I met Ann in the library on campus. She was introduced to me by Megan Bruzan of Kids Matter Inc. Ann had come up as a good match. I had told my instructor that I would like to create a project that involved a foster child in the production of a video, as both exposition and as a call to others in the same position (about to age out of the system) to tell their story. So now here I was in the campus library. I think that the fact that I couldn't look across the table and keep the label "foster-child" in my mind. This was a young woman. Not a child. She was articulate and very motivated, she told me about her upcoming plans for college application and her desire to attend film school.
Immmediately I was in the very position that Ann has dealt with for the last two years. I have been meeting weekly with Ann since late February. Out of that has come the realization that children aging out of the system face some real challenging, pervasive misconceptions. When most people think of helping "foster children" they don't imagine helping someone negotiate a move from high school to college. Add to that, the attitude that foster children are not achievers. Ann told me that as she has passed through the system, she has always been met with surprise because the implied expectation is one of difficulty and lack of achievement. I think that this is part of the problem that kids leaving the system face. The system isn't as developed at the exits as it is in the maintenance of young people in care. The attitudes towards foster-children is has in many ways lapsed into an expectation of failure. Kids easily pick up on that kind of message, and it often comes from the most well meaning of sources.
About the same time, I had several discussions with someone close to me who is also familiar with the foster care system in regards to aging out. Her stories were a little more difficult, as her job dealt with a higher needs population. However, the transitional need was the same. As people age out, there is a special need for guidance from peers and people that kids aging out can respect, outside the system.
I really feel that this is a matter of consciousness mostly, as there are people who, like me, would volunteer to help someone negotiate this change, were they simply aware of the need. Hence this project as it is developing. Ann and I are working towards two projects here. Her own transition, and the making of a documentary short about her transition to explore some of the challenges she faces, and ask for input from others about their challenges.
