FOSTER FEATURES
Welcome to Foster Features,
A platform for the voices of those impacted by foster care to share their knowledge and stories, and to empower us all to advocate for the reform of our child welfare policies and systems.
Making an Impact
Our mission is to bring awareness to the critical issues surrounding foster care, including insights from experts in the field, as well as, the stories of those who have lived through or been impacted by foster care and adoption. Additionally, we will explore the current initiatives around policy reforms, relevant research, and learn from those at the helm of advocacy about what we can do to support the changes needed to provide better outcomes for foster youth and adoptive families. Foster Features is a safe space to explore and address the current challenges of our social services systems by sharing and exchanging ideas and stories. We will also work to dispel the stigmas associated with foster youth by learning from those who have carried the burden of them. We will promote innovative solutions and strategies, and advocate for the use of evidence-based practices to meet the needs of our most vulnerable youth and families.
"...And I walked away and I went home and thought, I get to move on with my life. I get to do nothing or do something and that's my privilege. So I decided to do something."
- Brooklyn-based social worker and foster care advocate
A WORD FROM FOSTER FEATURES FOUNDER
Pauline Goldsmith-Johnson
I'm a former foster youth, adoptee, social worker, and foster care reform advocate.
In 1992, after spending four years in foster care, my younger sister and I were adopted together. If we had not found family when we did, I don’t know where we would be. We were fortunate to have found our forever family together, having never been separated, as many siblings often are in care. It is my belief that every child deserves the safety and love of family and community.
In 2017, during my clinical social work training, two young brothers in foster care inspired me to create a platform for sharing experiences like theirs. They reminded me of the importance of calling out the current challenges that children face in care, and of the need to promote awareness and reform of the foster care system. I believe that the opportunities for deep connection and understanding through sharing and exchanging these important experiences, are invaluable.
It is with deep gratitude and inspiration that I launch this website and podcast, holding hope that together, we will make our culture, society, and institutions safer and more nurturing for children in and out of care.