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First Saturdays
Girl Scouts
Journey of Me
Children's Museum of Phoenix
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Arizonans for Children and Life Books
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Imagine yourself as a child, plucked out of
your home. No longer with your mother,
father or siblings. All you have are the
clothes on your back. All your favorite
toys, friends, photos are all left behind.
On top of being removed from your parent's
home, you are now moved from group home to
foster home to even more foster homes. Your
life is one big transition. This is foster
care. Maricopa County, Arizona is home to
approximately 8,575 children in out of home
placements (1). |
Journey of Me |
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Source: Footnote: Arizonans for Children
The Junior
League of Phoenix and
Arizonans for Children
have teamed up to
capture and document the life history of
foster children in Phoenix. These books
often provide the only history of a foster
child's life. In addition to documenting
their life history, Life Books help foster
children to focus on the positive and
establish goals.
Addressing the Needs of Foster Children in
Arizona
Child abuse and neglect are significant
challenges for Arizona. There are
approximately 8,575 children in out-of-home
care at the end of 2004. Arizona leads the
nation in the number of children per capita
in group or shelter care. Six hundred
children a month are removed from their
homes and the number is growing at a rate of
100 per month.(1) Many of these children
will move an average of nine times (2)
before becoming an adult. They may never
experience a stable home environment.
Nationwide, more than half of foster
children will not graduate from high school,
and 40-60% of females will be come pregnant.
(2)
Arizonans for Children exists to help serve
the unmet needs of abused, neglected and
abandoned children and support the work of
Court Appointed Special Advocates, a
past program of the JLP. Arizonans for
Children provides a visitation center in
downtown Phoenix for a safe place for family
and CASA visits with foster children. In
addition to the visitation center, Arizonans
for Children provides activities for
children and their CASAs; birthday parties,
school supplies, tutoring, music lessons,
toys, clothing and personal care items. They
are now adding Life Books due to the
partnership with the Junior League of
Phoenix.
Source: ¹ The Arizona Republic; ² Aid to the
Adoption of Special Kids
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The Association of Junior
Leagues International Inc.
