Commitment to Permanent Lifelong Connections for Foster Youth! Nice!

Research is showing us that the most important key to the success of a child in the foster system is to have a one commited, permanent, life long connection with a healthy adult!
We know this, yet too many children are languishing in "the system" without anyone in their lives but workers.  I applaud those agencies and localities working to find, support, and sustain these loving and caring connections for youth!

The following document is a fabulous example, from California, of a commitment to youth, to help them find life long, permanent, healthy relationships!

DECLARATION OF COMMITMENT TO PERMANENT LIFELONG CONNECTIONS FOR FOSTER YOUTH
 
We commit to work within our organizations, agencies, and communities and through the growing permanency for foster youth movement to support and promote these objectives by doing the following:


Promote recognition of and respect for the urgent need to ensure every foster youth has at least one lifelong permanent relationship;


Educate all we come into contact with about the need, urgency, and promising practices for achieving permanence for foster youth;


Support local and statewide projects and efforts to raise awareness, recommend policy changes, increase funding for and provide assistance to improve older youths’ opportunities to develop a lifelong connection with a committed adult before leaving foster care;


Initiate change within our own organizations to support youth permanence and lifelong connections.


Fortify our common commitment to the permanence of foster youth as an obligation of the entire child welfare and human community to the children in our foster care system.

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