Peace4Kids at the White House!
In honor of national foster care month, Peace4Kids was privileged to spend a day at the White House celebrating the contributions of 12 phenomenal Champions of Change. Among these foster care alumni heroes was Peace4Kids’ very own, George White.
George received his award for his advocacy work at Peace4Kids which helped pass California assembly bill 12. This transformative legislation increased the legal age of foster care from 18 to 21. George’s campaign, “All I did was turn 18” reached a national audience and changed the way the public understood the issues impacting foster youth transitioning out of care.
As a result, 21 states have expanded foster care benefits to youth up to age 21 (National Conference of State Legislatures). Indiana has extended foster care up to age 20. Florida, Wisconsin and Delaware have opted out of federal funding, but have their own programs using state dollars.
While this is a great accomplishment, there is much more work to be done. To continue his efforts, George founded Fostering Change as the advocacy arm of Peace4Kids. Through Fostering Change he is working with his peers on a research project that seeks to define the unique cultural and adaptive strengths foster youth possess. He also works as a Program Associate for the National Foster Youth Institute and recently helped to bring over 60 foster care alumni from all over the country to Washington DC. These young leaders got the opportunity to shadow their congressional leaders for a day and help educate them on the unique needs of youth in foster care.
To learn a little bit more about George’s heart and commitment you can check him out at The Champions of Change event on YouTube.