Consensus Organizing Training

Last month EmpowerMEnt had the opportunity to learn about Consensus Organizing when trainers from the Consensus Organizing Center at San Diego State University came to Atlanta. (Thank you Jennifer & Jen!) The method is currently being used for their Foster Youth Initiative that over 180 of our brothers and sisters in California have participated in, and 80% have gone on the college. The Consensus Organizing Model was created by Mike Eichler and it empowers communities through building partnerships with likely and unlikely partners.

Here's EmpowerMEnt's JUSTGeorgia team hard at work! You can like the Consensus Organizing Center on Facebook or read some of their publications here.

Governor Deal Supports Childrens Code Rewrite

According to a recent press release from JUSTGeorgia, Governor Nathan Deal and others already support the Child Protection and Public Safety Act (a.k.a. the Children's Code Rewrite, SB 127, and HB 641.)  “The time has come for us to rethink how our state is responding to children who have found themselves in trouble with the law,” said Governor Deal. “I applaud the careful thinking and inclusive engagement that has gone into developing the Child Protection and Public Safety Act.”

Did You Know: Job Training for Incarcerated Youth

Did you know that incarcerated youth rated job training as the most helpful service they received inside or outside a detention facility? Read more here to see the study What Incarcerated Youth Say Would Help Them Succeed: Can Extension Play a Role in the The Journal of Extension. The study was conducted in two youth detention centers in Nevada and was published in 2002.

Foster Care Alumni Surveys

Have an opinion on what changes to the foster care system you would like to see a national organization, The Foster Care Alumni of America, advocate for? Would you like to see your organization's, or your own volunteer work recognized? Participate in these surveys by clicking here.

Did You Know: Cost of Incarcerating Youth

Did you know that incarcerating youth in a juvenile justice facility costs an average of $240.99 per day per youth? The Costs of Confinement: Why Good Juvenile Justice Policies Make Good Fiscal Sense published by the Justice Policy Institute in May 2009 explains how alternatives to placing youth in youth detention centers can save states money and make communities safer.

A Powerful Voice-Our Ally Michael Piraino

Michael Piraino is the CEO for the National CASA Association and he has written several pieces for the Impact section of the Huffington Post that are of great significance to youth and former youth involved in the foster care system. His posts include Homeless for the Holidays, A Nation of Volunteers and most recently, The Overmedication of Foster Kids.

A post he made this March after the national CASA conference entitled Fulfilling our Fundemental Obligation is a powerful call to action.  He states, "The time has come for us to honor our society's most fundamental obligation and to ensure the right of every child -- even those who enter foster care due to abuse and neglect -- to be safe, to be treated with dignity and respect, and to learn and to grow in the embrace of a loving family." EmpowerMEnt's JUSTGeorgia Initiative is thankful for the powerful voice and ally we have in CASA's like Michael Piraino!!!

ILP, APPLA, WTLP...HUH? Youth Aging Out of Foster Care in Georgia

Here's another video full of information about Georgia's foster care system. It was made by the Georgia Child Welfare Legal Academy in 2009.

First Judge Vincent Crawford of the Juvenile Court in Dekalb County explains aging out of the foster care system or what they call "the least deisred permanency option."

Next Ms. Ebony Harris the Director of Georgia's Independent Living explains the ILP program. Skip to 45 minutes to hear her EmpowerMEnt shout out!