Advocate speaks out on the need for foster care reform
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers A LONG ROAD- Ashley Rhodes-Courter, 22, shares her story of overcoming the odds with the United Women's Leadership Council on March 19 at the Courtyard by Marriott in Oxnard.

Running forced laps in the hot Florida sun, being hit with a wooden spoon and living with 15 other children in a cramped 1,200squarefoot trailer are vivid childhood memories for Ashley Rhodes-Courter.

However, most of the 14 foster homes she lived in by the age of 12 are a blur of forgettable faces and names for the now 22yearold.

But one woman stands out, Rhodes-Courter told a women's philanthropic group at a presentation in Oxnard last week.

The woman was a volunteer among the 200 paid case workers, foster parents, psychologists, attorneys, judges and others who came and went from Rhodes-Courter's life.

She stands out in the former foster child's memory because she fought to win Rhodes-Courter a better life. The woman attended every court hearing involving Rhodes-Courter and eventually convinced the young girl's mother that her daughter would be better served if she were allowed to be adopted.

Rhodes-Courter wrote about her life in "Three Little Words," a memoir published by. Simon & Schuster in January, and told her story to the United Women's Leadership Council at its second annual event, "Turning Compassion into Action," on March 19 at the Courtyard by Marriott in Oxnard.

Formed two years ago and operating under the United Way of Ventura County, the council will focus its energies and resources on specific projects, particularly those that improve women's lives.

The volunteer group will identify and work with public and private social service agencies to fill gaps in social services. They plan to spend at least three years on each project that they tackle.

Only 130 of the 1,400 United Way organizations across the country have such a group.

"You are unique," United Way President David Smith told the 70 members.

For its first undertaking, the council has raised $70,000 to help 30 or so young women in Ventura County transition into productive and healthy lives as they age out of foster care.

National and state statistics show that most young women who grew up in foster care face a cycle of homelessness, substance abuse, pregnancy and/or gang involvement.

Of the 4,000 youth in California who age out of foster care each year about 46 percent haven't completed high school, 51 percent are unemployed and fewer than 3 percent attend college, according to a report by the Children's Advocacy Institute.

Emancipation is not a joyous event for foster teens on the verge of turning 18. While their peers eagerly await their 18th birthdays, teens in foster care fear it, RhodesCourter said.

"Emancipation embodies horror," she said.

"At age 18, we're given nothing- no one to call, nowhere to go. . . . There truly is no one out there," Rhodes-Courter said. "Imagine not having a home on your birthday."

The award-winning advocate for foster care reform said she wrote "Three Little Words" to move people to action.

"Everything you do makes a huge difference," said RhodesCourter, who encouraged the au- dience to become mentors like the volunteer who helped her. "The more permanent fixtures and more permanent faces we can connect these young women with, the better the outcome.

Young women who grew up in foster care need someone in their life to guide them for the rest of their lives, she said.

"Without your support we wither and die- it's like not having food or oxygen."

A recent survey seems to bear out her words.

Lydia Ledesma-Reese, council chair, said the council's survey of six teenage girls in foster care and 11 women who used to be confirms that young women leaving the system need stability and education about what obstacles may await them.

On average, both groups lived in three or more different homes, changed schools as often as six times and spent half their lives in foster care, the survey found.

Asked about homelessness, the younger girls weren't afraid but confident an independent living program would help them pay for housing when emancipated.

One teenager said she'll live as a free spirit, sleeping in parks and showering at the beach, if she becomes homeless. But the girl had no response when asked how she'll protect herself from frigid weather, assaults, robbery or rape, LedesmaReese said.

The county's independent living program is under-funded and has a three-year waiting list, she said. To even sign up, you have to 18 or older and, by that time, some of the girls will probably be homeless and have no financial assistance to rely on, Ledesma-Reese said.

"They have absolutely no concept of what it means to be homeless," she said "They're really very blind about what's in store for them."

For the 11 women who had already left the foster care system, however, being homeless was their biggest fear. Nearly all of the women had been homeless at some point.

In the coming months, the council will invite social service organizations and nonprofits who can fill those needs to submit proposals.

Rhodes-Courter applauded the council members' efforts.

"Thank you for what you're doing," she told them. "But more importantly, what you will be doing."

For more information about the United Women's Leadership Council, call Amy Fonzo of the United Way at (805) 485-6288, ext. 230.

Michelle Knight is a member of the United Women's Leadership Council.