Miss Carbonell goes to Washington
http://www.santamariatimes.com/articles/2007/09/21/news/news02.txt
By Jennifer Best/Times Correspondent
As a foster child, Joscelynn Carbonell heard all the assumptions.
"People say foster children are troublemakers, thieves, promiscuous,
that they use hard-earned tax money, look for easy handouts. I had
friends whose parents wouldn't let me play with them anymore once they
found out I was a foster child," said Carbonell.
Now 22, well-spoken and widely traveled, Carbonell is in her last term
at Allan Hancock College. She also serves as an outspoken advocate for
foster children and the programs that support them. Wednesday she spoke
in Washington, D.C., in favor of House and Senate bills supporting
kinship care, particularly among the Latino population.
Currently, Carbonell explained, the foster care system provides
monetary, social and other support to foster families, but there is no
similar support for kinship care - foster care provided by relatives of
a minor when their own parents, for whatever reason, are no longer able
to provide that care.
"If they're willing to provide support to families who will take in
strangers, why won't they provide that support for families who are
willing to take in their own relatives in times of need," Carbonell
reasoned.
This week's emphasis on the Latino population stems from the culture's
tradition of maintaining close family ties which often lead relatives to
care for their extended families, but her focus usually spans all cultures.
"Every group has a culture. Your family has a culture of its own,
traditions of its own, whether you're Filipina or Latina or
African-American or white. What matters most is that children are given
a loving environment, no matter what else their culture provides,"
Carbonell said.
The Santa Maria native entered the foster care system at age 8 when she
was taken in by Sue Crowley, a 25-year veteran of the foster system.
While some foster children shuffle from one foster situation to another,
Carbonell said she "was blessed" to have a stable home with Crowley.
"My foster mother is amazing. She's one reason I'm as successful and
stable as I am. My two greatest influences have been my foster mother
and my faith," Carbonell said.
Shortly before she turned 16, Carbonell got involved in the Community
Action Commission of Santa Barbara County's Independent Living Program
at Hancock. The program is designed to help foster care youth achieve
self-sufficiency as they transition out of the foster care support
system. It includes mentoring as well as daily living, survival,
interpersonal and computer skills. The program also helps participants
with college and job applications and to establish independent living
situations.
In 2002, Carbonell graduated from Righetti High School and moved to
Hawaii to attend a bible college and live with her own sister. She later
returned to Santa Maria to attend Hancock College and intern with ILP.
She also interned in Los Angeles with Metrokids and is currently
interning with Foster Club, a national network for young people in
foster care. She looks forward to transferring to a four-year university
where she plans to major in speech communication and minor in psychology.
"She's an amazing kid. You can count on her for just about anything. In
spite of what she's been through in life she's made the system work for
her. She's probably why I'm still doing it. I've watched these kids'
lives as they've grown, and she's one of the success stories," said
Crowley, who has served as long-term foster parent for more than 20
children and sheltered hundreds of others.
"Some kids really fight the system, they don't want to be involved in
the foster program, but she's always made the most of it," Crowley said.
Early on, Carbonell discovered special programs that were available to
her because of her status as a foster child including internships,
travel opportunities and scholarships.
"The county has a lot to offer and foster parents have a lot to offer
too, but you have to work with the system: you have to attend school,
you have to stay out of trouble," Crowley said. "Instead, too many of
the kids are so anxious to get away from the system that they miss the
opportunities that are provided just for them."
Ultimately, Carbonell would like to start a California Youth Connections
chapter in Santa Barbara County. The statewide nonprofit foster youth
advocacy program led by current and former foster youth provides a voice
for foster children. They advocate for legislation supporting their
needs, provide education and peer support.
"The more we can give youth a voice, the more power they will have to
change the system to help future foster children," she said.
She would also like to open an art center for youth, particularly foster
youth and others in need of additional support and mentorship. She sees
the center as a place for youth to express their various artistic
talents, from music to poetry, dance to DJ.
"These kids express themselves through art because they have no other
outlet. No one hears them any other way," she said. "Having a place
where they are free to explore their art also might give them a step up
on scholarship opportunities those talents might provide them."
But more immediately she'd like to find more support for foster
families, and more foster families to serve area children in need.
"I'd like to see foster parents being treated better, with more respect
and more credit for what they do," she said.
For questions about becoming a foster parent and or an adoptive parent,
contact the Foster Parent information line at (866) 899-2649.
CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA / CIA
WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....
CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.
every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...
http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf
http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com
Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS
*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*
Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5
Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.
CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT
FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...
BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...
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