The Invisible Runaway

This week the New York Times published a story about a 13-year-old runaway who had been riding the subways for 11 days before he was discovered, even though hundreds of flyers had been distributed in the subways and the city with his picture.  Francisco was not your typical boy but he may be a typical runaway.  He had run away after school because he was afraid to face his mother who knew he was not doing well in school.  He also had Asberger Syndrome.

Many of the youth served by Bill Wilson Center’s runaway shelter have trouble with school.   Many parents of these youth do not know where to turn when their kids need help.  Kids with Asberger’s have an additional handicap — they often lack the social skills to connect with their peers and teachers.   We have seen many kids with Asberger’s over the years.

The story also reminds me of the results of a survey that the Search Institute conducts every year with teenagers to gauge their asset level.  The majority of the teens feel that adults do not value them or even like them.  They repeatedly report that many adults ignore them when passing them on the streets.  I wonder how many adults saw Francisco sitting on the subway every day?

After reading the story I was again reminded about what we can do to reach out to young people.  Just saying hello to a teenager you pass on the street will go a long way in making our community a better place.  And, next time you see a young person looking lonely and with their head down, why not ask if there is something you can do for them?  You might be surprised when they ask for some help.

Who Buries Our Former Foster Children?

About two weeks ago a regular at Bill Wilson Center’s Drop-In Center, Carl Weisman, 24 years old, died from complications from Swine Flu. Carl had a rough life.  After suffering abuse, he was placed with Future Families at age 9 and then went to a Unity Care Group home at age 13 where he lived for 5 years.  After turning age 18, Carl left foster care and never quite made it to successful independent living.   Abusing drugs and alcohol, Carl was always at our Drop-In Center where counselors and case managers helped him with basic needs and worked tirelessly to get him off the streets.   Carl was successful for short times, but the lure of drugs and the street always short circuited his plans.

Several weeks ago, Carl was hospitalized for pneumonia and heart problems; complications from years of street life and abusing drugs.   He apparently was released but then contracted the H1N1 virus and ended up back in the hospital and soon after on life support.  Carl’s sister, who also spent her life in foster care, was the only relative willing to see him and make decisions about the end of his life.  Unity Care and Bill Wilson Center staff were there to support her.  A few days later, Carl passed away.

Carl’s sister wanted a church funeral for her brother, but she had no money.  I assumed that because Carl had been in foster care and was in Santa Clara County’s Connected by 25 program that there would be some funds available to help pay for his funeral costs.  I called and staff from Unity Care called social services to check.  Carl was not eligible for funds because he was over 21.  Also, he was originally from Alameda County so not really from here.  I was told to try the Children’s Shelter Foundation.  The Foundation told me to check with the county and then get back to them.  To the Social Services Agency credit, social workers organized a bake sale and collected donations for Carl’s funeral.

The clock was ticking, the hospital was putting pressure on Carl’s sister to take her brothers’ body somewhere.  The Neptune Society would not take the body until they had a guarantee of funds.  Unity Care raised funds from their staff, Bill Wilson Center passed the hat around at an event, and finally the county Mental Health Contractors Association wrote a check for the final amount.  Carl could now have the funeral his sister wanted.

Trying to arrange for Carl’s funeral was a stressful time for me, Andre Chapman from Unity Care, and his sister.  There must be an easier way to take care of our former foster youth who die homeless and penniless.  I tried calling the county public guardian and coroner for help.  Homeless agencies had suggestions of funeral homes who had helped in the past, but maybe due to the economy, they weren’t a help this time.

I believe there is a better way.  I plan on asking our state representatives to sponsor a bill in the state legislature to pay for burying our former foster children if they die without family and without money.  At the very least, we should help with costs if they die before age 30.  After all, when children are placed with the state they are now the children of the state.  Let’s at least remember them with a funeral we would want for our own children.

Denny’s Grand Slam and N.E.R.F.s — Jesse Goes Home

On Monday Jesse left Bill Wilson Center’s shelter and went to his new home.  Jesse has been someone I have been following closely because of a Federal monitoring visit soon after he arrived and a speech I made at our annual building dreams luncheon.

A little bit about Jesse (not his real name).  The 15-year-old boy came to us 3 months ago after a “dine and dive” incident at a local Denny’s.  Jesse had gone out to eat with some friends and decided to run out on the bill.  The manager caught them and called the police.  While the other kids were picked up by their parents from juvenile hall, Jesse’s mom did not want him back.  Bill Wilson Center was called and we took him into our shelter.  After calling his mom we soon learned that she had a life-long drug and alcohol problem and was now homeless, living with friends.  Jesse was often hungry.  Jesse was out of her control.

