M Artin l uther K ing J r .
January 16, 2019
2019 special edition
Page 15
New Lifeline for Foster Youth of Color
C ontinueD froM p age 6
er and chief executive officer
April Johnson told the Portland
Observer.
The agency currently has
five kids in their care, three
for boys and two for girls. The
five separate homes are located
in Multnomah and Washing-
ton counties, but the agency
is gearing up for an increased
capacity and plans for a group
home and shelter home. All of
the foster parents are people of
color, mostly black, and one
Hispanic single mom.
Last year, a landmark state
audit on Oregon’s Child Wel-
fare department found a num-
ber of systemic issues with the
foster care system, most nota-
bly a larger number of foster
kids than there are foster par-
ents who can provide care.
As a result, foster kids of-
ten end up experiencing longer
stays at hotels than is consid-
ered normal and placement in
out of state facilities. 83 kids
in the system now live out
of state, Johnson said, many
of whom are kids of color,
LGBTQ kids, and those with
behavioral issues who are tra-
ditionally harder to place.
In Oregon, 20 percent of the
8,000 kids in foster care are
kids of color, according to state
child welfare data from 2013.
African American and Native
American children, in particu-
lar, are in foster care at higher
rates than other children, the
report stated. Though African
American children make up
just 3.3 percent of Oregon’s to-
tal child population, they make
up 7 percent of the children
served in foster care.
Johnson was a former pro-
gram policy development
specialist and later executive
manager of the Oregon Health
Authority. Her career has large-
ly ebbed and flowed between
child welfare, substance abuse
services, and behavioral health.
Johnson said problems in
the child welfare system often
result in a pipeline to a more
disadvantaged life for the kids,
with about 70 percent of folks
in prison in Oregon having
been in foster care, according
to state prison data.
“All these kids are being
funneled through a system by
no fault of their own,” she add-
ed.
One child who came under
photo by
D anny p eterson /t he p ortlanD o bserver
Assigning foster kids of color to quality foster families of color creates strong bonds, says
parent Denzel Davis (left), a foster dad, and pictured with April Johnson, chief executive
officer of Youth Unlimited, the Gresham foster agency that helped him become a foster
parent and one that is dedicated to supporting youth of color.
the care of Youth Unlimited
could not even spell his own
name, at the age of 12.
“I sat there and cried,” John-
son said. Now, that child can
spell his name.
One of the foster dads for
Youth Unlimited, Denzel Da-
vis, met Johnson by chance.
They got to chatting and soon
Davis was enlisted.
The new foster parent em-
phasized the importance of
having culturally-specific re-
sources to help children of col-
or succeed.
“I just feel like it’s a great
way for them to know their
culture, their traditions…so
they can know who they truly
are and their background…and
where they come from,” Davis
said.
The certification process for
foster parents of the agency in-
volves multiple steps, includ-
ing attending information ses-
sions, applying to be a foster
parent, passing a background
check, attending 30 hours of
foster parent training, and com-
pleting a home inspection.
“What we have done is made
sure that the families that we
are recruiting are number one,
high quality families, families
who are responsible and pro-
ductive members in the com-
munity,” Johnson said. “You
don’t have to be rich. You just
have to be wealthy in how you
live your life,” she added.
Once someone is accept-
ed as a foster parent, they re-
ceive support from the agency
such as a $60 per day stipend
for each child in their care for
reimbursement of expenses.
The agency also pays for two
nights of respite per week, co-
ordinates birthday and back to
school events where backpacks
are provided, and 24/7 on call
support for parents.
The agency is also part of
a state-supported foster agen-
cy collaborative, called Foster
Plus, which includes 13 agen-
cies total.
Youth Unlimited is located
in Gresham in order to better
connect with the many dis-
placed people of color from
Portland that have moved there
in the wake of gentrification in
Portland, Johnson said.
Though the staff and foster
parents of Youth Unlimited to-
tal only about 20 people, John-
son has aspirations for opening
a group home for youth with
intellectual and developmental
disabilities, and a shelter home,
as the agency expands.
Though Davis has only been
a foster parent for only a year,
he said it has already been a re-
warding experience.
“The joy that I get from see-
ing the kids, knowing that I
contribute to their happiness,
that’s really been a great part
of being a foster dad,” he said.
More information about
Youth Unlimited can be found
by visiting yuioregon.net.