Youth and Family Perspectives

Magical things happen in the recording booth of StoryCorps, the independent radio project that airs regularly on National Public Radio. In May, StoryCorps came to the 2008 National Convening on Youth Permanence, and recorded young people from foster care talking about their yearning for family.

Earl and Esther
Drugs tear a family apart, but reunification brings "that sense of protection"

Earl and his mother talk about the dark days following Earl’s entry into foster care, his mother’s struggle to stay off drugs, and Earl’s belief in family throughout it all. Listen to their story.

Lupe
With a permanency pact, "Now I have the ability to dream"

Lupe had made it – she was past age 18 and in college. But aging out of foster care left her feeling adrift and aware of her continuing need for family. Lupe (above with Celeste Bodner) talks about the precarious feeling of being a success while worrying she would lose it all without a family to back her up. What made the difference for her? A Permanency Pact. Listen to her story.

Cheniece and Aunt Polly
Kinship means permanence–but this young woman pushes for more

"If any foster youth read this, they need to know, if you want something, don’t stop asking for it," says Cheniece. Cheniece values permanence with her aunt--and serves as a legislative advocate for improving foster care, so young people following in her footsteps won’t have as many difficulties as she did. "My bill would make it so young people in foster care can stay in the same school if at all possible," says Cheniece, who changed schools repeatedly during her years in foster care. Listen to their story.

Mary Lee Kimmins
It’s never too late: Adopted one week before her 18th birthday

"Don’t believe you’re too old to be adopted," exclaims Lee Kimmins. She took matters into her own hands and called the state commissioner to advocate for her own adoption. Listen to her story.