SAN BERNARDINO - In his 14 years of life, Joe has lived with more than 20 families. Some were nice, some not. In some households, the bright, raven-haired boy was the center of attention, while other stops were dormitory-type environments where he had to share with dozens of other foster kids.
He prefers to focus on the good times, he said, but admits finding a lasting home - "permanence" in children's services parlance - has proved elusive.
Joe (county children's services officials ask that children's last names not be used) joined a dozen other kids not under the care of permanent parents at the Inland Empire Job Corps Center on Saturday, where they cooked, ate and mingled with people who potentially could provide the stability they need.
The event was sponsored by Kidsave International, a nonprofit that works to link foster children with families willing to commit to caring for them on weekends and, sometimes, adopt them or introduce the child to someone who will.
Part of the Weekend Miracles Program, the idea Saturday was to place foster kids at least 9 years old with a host family on weekends in hopes of making adoption more likely, said program director Lauren Reicher-Gordon.
"All the statistics show that the most important factor in how well a child will do in adulthood is establishing that permanent, healthy family life," Gordon said. "Today, we are shining a light on these kids, which is important because it is much harder to find a good home for a child who isn't a baby or a toddler."
The Weekend Miracles Program has been successful, helping get about half of the original 26 kids adopted in the past year, Gordon said.
About 5,400 children were in foster care in San Bernardino County according to the 2005 California County Data Book. In Los Angeles County, where Kidsave is based, more than 1,000 foster children are waiting to be adopted, Gordon said.
On Saturday, about 40 men and women who have expressed interest in providing a home for kids ate lunch on the patio of The Panther Cafe, which doubles as a culinary- arts training center at the Job Corps.
The children, most in the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services system, helped Job Corps chef David Bowser prepare burgers, pasta and other lunch fare.
Bryan Miller, a DCFS supervisor, said efforts are not limited to achieving adoption for foster kids. For kids who have bounced between foster and group homes during their formative years, merely interacting with nurturing adults - even just for weekends - is a vital counterbalance to the institutionalizing effects of growing up "in the system."
"Too many of the kids become institutionalized at young ages," Miller said. "Group homes, social workers, it all has the effect on a kid that they forget what it's like to live in a family environment. This way, they can still get a taste of what it's like to be in a family."
Miller said at least two children were likely prospects for weekend visits with some of the prospective parents on hand.
Selena, 11, was among the more popular children Saturday. She lives in a foster home in Long Beach, she said, which keeps her apart from her 12-year-old brother, Lon, who is in foster care in Lynwood.
Selena said her favorite subject is reading and chatted at length about "A Little Princess," which she called her favorite book.
She outlined the plot, which features a little girl who is enrolled in a dreadful boarding school when her father dies unexpectedly, leaving her penniless.
Selena said her father died when she was young. She admits she likes the book because of its parallels to her own life.
"But it's a Cinderella-type story," Selena said. "It has a happy ending."
(c) 2007 The Sun. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.
Record Number: 5516755
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