Connecting Foster Children with their Siblings within a Summer Camp Setting: A Grant Proposal

1. Connecting Foster Children with their Siblings within a SummerCamp Setting: A Grant Proposal By Alison Shirley California State University, Long Beach May 2012

2. Introduction • The problem • Approximately 65 to 85% of children entering the foster care system have at least one sibling, and roughly 30% have four or more siblings (Schuerger, 2002). • Current estimates show that roughly 75% of sibling groups end up having to live apart after they enter the foster care system (Schuerger, 2002). • Most mental health experts today believe that sibling relationships are the longest lasting and one of the most influential relationships that a human being can possess (Schuerger, 2002). • Goal • This project seeks funding to develop a summer camp program that reunites foster children with their biological siblings. In the camp setting, foster children will be able to create and share childhood memories together as siblings.

3. Social Work Relevance • The bond that siblings have for one another is a unique and strong one. • Since social workers have become a strong force within the foster care system, it should be the duty of social workers to help these children their families as much as possible to maintain some stability of familial connection. • For most foster children who have been separated from their siblings, this means losing the only positive and significant relationship they have known and grown up with.

4. Cross-cultural Relevance • Within the foster care system in the United States there are children from many different ethnicities and cultures. • According to the US Department of Health and Human Services (2010), the three largest ethnic populations in the foster care system are White/Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic. • Around 40% of foster care children are White/Caucasian • around 30% are African American • around 20% are Hispanic. • The last 10% are of other ethnicities like Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, and Middle Eastern

5. Methods • Target population • The target population for this project is foster youth who use the Camp to Belong Southern California services since being separated from their siblings. • Strategies used to identify and select a funding source • In looking for potential funding sources, the World Wide Web was used to find funding for siblings separated within the foster care system. • The writer also visited the Long Beach Non-Profit Library for funding information. • Identify the funding source selected • The Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF)

6. Methods • Sources used for the needs assessment • government statistics • scholarly academic articles through the California State University, Long Beach library databases. • internet search engines such as Yahoo, Bing, Google, and Google Scholar • Projected budget range • To implement this project, approximately $50,000 will be needed to help pay for the costs of running a week-long camp for 1 year.

7. Grant Proposal • Program Summary and Description • Camp to Belong provides weeklong summer camps with siblings participating in activities such as horseback riding, rock climbing, and swimming, as well as signature programs such as a mass birthday party for all campers, life skill’s seminar, and art activities (Roughley, 2009). • At each Camp to Belong location it will host on average around 75 campers and 40 volunteer counselors (Roughley, 2009). • Population Served • The population served is foster youth who use the Camp to Belong Southern California services since being separated from their siblings.

8. Grant Proposal • Sustainability • Camp to Belong LA will be sponsored by Camp to Belong International • plans for future fundraising to help keep Camp to Belong LA in place will happen. • plans to find other sponsorships and continual grants to help funding • Program Objectives • to provide a sense of belonging to foster youth • to help children learn social and problem solving skills • to help raise self-esteem and self-image • Program Evaluation • Pre- and post-surveys will be given out to evaluate the level of improvement in key objectives immediately following the camp experience. • 6 month focus group will also be conducted with pervious campers

9. Lessons Learned/Implications for Social Work • learned that the grant writing process requires many careful considerations, such as program's mission and objectives, needs of the population being served, and requirements of the funding source. • learned that thorough research must be conducted to understand the needs of the foster population as well as to evaluate which services would best meet these children’s needs. • Lastly, it was an important lesson to understand the impact that grant writing can make in the field of social work.

10. References • The Annie E Casy Foundation. (2011) Retrieved October 2, 2011, from www.aecf.org • Roughley, L. (2009). Siblings Reunite among S’mores and Campfire Stories. Camp to Belong: Giving Siblings the Right to Reunite. Retrieved from: http://camptobelong.org/foster-siblings-reunite-for-week-of-smores-and-campfire-stories • Schuerger, K. (2002, July). Information Packet: Siblings in Foster Care. National Resource Center for Foster Care and Permanency Planning. Retrieved September 15, 2011. • U.S.Department of Health and Human Services, (2010). The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System. Retrieve from: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/