SPECIAL: Read Award Winning Essays from the 2008 Awards for Youth In Foster Care Winners

COMING INTO CARE: HOW WE FIND OUR WAY

Life Interrupted
Teens remember their first days in care

Getting Back My Heart
After my mother put me in care, it took a long time to reconnect

Hoping to Be Heard
Teens need to have a say in placement

Starting on Day One
How to advocate for yourself

Making The Decision
How investigations work

Keeping Families Together
Preventing foster care means building healthy neighborhoods

LOOKING GOOD, FEELING GOOD: APPEARANCE AND YOUR SELF-ESTEEM

Learning to Love My Hair
It took me years to get past getting teased

My Rocawear Addiction

ADOPTION: FINDING A NEW FAMILY

Brick by Brick
Before I got adopted, my mom and I had to build a relationship

Building a Family
How counseling can help you adjust

Saying No to Adoption

REUNIFICATION: MAKING IT BACK HOME

Leaving Her Behind
I love my mom, but I can’t live with her

INDEPENDENT LIVING: HOW TO FIND SUPPORT

Someone to Rely On
Figuring out who’s got my back

No Stone Unturned
Finding lifelong connections for teens

‘I Just Didn’t Have Anybody’
Foster Care Alumni of America's deputy director explains how she found her own supports

Getting What You Need
What your agency should be doing before you age out

PLUS

What Does Permanency Mean?

REDEFINING YOURSELF

Finding Your Passion
An interview with basketball star Alonzo Mourning

Writing My Own Script
I had to leave my family to find myself

A Man of Many Names
My alter egos help me handle my life

Life in a New World
In America, I became someone I didn't want to be

HOW WE HUSTLE

My Summer Hustle
I played the drug game, and lost

What's Your Hustle?
Stealing from cars

Making Paper
I sell my stories on the street

Going Legit
Trading in your hustle for the 9 to 5

Five Ways to Get Paid
A money-making manual

PLUS

Paying Foster Parents
How much is enough?

LOSING OUR ILLUSIONS:
TEENS FIGHT ADDICTION

Hooked
I loved being high on heroin, but I couldn’t control it

A Fine Line
When does experimentation become addiction?

What Drugs Do to You
(Even the legal ones)

My Battle to Quit
Rehab helped me give up weed...for a while

Taking It With You
A drug treatment program that follows you home

BEATING THE HOLIDAY BLUES

The First Good Christmas
I finally found a home for the holidays

TURNING IT AROUND: MAKING CHANGES IN OUR LIVES

Graduation Day
To get that diploma, I had to lose the attitude

Finding My Way Home
Getting help for my eating disorder has been a long journey

Starting To Feel Again
Where eating disorders come from, and how to recover

WHEN A PARENT IS ADDICTED

I Think These Drugs Are Daddy's
My father's an addict, but I won't give up on him

Something You Can’t Fix
What you should know if your parent has a substance abuse problem

House of Cards
My mom's addiction makes for a very shaky relationship

Making It On My Own
I lost my mom to drugs

Does Rehab Work?
Explaining drug treatment

The Parent's Side
Love Isn't Written in a Court Order

HOW WE COPE

My Street Brothers
Running wild with my friends helped me forget my pain

Something to Say
My inner child needs to be heard

My Happy Place
I found a new perspective at church

Playing for a Dream
Basketball keeps me feeling good

Letting It Out
Poetry keeps me calm

BATTERED AND BLUE: LIVING WITH DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Tearing Our Family Apart
My mom's abusive boyfriend put us all through hell.

'It's Not Your Fault'
Dealing with violence at home.

Putting Up With Her Hands
How do I handle my girlfriend's violence?

Blinded By Love?
I'm caught in an abusive relationship.

SAFE SPACE: FINDING THERAPY THAT WORKS FOR YOU

Opening Up
I found a therapist I can trust.

Why Go to Therapy?
A professional answers our questions .

Getting Out of the Swamp
My therapist helps me through.

ON THE CASE: TRACKING DOWN YOUR PAST

My Last Name Mystery
Suddenly, my dad is a question mark.

Right to Your Records
How to find out what’s in your case file.

Alone With My Questions
When my parents died, they left me without answers.

LEARNING TO LOVE

Loving and Losing
My first girlfriend made my life a little brighter.

Playing To Win
I thought if I didn’t commit to one girl, I wouldn’t get hurt.

LIVING WITH MENTAL ILLNESS

Drifting Away
I’m worried I’m losing myself to mental illness.

Too Many Pills
What you should know about mood-altering medication.

The Monster Inside
I don’t want my illness to control me.

PLUS

In the News: Will Rhode Island Do the Right Thing?

READY OR NOT: GETTING A GRIP ON MOTHERHOOD

Ready or Not: Getting a grip on motherhood

Finding My Mother Instinct
I didn't know how to deal with becoming a mom.

Hope in a Crisis
A nursery gives parents a helping hand.

A Partner for Parents
Visiting nurses team up with first-time moms.

A Mother's Touch
Massage can help you bond with your baby.

Keeping My Head Up
When I got pregnant no one had my back.

