Fostering a sense of independence Foster children learn valuable life skills in classes

Fostering a sense of independence Foster children learn valuable life
skills in classes
By Ken Ma Sentinel Staff Writer

August 9, 2005

DAYTONA BEACH -- Call it Life 101, the Community-Based Care classes
that teach foster children basic, everyday skills.

Most people have never heard of such a thing because the classes
emphasize rudimentary lessons about how to balance a checkbook, make a
shopping list and set up phone service -- skills that are often taken
for granted.

But for foster children who have bounced from family to family, such
classes teach essential skills the children might not otherwise learn.

The classes "were pretty valuable," said former foster child Lauren
Hogan. The 22-year-old from Holly Hill learned how to start a bank
account and balance her checkbook.

Held twice a month in Daytona Beach and DeLand, the classes are part
of CBC's Independent Living Program, which serves current and former
foster children throughout Volusia and Flagler counties. Helping a
range of people ages 13 to 23, the program also arranges field trips
and provides money for living expenses and college tuition.

Foster children "don't always have people looking out for them," said
Alan Abramowitz, the Department of Children & Families administrator
for Volusia and Flagler counties. His agency contracts with CBC for
foster-care services. "We need to put them in a situation where they
are going to be successful."

Some foster teens live in group homes, while others live with
relatives or foster families . But all have one thing in common:
because of their age, it's hard for them to find families who are
willing to adopt them.

When the youths turn 18, the state will no longer give money to foster
parents to take care of them. Some of them make it on their own while
others fall through the cracks, ending up penniless and homeless,
child advocates say.

"It is very expensive to get an apartment," said Sarah Ordonez, a
20-year-old former foster child who pays $200 a month to rent a room
from a New Smyrna Beach family.

The Independent Living Program was designed to give foster children
the knowledge and money needed to succeed, said Tanya Galloway, who
supervises the program's 210 foster and former foster children.

Galloway organizes field trips to Universal Studios Florida, youth
conferences and the University of Central Florida; classes on life
skills and sexually transmitted diseases; and beach and back-to-school
parties to reward children for their hard work and to encourage them
to stay in school.

Not only do the classes provide practical skills, Galloway said, they
also provide opportunities for foster children to socialize with each
other.

"They can relate to being in foster care," she said. "They bond."

Conrad, 16, and Nadean, 17, both of whom took a recent cooking class
in Daytona Beach, said the life skills classes benefit them.

"I learned to be creative in your cooking when you are broke," Nadean
said.

Not everyone is convinced about the classes' effectiveness.

Gerard F. Glynn, an Orlando law professor and child advocate, said he
spoke to many foster children who think the classes are meaningless
unless they have real-life experiences in which to use their newly
learned skills.

"It is not worthwhile to provide a class on a checkbook and bank
account when they [foster children] don't have money to experience it
with," he said.

Instead of having life skill classes for foster children, Glynn said,
it would be more beneficial to have them for foster parents. He said
many foster parents are not providing their foster children with
practical knowledge.

Nadean, who shares an apartment with another foster teen, said she
uses hercooking and shopping skills regularly.

CBC President and CEO Ron Zychowski said the classes are needed to
supplement and support what foster parents are teaching their foster
children.

"In some cases, they [foster parents] are doing a good job, and in
other cases they are not doing such a good job," Zychowski said.

In addition, he said some foster children lack basic life skills
because their biological parents didn't teach them.

Helping children succeed, both critics and foster-care officials
agree, goes beyond the classes. Adult mentors, Abramowitz and Glynn
said, would make a big impact.

Hogan, who is attending Daytona Beach Community College, renting an
apartment and holding down a full-time job, considers Galloway her
mentor.

"She's been a role model for me," said Hogan, who is studying
sociology and wants to eventually transfer to the University of
Central Florida. "She gave me advice about everything."

Anytime she needs help, Hogan said Galloway is just a phone call away.

If a mentor's success is measured by the number of cellular-phone
calls received, then Galloway has made a difference in the lives of
many foster children.

Her two mobile phones ring off the hook at odd hours, on the weekends
and in the middle of cooking class.

Ken Ma can be reached at 386-851-7914 or .
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...dlines-volusia

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