The first annual Foster Youth Advocacy Conference is coming this week to the Ventura Missionary Church on Saturday, October 25 from 8:30 AM to 4PM.
The goal behind this event is to give foster parents the education and resources they need to meet the needs of their children. The conference is open to everyone who is a current caregiver of a foster youth or who is interested in learning more about serving such youth. A free lunch will be served and free childcare will be available onsite.
REGISTER HERE BY OCTOBER 21
The goal behind this event is to give foster parents the education and resources they need to meet the needs of their children. The conference is open to everyone who is a current caregiver of a foster youth or who is interested in learning more about serving such youth. A free lunch will be served and free childcare will be available onsite.
REGISTER HERE BY OCTOBER 21
The Conference, for parents will focus on What All Children Need: Unconditional Commitment. Speakers include County Supervisor Steve Bennett, who is deeply involved in foster care issues, and inspirational speaker Pat O’Brien, founder of You Gotta Believe!
“We are at a critical point in Ventura County and the public needs to know just how important it is that our community’s children receive committed, caring families,” explains Supervisor Steve Bennett. “Education is the key to finding new families and, through the Conference, we hope to help people understand what they can do to create healthy, well-balanced children. These children are our future.”
There will also be a panel discussion with former foster youth who will share their deeply moving stories and the benefits of forming a long-term relationship with caring adults.
It’s a heart-breaking statistic that, in the United States alone, 20,000 young people will reach adulthood this year and leave foster care without ever experiencing a loving parent. In Ventura County, VCHSA currently serves approximately 900 children who have been removed from their families due to abuse or neglect and placed in our foster care system. Around 40 percent, or 320 children are aged 0 to 5, and 60 percent are school aged between the ages of 6 and 21. In addition, youth who transition from foster care are at a high-risk for homelessness and a large number will land in prisons, become hospitalized, or experience serious health and emotional challenges during their lifetimes. Only a very small percentage will ever earn a college degree.
“Our goal is to educate and inspire people to experience the brave, selfless, and unbelievably rewarding journey that comes with fostering or adopting a child. In fact, all parents can benefit from the education and learning that will be offered at the Conference,” said Barry L. Zimmerman, Director of Ventura County Human Services Agency.
The event will be held at the Ventura Missionary Church at Willet Center, 500 High Point Drive in Ventura CA 93003.
The Foster Youth Advocacy Conference is sponsored by the Ventura County Human Services Agency, Children and Family Services in partnership with: Koinonia Family Services, Arrow Child and Family Services, Aspiranet, Casa Pacifica, CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), Dark to Dawn, Kids and Families Together, Foster Kinship Care Education, and Channel Islands Social Services.