When Federal monitors reviewed Jesse’s chart they claimed that he did not meet the funding criteria for being homeless under the Federal Runaway and Homeless Youth Act because he had been charged with a crime.  He belonged to the juvenile justice system not our runaway program.  We disagreed and prevailed the next day.  A few days later I shared this story with our 600 guests at our annual fund-raising luncheon.  By then we had gotten the court to drop the charges on Jesse, and the county social services agency had agreed to place him with us as an emergency foster care placement.  The future was looking brighter.

While working with Jesse on his issues with anger and school performance, staff at the Bill Wilson Center convinced his mom to sign herself into residential drug treatment.  She has a long way to go before she is well, but Jesse is visiting her twice a week.  Now the question of where Jesse could go live.  It looked like a long-term placement in a group home may be the only option.

With the County Social Services Agency taking the lead, a TDM (Team Decision Making) meeting was arranged.   The purpose of the meeting was to bring all Jesse’s family and adult friends together to brain-storm on where he could live.  Santa Clara County follows the youth permanency model which focuses on placing kids with family members not in foster care.  The State of California Department of Health and Human Services has several best practice initiatives listed that describes the Family Finding model used to track down Jesse’s family contact.  At the TDM meeting Jesse’s “cousin” stepped up and asked Jesse to live with her.  Jesse has known this family his entire life and was close to her three young children.  A social worker described his cousin as a N.E.R.F.  – Not Even Related Family.  The cousin listed her rules that Jesse had to abide by and he agreed.  Jesse had his new home!

Again, with the help of many others, Bill Wilson Center reunited a homeless youth with family.  Jesse will continue to come to Bill Wilson Center for group and individual counseling in aftercare.  He will continue visitation with his mom and we will be there to provide family support when needed.  Jesse was so happy when he left to live with his new family. Jesse finally got a real grand slam!

Good Kids Also Need Support From A Caring Adult

Yesterday I was sitting with a group of kids over at the Bill Wilson Center shelter filming some background shots for a short film about our services. Because we protect the identity of our shelter kids, we asked for volunteers to bring in their own kids to stand in for our clients. We were having a great time talking and shooting pool…I think I was winning, when too soon the group background filming was over. The last filming was to be a shot of me sitting and talking with one of the kids. To make the scene appear believable, I asked the girl how she was getting along with her mom these days. Suddenly I was listening to her story of how she wished she received more attention from her parents, who seemed to focus most of their time on her younger brother who was always in trouble.

At that moment, I realized how little time it takes to ask a young person how she is feeling, and then to just sit and listen. She wasn’t really expecting any answers from me – she just wanted someone to hear what she was saying. She was feeling invisible because she was the good kid who did not cause problems. At the end of the filming we got up and I gave her a hug and wished her luck.

The Search Institute has developed 40 assets that it believes all children need to thrive. Connecting to a caring adult other than a family member is one of the identified assets. Youth organizations and schools throughout the country have embraced the concept of kids needing protective “assets” to grow. This is one of Bill Wilson Center’s core values to connect all young people to the community so they can become productive adults.

Remembering a 17-Year-Old Runaway Who Died Alone

Tamara Thompson, a 17-year-old resident of Mountain View, was killed last Monday night in Oakland, after being sexually assaulted. (San Jose Mercury News, 4/04/09). Police are investigating it as a homicide. The girl had been in the Santa Clara County Juvenile Ranch but was allowed to visit home on weekends. Unfortunately, four weeks ago she ran away, perhaps to hook up with a boyfriend in Oakland.

I hope Tamara’s life and death aren’t soon forgotten. I never met Tamara nor was Tamara ever seen at the Bill Wilson Center. However, we see many like Tamara every year – a girl with hopes and dreams who somehow got off track and ended up in Juvenile Hall.

Recently, we moved our Quetzal House program to Mountain View. This program works with troubled girls like Tamara. We also have two host family homes that can also shelter runaways. I only hope the next Tamara is sent our way before being sentenced to the County Juvenile Ranch. Often juvenile probation and the court are quick to order girls to the secure Ranch rather than seek alternatives in the community. Probation staff systematically send girls off to the Ranch without seeking community alternatives first.

Once allowed back home these girls often revert back to old patterns unless other help is provided for them in their home communities. When Tamara was allowed to visit home on the weekends, she did what many girls do – she took off to visit a boyfriend. The consequence for this action was steep — once she spent a night away from home she was in violation of her court order and a warrant was issued for her arrest. She would have known this and most likely was afraid to return to be locked up in Juvenile Hall. So, instead, she stayed on the run, far enough away from the local authorities. Oakland is not safe for girls on the run.

