Latest news with #AnnAyers
CBS News
17-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Raise the Future lobbies at Colorado State Capitol, gives a voice to kids who are in state's foster care system
The nonprofit Raise the Future has more than 40 years of experience helping children in Colorado who are in foster care. Their team finds connections for kids who are likely to linger in the system. State funding has changed in recent years for organizations like Raise the Future, and as dollars get reallocated, they have to make up the difference by encouraging more donations to their cause. The group advocates for legislation that impacts children who are under the care of the state. They lobby lawmakers at the Colorado State Capitol and give a voice to those who often feel like they are unheard. "That is something we just take very seriously at Raise the Future," CEO Ann Ayers said. "We're never going to give up." During this legislative session, Democratic state Rep. Lindsay Gilchrist is sponsoring a bill that would require human services departments to create a plan for transitioning a child from one foster care home to another. "We don't want the bill to be too prescriptive, but the purpose is to ensure we can move kids in a trauma-informed way," Gilchrist said. Gilchrist is a foster mom herself. "We had a great experience; a really well thought out transition plan with all parties involved. Trauma-informed, all of those things," she said. Not every transition is so well planned out, and and it's the children who suffer the consequences in those situations. "One of the things we see with our kids, our kids tend to have bags packed, and I don't know if many people know this but often social services shows up right after school -- so that is a really scary period of time for kids, to go home, because they're afraid that there's going to be a worker waiting to move them to a different home at that point," Ayers said. "When you're leaving your child with a babysitter, you give them tons of information. And if you could imagine a kid moving with no information, they are moving to a new home where they may not be able to bring their favorite stuffy. I mean, that is just heartbreaking," Gilchrist said. A plan might include an outline of logistics, a framework for pre- and post-move communications and consulting the child on the move. The bill does make allowances for emergencies. "We understand that sometimes if there is a safety issue if for whatever reason the current provider or foster parent can no longer care for the child, you do not want to slow that process down if it's necessary that they move quickly," Gilchrist said. The goal is to set a standard in which children get some agency over their own lives. "We just want to make sure that that is as smooth as possible," Gilchrist said.
CBS News
15-04-2025
- General
- CBS News
342 children in Colorado are available for adoption, and Raise the Future creates family permanency
In Colorado there are currently 342 children who are living in the foster care system and eligible for adoption. Among that group, the nonprofit Raise the Future specializes in finding caring adults for the older youth, sibling groups and young people who have special needs. "At Raise the Future, we find families for kids who don't have them," said Ann Ayers, CEO of Raise the Future. Those kinds of connections transform a child's life. In 2023, 711 teens were adopted out of foster care. A recent report from the Colorado Department of Human Services found that 70% of kids with Raise the Future found forever homes. That's compared with 44% who got traditional services. Raise the Future also works to keep those families together. "These are kids who maybe have gone through a lot of rejection," Ayers said. The nonprofit helps children 9 years old or up who have been in five or more homes. "They're worth it. They're worth something," Mekialaya White, reporter and anchor at CBS News Colorado, said. CBS Colorado hosts A Day for Wednesday's Child to celebrate the families that are created through adoption out of foster care. The donations collected throughout A Day for Wednesday's Child help to pay for the intensive recruiting that Raise the Future does to find those caring adults who will step up for a child in foster care. This year, A Day for Wednesday's Child is April 16. Kids in foster care with a supportive connection are 110% more likely to go to college, 50% less likely to experience homelessness, and 200% more likely to seek and get mental health support, according to Raise the Future.
