May is National Foster Care Month, a time to recognize our foster care system, created to provide temporary homes for children who have been removed from their family of origin’s care for their own protection and well-being. It’s also a time to reflect on the challenges facing youth in foster care and the strength, resilience, and potential of youth navigating that path.
This month’s blog invites us to reconsider what success means in the context of foster care. While society often defines success by conventional achievements, the path for foster youth is often more intricate. Their milestones may take on different forms, but they hold just as much significance.
What Does Success Look Like in Foster Care?
Success for youth living in foster care can’t be defined by a single outcome. It’s a deeply personal and multifaceted journey shaped by each young person’s unique experiences, challenges, and triumphs.
There are many ways that success shows up in the lives of current and foster youth including:
- Stability: For a child in foster care who may have faced constant transitions, uncertainty, and disrupted relationships transitioning to a consistent environment is truly life changing. Permanency is a building block for resilience.
- Building Relationships: Rebuilding trust with adults, reconnecting with family members, and forming lasting bonds with a foster parent, mentor, or CASA Advocate
,can be impactful successes. - Independence and Resilience: Stepping into adulthood can be challenging for any young person, but especially overwhelming for foster youth. They enter adulthood without a traditional support system, that many of their fellow peers rely on, such as stable housing or financial help can be overwhelming. Hence, any “win” as they navigate early adulthood – getting a job, starting a savings account, buying a car – is worth celebrating as a big success.
Redefining Success, Together
As we recognize National Foster Care Month, it’s important to broaden our definition of success and celebrate progress in all its forms. Every step forward is meaningful. Behind every foster youth’s journey is a community that has the power to lift them up. From case workers and foster families to teachers, we all play a role in creating opportunities for healing and hope.
One of the most powerful ways you can make a difference is by becoming a CASA Advocate. The children in foster care that we serve often face tremendous uncertainty, but with your guidance, they can find a path forward. Your advocacy can give them a voice in decisions that impact their lives, ensuring their needs are met and their futures are brighter. Learn more at our virtual information session on May 20th.