I wish Tamara knew to call Bill Wilson Center or the Status Offenders Services Network. We would have arranged to pick her up and have her stay at our youth shelter. I hope her probation officer and the supervisors from the Ranch will remember Tamara. The Chief Probation Officer should call a group together to review her situation and see if something different could have been done for her.

Preventing Poverty While We Are Ending Poverty

Bill Wilson Center’s long-range vision is to prevent poverty.   Yesterday I was part of a discussion with other homeless housing providers on how we can end poverty in Santa Clara County.   Catholic Charities is launching an effort to reduce poverty in Santa Clara County by 50% by the year 2020.  Bill Wilson Center is part of this movement.  City of San Jose officials through the Destination: Home Program have committed to end chronic homelessness by funneling more resources to that population.  Both have joined forces to help end one of the more vexing problems in San Jose and Santa Clara County: getting the chronic homeless population into housing.

Bill Wilson Center provides supportive and housing services to homeless youth and youth aging out of foster care and other institutions.  By federal definition, this population does not fit the “chronic homeless” category.  Neither do seniors living on a fixed income at the poverty level, or women who are victims of domestic violence living in emergency shelters.  While nonprofit agencies serving these groups applaud the effort to end chronic homelessness they are concerned that limited resources may be redirected away from their services.  How do we assure that we prevent poverty by serving youth, seniors, and victims of domestic violence and at the same time end poverty by housing the chronic homeless?

I believe we can do both, however, we need representation from various groups to be at the leadership level on Destination: Home when funding and policy decisions are being made.  Up to now, the Blue Ribbon Commission to End Chronic Homelessness and Destination: Home have only representation from public officials, foundations, United Way, and private corporations.   The nonprofit representation has been only at the coalition level.

The argument for not including individual nonprofit representation on the leadership groups has been that one nonprofit cannot represent another.  This is the same argument that occurs throughout the United States from the city to the state level.   If one city can represent all cities on the leadership or executive level why can’t the same occur for a nonprofit agency?  If we are to end poverty we need to start including the agencies that are on the ground floor doing the work.  In the nonprofit field we have been choosing leaders to represent our issues on numerous collaborations for many years.

A second common argument for not including nonprofit representation is that funding decisions may be made by the leadership group and an agency may steer funds their way.  Policies and procedures can be put in place to assure no “self-dealing” takes place.

Housing providers serving the chronic homeless and nonprofits working with homeless youth, victims of domestic violence, or other “non-chronic homeless” populations need to be represented at all decision-making levels  to prevent poverty while we are ending it.    Bill Wilson Center will continue advocating for connecting all young people to the community with the necessary resources to prevent poverty.  That includes speaking out for more inclusive public policy.

A Kid Shouldn’t Need a Mental Health Diagnosis to Get Help

It seems like we spend a lot of time these days diagnosing our kids. We know teenagers can be frustrating and difficult, but does every rowdy boy really have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)? If a young person is in foster care or juvenile hall the system scrutinizes them for a variety of disorders such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Bi-Polar, Depression, and on and on. I would be depressed, too, if I were locked up in juvenile hall! And, unfortunately, funding for mental health services often adds to the problem – if you want counseling and have Medi-Cal you need a mental health diagnosis.

In the 1970s, many kids ended up in mental hospitals or secure facilities because they were out of their parents’ control and the parents paid for a mental illness diagnosis. As a young advocate, I joined others in changing the federal and state laws so that kids were not placed in detention solely for being a runaway or truant. However, parents often skirted the law by getting their kid diagnosed with a mental illness and having them committed to a mental institution where a young person under 18 had no rights to a fitness or competency hearing like adults had. The parents were often desperate but the kids were powerless. As a different, more “kinder” approach, runaway youth centers such as Bill Wilson House sprang up across the nation and the Federal Runaway and Homeless Youth Act became the law in 1974. These programs brought kids and parents together to work out their problems and teach them the skills to prevent future crises.  This is an example of Bill Wilson Center’s “lease restrictive environment” guiding principle.

Today the funding limit from the Federal Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (maximum grant of $200,000) is a fraction of the needed funding to operate runaway centers. Shelters must pull in private funding as well as local government funds to keep the doors open. Medi-Cal was always an option for runaways with mental health problems but most centers shied away from the funding due to its bureaucratic paperwork and stigma it placed on kids. On the other hand, there were many homeless kids with serious mental illness not getting treated. After much debate, Bill Wilson Center joined the ranks of other runaway programs and began accepting Medi-Cal in 2007. I will be blogging off and on about the impact of Medi-Cal and its implications on our services.

