The Alliance is thrilled to announce the launch of a new campaign and website called Step Up: Supporting Caregivers, Protecting Children. The Step Up campaign and website (www.stepupforkin.org) seek to raise awareness about the needs of foster youth who are placed with a relative. The website is a hub of information on relative foster care and will be used as a tool to create momentum for changing California’s practice of placing foster children into poverty by not adequately supporting them in relative placements.
The website is a place to direct legislators and advocates to learn more about important issues that impact foster youth placed with relatives, and to access a range of materials, including policy papers, fact sheets, news articles and studies. It is also a place to direct caregivers so that they can educate themselves on myths/facts, get answers to frequently asked questions and share their experiences.
Step Up is made up of a coalition of partners from across the state, including: Alliance for Children’s Rights, California Youth Connection, Children’s Advocacy Institute, Children Now, Children’s Law Center, Community Coalition, East Bay Children’s Law Offices, John Burton Foundation, Lilliput, Public Counsel, YMCA and Youth Law Center. Additional partners are signing on.
We encourage everyone invested in this issue to join the Step Up coalition here.
This is a big step forward in addressing the inequities facing foster youth placed with relatives and to ensuring these youth have access to the supports, benefits and services they need to succeed.
