Capital Region Cares Capital Region Cares 2017-2018 | Page 115

thanks to vital and supportive pro-
grams like Stanford Youth Solutions
that exist to help ensure the cycle can
be broken.”
May is National Foster Care Month
where communities across the country
recognize and raise awareness about
how to play a part in enhancing the
lives of children and youth in foster
care. Kelly-Semper says that when you
become a foster parent, it’s important
to understand that the youth are most
likely pulled from bad situations and
it’s all they know.
“There are no bad kids, there are
just kids that are in need of something,”
she says. “We don’t just need more fos-
ter parents, we need foster parents who
are dedicated to the cause.” n
stick it out it can be a very beautiful
thing.”
According to the Stanford Youth
Solutions website, 68 percent of young
people in foster care reunify with
family, permanently connect through
guardianship or adoption or move to
a lower level of care. One Sacramento
County social worker who has worked
directly with Stanford Youth, says that
the organization works well at meet-
ing youth and families where they
are, building upon their pre-existing
strengths and enhancing them.
“In my experience, they have
brought creativity, stability and, most
importantly, hope, to the families I’ve
referred to them,” the social worker
says. “Foster care is not an ideal place
for a child to be raised; however it is
Cherise Henry is a freelance writer,
editor and journalist based in Folsom.
Read more at www.cherisehenry.com. On
Twitter @cherisehenry.
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