Extending Foster Care to Age 21 — Erasing the Reagan Years

Yesterday California legislators vowed to extend foster care to age 21 by introducing Assembly Bill 12 that would match federal funding, thus enabling foster parents to receive financial support for youth beyond age 18.  Everyone was celebrating after a report from universities of Washington and Chicago proved what was a no-brainer to most of us, that young people do better if they can stay home and attend college until age 21.

Forcing foster kids to leave home at age 18 is actually the result of the Reagan years when welfare was limited and foster care greatly reduced.  In the mid 70s kids could stay in foster care until age 20 if they were enrolled in college.  Many foster kids stayed home and attended community college until the benefits ran out.  That all changed with one of many reorganizations of the federal welfare system.  Foster care changed and the payments ended at age 18.

One of the many problems with foster care funding is that is has always been tied to Welfare programs.  While the general public supports funding foster care they often do not support general welfare programs for adults.   The unfortunate joining of the two programs has brought down the safety net for foster care over the past two decades.   One example is the increase of foster home payment to foster parents which has remained extremely low in California.  The first budget increase eliminated every year is to welfare recipients which includes foster parents.

The government is beginning to address the problems of foster youth by introducing programs to support kids aging out of foster care.  AB 12 would take an additional step by increasing foster care coverage to age 21.  As the recent study by Chapin Hall on foster youth in California college programs points out, kids still struggle with graduating from college even with support.   Most worry about housing after college and financial support when the aid runs out.   There is no home for these young adults to return to after leaving school.  Many of them report a sense of deep isolation.   We have a long way to go before we build lasting connections to the community for these high risk young people.  With the community’s support, Bill Wilson Center will continue to work hard at building connections to our community for youth leaving foster care.

Our Best Practice — No Fail Philosophy When Serving Kids

Sorry, but I am really getting a bit tired of folks using terms such as “best practices” or “promising practices” or “evidence based” to be describing how we should be serving kids at our runaway shelter or counseling center.   Don’t get me wrong, I am all for studying what works and what doesn’t in youth services.

We all can give examples of tons of money going to programs that just don’t work — remember “Scared Straight“?  The government poured millions into a program that took kids to prisons to talk to prisoners to scare them into staying away from a life of crime.   There were all kinds of testimonials from kids after leaving the prisons about how they were never going to end up there.  The media loved the program.  Only problem was after studying the program the research showed that it did not have any long term affect with keeping kids out of jail.   Of course, sometimes we just like to keep funding programs for other reasons — like D.A.R.E. My son went through this program when he was in 5th Grade.  the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program usually taught by Community Relations Specialists with Police Departments has shown to have no long term impact on whether kids use drugs later in life.  Here is one of many studies debunking the program.   However, the research did show that kids felt better about police officers after the training.

At Bill Wilson Center, we have been using many of the current “best practices” but we just call them by different names.  For example, when serving chronic runaway and homeless youth in our shelter we have a “no fail” philosophy.  I often like to say that programs fail, not kids.   Anyone who has been around teenagers know that they need to test limits and break rules.  Youth who have been living on the street for a long time are used to people turning them away for breaking rules.  Sometimes a “no fail” rule is tough on staff — they have to be trained and learn how to use other consequences to work with difficult kids.  However, our research shows that kids rank our staff very high because we make them feel like part of a family.  This best practice seems pretty obvious — if you keep trying sooner or later you and the kid will get it right!

Teenager is a Negative Word

Young people, that is what Glynis Shea, Communications Coordinator for the Division of Adolescent Health at the University of Minnesota suggested to a group of nonprofit CEOs that we call teenagers if we want to appeal to the vast majority of Americans.  I recently attended an all day workshop on public relations for youth serving agencies.  Her presentation was  great although I was totally surprised by some of her research on kids (not such a negative word).  Apparently, there have been numerous studies and focus groups with ordinary citizens on how they feel when they hear certain words relating to young people.  When groups were asked how they felt about the word “teenager” many stated they equated the word with juvenile delinquents, kids out of control, troubled kids, and on and on.   Add terms like “at-risk,” “abused,” or “street” and the negative feelings were even stronger.   It seems like it was either the kids’ or the parents’ fault for their problems or situation.  So, instead of using the word “teenager” we should try more neutral words such as kids and youth in our brochures and newsletters.   Gosh, just when my 13-year-old son was so proud that he could now be called a teenager!  Below is a link to her interesting work on adolescents at the University of Minnesota and selling youth development.

http://www.moappp.org/Documents/events/2006/framenotes2.pdf