Perspectives from the Field: FosterClub

State Policy Advocacy and Reform Center

Ryan Cummings, Alexander Mcfarland, and Ashley Kuber are foster care alumni who have become national advocates for child welfare reform and participated in the FosterClub All Star Internship, a program that prepares former foster youth to become leaders. SPARC interviewed these young people to learn what they believe is the best way to engage young people in policy and advocacy.

“We spend about 8 billion annually on 26,000 children who age out of the foster care system in incarceration, loss of wages, and investment in social programs. But what if we invested this instead? Overall, the funding streams for child welfare are antiquated and it leave this imprint on families years later. If we reimagined how we funded child welfare, we could provide services to families and we could do better.” — Alex Mcfarland

A transcript of highlights from the interview is available here.

• Perspectives from the Field: Foster Club