I have heard that some of you have had trouble reaching me at the info@nilausa.org e-mail address.  I’m looking into the problem.  Don’t hesitate to use my other e-mail address salevy@nilausa.org.  Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused!

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The National Resource Center for Youth Services is again coordinating the National Pathways to Adulthood Independent Living/Transitional Living Conference for 2005.  The conference is scheduled for May 18-20, 2005, at The Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta, Georgia.  Contact Joe Johnson at NRC or www.nrcys.ou.edu  

Message from Mike Waugh, One Family, Inc.

“As you may already know, the Section 8 Voucher program is frozen on the federal level with a severe budget cut projected for fiscal year 2005. These proposed cuts will devastate our most vulnerable families, including the hundreds of thousands of families and individuals currently holding Section 8 vouchers or on the Section 8 waitlist in the US. 

Working to unfreeze and expand the Section 8 Voucher program is essential to eliminating family homelessness.  Section 8 vouchers ensure that families remain housed during a time when housing and living costs exceed wages, therefore, prolonging the cycle of poverty.  We must all work together to ensure that a housing subsidy program such as the Section 8 Voucher program exists.

One Family Inc. is conducting a national petition drive to protect this vital housing subsidy program from further degradation. Our goal is to gather signatures from across the country and present them to President George Bush, Secretary Alphonso Jackson of H.U.D., Executive Director of the Interagency Council on Homelessness Philip Mangano and Congressional leaders.

The petition urges our leaders to ensure that every child in America has a place to call home. 

We need your signature.  With your help, we can create the public will necessary to bring all of our families home. 

Please visit our website, www.onefamilyinc.org to sign the e-petition, or to print out hardcopies of the petition.  We encourage you to share this information with any groups or individuals who may want to help.” 

If you would like more information Mike can be reached at (617) 423-0504. 

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The National Adoption Day organization has funded a study by the Urban Institute on Foster Care Adoption.  The report looked at all 50 States and DC's CFSR information and did an analysis. The report was recently released and can be accessed at: 

http://www.nationaladoptionday.org/2004/media/index.asp or 

http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=411108   

Sight for Students, Vision Service Plan's (VSP's) national charity eyecare program for children, is celebrating its 250,000th eye exam.  To see if your youth qualify for any of their services, go to

vsp.com

Ground-Breaking Book Calls for Support for Youth “Aging Out” of Foster Care

Profiles Ten Young People In Transition

St. Louis -  A new book, On Their Own, tells the heart wrenching, but  inspiring, stories of ten young people who have made the transition from foster care to adulthood with varying degrees of success.  Published by Westview Press, On Their Own is the first book to examine the challenges faced by this growing population.  “On Their Own is a must-read account not only for students of American social policy, but for all Americans who care about children,” President Jimmy Carter wrote in the foreword.

On Their Own was written by Martha Shirk, of Palo Alto, California and Gary Stangler, of Columbia, Missouri, with photos by Gale Zucker of  Branford, Connecticut.  Martha Shirk is an award-winning journalist and author of two previous books on social issues.  Gary Stangler is the former director of social services for Missouri and the founding executive director of the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, a national foundation that seeks to improve opportunities for youth in transition from foster care.  The Initiative is making grants to organizations in 12 communities around the country to expand opportunities for these youth.

The book is available from the major online booksellers and from many local bookstores. The publisher is offering a 50% discount from the $24.95 cover price to organizations that purchase 20 or more copies, and many agencies are purchasing copies to give to their caseworkers and older youth in care. To place a bulk order, call 800-255-1514, or by FAX at 800-324-3791 or e-mail special.markets@perseusbooks.com.  The co-authors are also available to speak at state conferences.  To discuss a personal appearance, contact Martha Shirk at mrs8468@aol.com.

On Their Own introduces readers to young people like Lamar Williams, who benefited from guidance from mentors, a paid work-experience program, and a matched savings program while he was in foster care.  “They really believed in me,” he says of his mentors, “which is one of the most important things anyone can do for a youngster.”  Lamar graduated from college and now owns a business in an Atlanta suburb.

Readers will also meet Monica Romero of San Antonio, Texas, who was living a nomadic existence with her infant daughter before she began receiving help from several social service agencies in San Antonio.  With their assistance, Monica completed two years of college.  She now has a good job as an insurance agent and has built a stable home life for her daughter. 

In the Conclusion to On Their Own, the authors call upon communities and individuals to commit themselves to helping young people make the transition from foster care to adulthood.  Among the specific strategies they suggest are providing educational assistance, job-shadowing experiences and internships; advocating for increased housing options and health care; and serving as mentors or financial advisers to youth who are about to age out of care.  “As a society, we were, by force of law, the parents of these young people while they were in foster care,” the authors write.  “We need to see the job through. We would do no less for our own children.”

The Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative is a national foundation whose mission is to help youth in foster care make successful transitions to adulthood. We bring together the people and resources needed for youth to make the connections they need to education, employment, health care, housing, and supportive personal and community relationships.  For more information, go to www.jimcaseyyouth.org

What’s Happening?

*Look for upcoming updates on the website!

*Look for Board membership changes!

*Look for success stories!

*Look for other agencies, which could use NILA services!