Foster Care Mentoring:
The Palm Beach County Coalition for Children exists for agencies, families, and professionals to network and collaborate on children’s issues in Palm Beach County . The goals for the Coalition include:
· To promote the development and well being of children and families throughout Palm Beach County ;
· To advocate and increase public awareness about the issues impacting children and families; and
· To promote a multidisciplinary environment for the community to work in a collaborative manner toward the healthy development of children and families.
The Foster Care task group is an advocacy group of Palm Beach County Coalition for Children members interested in helping foster care youth in the community. We are an active group that interacts with teenagers in foster care group homes. Our goal is to impact their lives in a positive way. Activities include: meeting with teenagers living in foster care group homes, reaching out to the community to sponsor items that the State of Florida does not provide for these youth (i.e., prom ticket, band uniform, athletic supplies, etc.), linking the group home to community partners to provide after school activities, and celebrating birthdays, holidays and accomplishments with them. We are currently working with two group homes in the community: Children’s Place at HomeSafe, and Nelle Smith. Each home has a capacity of 12 teenagers for a total of 24 youth at any one time.
The function of this project is to find community organizations and/or individuals who could donate money to pay for items and activities that the State does not pay for. Some of the items include: a band uniform, prom ticket, Grad night ticket, yearbook, athletic supplies, sleep away summer camp, educational and/or social activities, a class ring, etc. Teenagers in a group foster care home deserve to live their adolescent years with the same opportunities as teenagers from an intact family. By providing these opportunities, the youth are more likely to succeed in school, the community and lead happy and productive lives.
A second component of the foster care sponsorship project is to provide the group home with after school and weekend activities. Many of the youth who are not involved with after school activities report feeling confined to the group home. By bringing in after school activities, the youth can commit themselves to a project that can make a positive impact on their lives. The boys at Children’s Place at HomeSafe have reported an interest in having someone come in to teach them drama, dance, musical instruments, cooking, art, and photography. By offering these learning opportunities, the youth can get excited about extra-curricular activities and learn new skills to help them later succeed in the work force.
A third component of the foster care sponsorship project is to provide the boys home at Children’s Place at HomeSafe with group mentoring. Members of the Palm Beach County Coalition for Children have planned 2 events each year to meet with the boys, listen to their needs, provide support, and have fun together. In the fall 2009, we sponsored a Back to School BBQ with the boys from HomeSafe and girls from Nelle Smith. At their request, we are planning an End of the Year Field Day bash with games, carnival treats, and food.
We have currently awarded close to $2500. Most requests have been for clothes, school athletic needs, cell phones, and gadgets to help the youth de-stress and build social skills.
