skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Report: CT Foster Teens Need Identity Development Support

play audio
Play

Thursday, December 6, 2018   

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Adolescents in foster care need additional support as they explore their racial, spiritual and gender identities, according to a new report by from Connecticut Voices for Children.

The teenage years are when children are questioning who they are and their place in the world.

For those in foster care, unstable placements, trauma and the bias associated with being in foster care add stress to that critical developmental process.

Of the more than 1,500 teens in foster care in Connecticut, Stephanie Luczak, co-author of the report and a child development policy fellow with Connecticut Voices for Children, points out that almost 60 percent of those who entered the system as teens experience three or more placement changes while in care.

"This lack of stability can disrupt their identity development and have long lasting effects,” she points out. “Added stress has an impact on their self-esteem as well as their confidence."

The report notes the state's Department of Children and Families has improved support for youth in foster care, but says caseworkers and foster families often lack training in identity development.

Jessica Nelson, another co-author and an associate fellow with Connecticut Voices for Children, says the report grew out of listening to teens in foster care at Youth Advisory Boards around the state, as they discussed their experiences.

"We found a pattern of them talking about their religious identity, their racial identity and their sexuality and gender identity, and how these facets of themselves were impacted by foster care," Nelson relates.

She adds that youth who feel their identities are not being fully supported may suffer serious mental health effects.

Luczak says the report recommendations include recruiting a more diverse pool of foster parents, bolstering protections for youth who identify as LGBTQ, and updating the Adolescent Bill of Rights and Expectations.

"To incorporate protections and supports for identity development,” she explains. “This also includes implementing a process for adolescents to receive and understand these rights."


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021