Mommy's Baby, Daddy's "Maybe"
I realized my baby's father may never step up.

STANDING OUT: WHEN RACE SETS YOU APART

Standing Out: When race sets you apart

Getting Ghetto
I had to change to fit it.

Never Quite at Home
I don't feel comfortable in my neighborhood.

Offense Taken
My friends need to realize that racial comments can hurt.

BALANCING ACT: LIFE AFTER CARE

Man With a Plan
How I got on my grind and started thinking about the future.

What You Should Know Before You Leave the System.

Five Steps Behind
My group home didn't teach me how to live on my own.

One Stop to Independence
Transition centers lend a hand to youth leaving care.

Getting Somewhere
Two California youth describe the challenges of leaving care.

Passport To Your Future
A Jim Casey program helps teens save up for success.

Getting Served
New York teens can get help at the Office of Youth Development

What It Takes
A new guide to life after care.

AFTERSHOCKS: HOW SEXUAL ABUSE STAYS IN OUR LIVES

Making It Through
After years of sexual abuse, I'm finally safe.

Breaking the Cycle
Why sexual abuse won't just go away.

Fighting My Old Ways
A diary of one writer's struggle to protect herself.

Trying to Understand
Why some teens become sex offenders and how they can stop.

FIXING FAMILY COURT

Speaking Up
Youth around the country demand changes in court.
Plus sidebar:Interview with Youth Justice Board

What Does My Lawyer Do?

Working Behind the Scenes
I found out what social workers do all day.

Laying Down the Law
How California youth are changing the system.

'We're Actually Listening'
In Chicago, a judge sits at the table with teens.

SO MANY LOSSES: DEALING WITH GRIEF IN CARE

Letting Go
I can't hide anymore from the grief inside me.

Understanding Grief
How teens in care handle their sadness.

DEAR MOM...

Keeping My Distance
I try to help my mom without hurting myself.

A Safe Place to Connect
How therapy can help your family heal.

Saying Goodbye to My Superman
Even my dad wasn't strong enough to beat AIDS.

Double Whammy
How AIDS affected the foster care system.

FITTING TOGETHER

Learning to Love Again
I've finally found a foster mom I can trust.

Great Expectations
I pictured my new life as a double chocolate Oreo with a glass of milk.

Lost in the Desert
I fled poverty in Mexico—now I fear I'll be sent back.

Paper Chase
NYC's Immigration Project makes getting your green card easier.

FOREVER FAMILY

Separated at Birth
I wish all my siblings could be with me.

'We Heard You'
Foster youth convince Connecticut to improve visits.

Cut Off
Once my sisters got adopted, I couldn't see them anymore.

The Monster Inside
When I go off, I'm afraid of myself.

STRAIGHT SLUMMIN' IT

Goodbye, Harlem
I might have been a hustler if I wasn't shown another way.

Following the Leader
It's hard to see beyond what's around you.

No Easy Answers

FILLING THE GAP

Filling the Gap: Grandparents step in

An Angel From Above
My grandma put her life on hold to raise us.

Movin' On Up
An apartment program designed for grandparents and kids

Stranger in the Mirror:
Living with Mental Illness

Making Sense of My Sister
A therapist helped me understand what's happened to my twin.

OPEN HOUSE

Finding My Father
My dream dad turned out to be gay.

What We Think
Teens in care talk about gay foster parents.

Facing the Truth
When my daughter told me she was sexually abused, I listened.

Start Talking
Your teen years are the ideal time to deal with abuse.

IS THERE A HOME FOR MIGUEL?

I Can't Forgive
When I went to prison no one had my back.

Get Out and Stay Out
Keeping teens from getting locked up again.

How to Get Prom Clothes, Lessons and Other Stuff for Free

No Place to Go

HOW DO WE LOOK?

Use Your Radar
When the past pops up, pay attention.

Nothing But a Crush
I'm too smart to try reforming a gangsta.

We Have Seen the Future and It Is Us
The scary and inspiring stories of three teens.

On Their Own
It takes luck and determination to make it after care.

YOU CAN DO IT!

Me vs. The World
What helped me get through college? Rapping, and two mentors who believed in me.

Bookin' It
Perseverance will help me conquer the SAT.

Financial Aid 101
The ABCs of E.T.V.s, FAFSAs and FSEOGs.

Numbing Out
Pills helped me forget the past, but ruined the present.

YOU ARE WHAT YOU WEAR

Black on Black
Going goth helped me be less judgmental.

Will the Tortoise Win the Race?
I'm 20 and still in high school.

Weaving Our Own Safety Net
My fiancé and I found the advice and support we needed.

The Dad Stays in the Picture
Some POPS are hanging in.

EAT WHAT?

My 'Hood is Bad for My Health

Dangerously in Love With a Danish

Want a Friend? Be a Friend!

Starting Over
Do my mom and I need to talk about the past to move forward?

HOME SWEET HOME?
Operation Vacate Group Home
NYC says teens belong in foster homes but hasn't
found one for me.

Meeting of the Minds
Four Represent writers school the system (and learn something, too).