Today West Virginia is facing a crisis, one that is under-represented and obscure. That crisis is in our foster care system. Currently, we have approximately 7,200 children in foster care; to put that into perspective, per capita, we have more children in care than any other state in our nation. My name is Katie Hatfield, a 17-year-old rising senior. I have lived in Martinsburg much of my life and I am here to help these children find stability, love and a successful future. I am an adoptee from China, and arrived in America at 11 months of age, and have been given the privilege to use my story to help foster care children across the state of WV. While there are many ways to help foster care children in this state, such as volunteering, donating to agencies (such as the West Virginia Children’s Home Society), or even going to the website I have created, www.projectlovewestvirginia.com and supporting the scholarship I have started specifically for foster care children; I believe we need to start the change by improving our foster care system by looking at the root of the crisis.
The first step to solving any problem is education. It’s our responsibility to educate the public about what we feel passion for. If we begin to research, share and grow a community of people who are willing to help foster care children, then we can begin educating students, parents, or whoever is interested in foster care, about how it works, the intricacies of the system, and most importantly, the children in the system. I believe school and the media are a good place to start. Thousands of foster care children walk the halls of elementary, middle and high schools in WV. Even though the children in school are not old enough to adopt, they are old enough to start helping. Foster care children in school should be seen, heard, and represented. Finally, schools should teach about relevant issues, with specific emphasis on issues affecting our state. The number of foster care children in our state is a relevant issue, yet I have never heard it be brought up with indignation in the classroom environment. However, I have seen a slight improvement in the awareness of adoption in the state. When I made a trip to a local elementary school to read a children’s book about adoption, the children in the classroom caught on right away to the subject of adoption and clearly expressed an understanding of it. Some children even shared with me stories of cousins, family or close friends who were adopted. This made me hopeful that the next generation will be open and accepting of foster care children and aware of the system itself.
When education and knowledge is in place, we then need to market the issue. If, we, as a state, could properly market the foster care system and make people aware of the needs the children have we can help raise awareness in the same way companies raise awareness for their products or services. Statistics and numbers are a great foundation to share with the public. However, I believe one of the most convincing ways to express that our foster care issue is a crisis that needs to be addressed is to hear from the foster care children themselves; we need to listen to their stories. We should not treat the foster care system as a company or a giant industry, as the system houses thousands of children who are the future of WV; instead, we need to treat the foster care system as a delicate road to these children’s future, and this is the way that we should market it. know, that before dove into volunteering with foster care children, I was not aware of the mass number of foster care children in our state, and the other issues branching out from foster care; and I believe how most this is how most people are, not through any fault of their own, but simply due to the lack of awareness and marketing of the foster care system.
Firstly, we need to show that we care, show people in power that we care, show people who work in the foster care system that we care, and most importantly, show that we care for the children in the system. The reality is that the foster care system in this state has been stretched thin of its resources, employees, and volunteers. These children are the future, in a few years, they will be the ones voting, becoming productive citizens, and having a say in the future of this state and this country. We need to make sure that these children are bought up in an environment of love, support, and opportunity. When it comes to the fragile and precarious years of childhood and adolescence, no one deserves to be left behind due to circumstances beyond their control. If we take the initiative and put foster care children at the forefront of our priorities, I believe we will be able to improve the lives of so many children and enable them to become the leaders of tomorrow. An African proverb states “it takes a village to raise a child.” Can you reach out your hands and heart to care for a foster child and become a part of that child’s village? If so, please contact your nearest foster care organization and offer support. The future is now for so many children.
