In the realm of child welfare, ensuring every child has a supportive network is paramount. My journey through the foster care system, detailed in my memoir, Foster Girl, A Memoir, underscored the critical need for robust Care Tools Means to facilitate family connections. Years after aging out of the system, a connection on LinkedIn led me to Jessica Stern, co-founder of Connect Our Kids, an organization deeply invested in transforming foster care through technology. Our meeting, sparked by Jessica’s interest in my experiences, unveiled a shared vision: leveraging modern technology as essential care tools means to bridge the gap between foster children and their extended families.
Georgette Todd, author of Foster Girl, A Memoir, advocate for foster children, and California Ambassador for Connect Our Kids, emphasizing the importance of technology as care tools means in connecting children with their families.
Jessica and her co-founder, Dr. Jennifer Jacobs, had dedicated years to understanding the systemic challenges within child welfare. They sought to learn if social services had attempted to contact my extended family during my time in care, if I maintained contact with relatives, and if I felt a sense of familial belonging. My narrative painted a picture of systemic shortcomings. Overburdened social workers, lacking adequate care tools means, were unable to dedicate the necessary time to trace and inform my extended family. The technology to facilitate such connections was simply non-existent. Consequently, my sister and I navigated a tumultuous journey through various foster placements, group homes, and even a homeless shelter, devoid of familial support.
Upon aging out at 18, I embarked on my own search for family. Weeks of online searching finally yielded a connection with my maternal aunt, a relative I had never known. Despite my ingrained sense of independence and negative associations with “family,” I reached out. During our conversation, my aunt’s words resonated deeply: “Georgette, I never knew you were in foster care. No one notified me… had I known, I would have taken both you and your sister in.” This revelation highlighted the profound impact of insufficient care tools means within the system – a lack that directly prevented family from providing care.
While I hoped the landscape had improved, the reality is that technology, a crucial component of modern care tools means, evolves faster than the foster care system can adapt. With over 430,000 children in foster care, effectively connecting each child with a supportive family network remains a daunting task. This is precisely where Connect Our Kids steps in. Their “People Search” tool, a free resource for caseworkers, stands as a vital example of modern care tools means. It empowers child welfare professionals to efficiently locate potential relatives and mentors for children in care. Having worked in social services, I understand the uneven distribution of resources across counties, making such accessible care tools means even more critical.
My LinkedIn connection with Jessica and Connect Our Kids underscored the transformative potential of technology. We recognize technology’s power to connect individuals globally. It’s imperative that we harness this power to ensure every foster child is connected to a loving family and mentors – a network of care that my aunt, with the right information and care tools means in place, would have readily provided. Connect Our Kids is actively working to make this vision a reality, equipping the child welfare system with essential care tools means for a brighter future for foster children.
Georgette Todd is not only the author of Foster Girl, A Memoir, chronicling her foster care experience, but also a dedicated California Ambassador for Connect Our Kids, championing the cause of improved care through technological advancements and effective care tools means.
