Phase 1 of a research project that survey's the public's perception of youth in foster care and adoptive care

How does public perception and media bias relate to life experience for young people in foster care?

“Changing the Narrative” (CTN) research initiative sparked around a dinner table in early 2018. The revelation by youth leaders with lived foster care experience was unsettling, but collectively true: the people tasked with caring for us “think we are criminals.” What does it mean to navigate an unfriendly world and a child welfare system within that inherently views youth as the problem?

In late 2018, the curious and emboldened youth created and launched a research survey to test their assumptions, publishing the results in 2019. Simultaneously, the team designed curriculum and implemented training for professionals to “develop awareness” and “positively influence” the environments and lives of youth in foster care.

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Download "Changing the Narrative" (2019) Executive Summary (Part I) PDF 

For more on our research, go here.