The rest of us could not get in. Fire trucks and police cars came, officers broke in and we were taken away. […]