Foster Care Alumni Need to Reach Out to Other Alumni & Youth in Care Today!

I’d like to share a story with you. It’s about a little boy, but it could as easily be about a little girl. Picture the following in your mind: A baby boy has just been born. He should be wrapped in his loving mother’s arms with her scent all about him and with family gathering [...]

A Christmas Prayer, Wish & Gift to All

Dear Family, Friends & Brothers/Sisters of Boys Town~ Today Christmas is less than two weeks away. By now most of us have put up our trees and decorated until they glisten, bought, wrapped and placed under the tree gifts to our family & friends, prepared our Christmas Eve/Day menus. We are ready to welcome family & [...]

Second Book Available On Line…FREE!

After 2 yrs of procrastinating, 3 days of retyping manuscript & necessary html coding my 2nd book is now available on my web site. You can go to my main web site ofhttp://larrya.us/ and click on cover of 2nd book or go directly tohttp://larrya.us/book1.html Since they are no longer being published or available at on line stores [...]

A Response to Penn State Scandal

It has taken me over a week since the Penn State scandal broke to attempt to bring my anger under control and attempt to present a reasoned response to it. I will not say some anger may find its way into this blog entry as it remains but I will attempt to keep it under [...]

A Few Pointers When Searching for Birth Family

If you are considering a search for your birth family you may have fears as you search, but don’t let them stop you…even if you end up with a rejection or a negative reunion…you will end up a far stronger person…I know I did. Hopefully, during your search, you will find that as you grow [...]

25 Years Have Passed Since Finding Birthmother

I was sitting around doing nothing a few days ago and suddenly the thought came into my mind; today, March 25th would be the 25th anniversary since I found my birthmother. First I could not believe that 25 years had already passed. Secondly it caused me to reflect back on my 4 year search, 12 [...]

AFCARS Latest Number on Foster Care/Adoption from Care FY2009

As long as there is still one youth still waiting for a loving, nurturing caring, permanent home it is one too many! AFCARS Releases its Latest Numbers Released this summer, the 17th official AFCARS report reveals that, in federal fiscal year 2009 the number of U.S. children in foster care and waiting for adoption declined [...]

A Loving Tribute to My Foster Mom for Mothers Day

This  weekend celebrate Mothers Day. Though we should celebrate mothers each and every day of the year we set aside one day each year to make special celebrations. Much is made of Mothers Day for birth moms and adoptive moms but foster moms are usally forgotten in the media as they consider them temporary and not [...]

Couple Inspire 50 Adoptions in One Neighborhood

Gimundo: By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on April 28 2010 In 1996, Jaci and Eric Hasemeyer already had three children, and had believed their family was complete. But when Jaci, a P.E. teacher at a Riverside, California elementary school, handed out coupons for a local skating rink one day, the response she received from a 5th [...]

It Just Takes One: Foster Mother Mollie Jelks Raises 36 Foster Youth

A great story…good for a Mothers Day Memory: HuffPost   |  Erica Liepmann Posted: 05- 3-10 06:00 AM   After spending 22 years of her life working in mortgage banking, Mollie Jelks admits she never found the sense of fulfillment she longed for. When her Citibank office relocated to St. Louis, Jelks wasn’t willing to follow. [...]

President Issues Proclamation for Nat’l Foster Care Month

Presidential Proclamation-National Foster Care Month A PROCLAMATION Nearly a half-million children and youth are in foster care in America, all entering the system through no fault of their own. During National Foster Care Month, we recognize the promise of children and youth in foster care, as well as former foster youth. We also celebrate the [...]

Foster parents feel the pinch in many states

Forty-eight of the fifty states are suffering severe budget problems. It appears the first they want to cut from is for youth services. How many children are going to be left behind across the nation due to states trying to resolve their budget problems on the back of youth in greatest need of services????? This [...]

Brantwood Children’s Home in Montgomery Alabama Hasn’t Had A Single Adoption in Four Years

MONTGOMERY, Ala., March 12, 2010 American Foster Kids Hold Out Hope Brantwood Children’s Home in Montgomery Alabama Hasn’t Had A Single Adoption in Four Years By Mark Strassmann CBS News (CBS)  The Brantwood Children’s Home in Montgomery, Ala., is a place for kids from families broken beyond repair. They’re all between 10 and 21 years [...]

Open Letter to Foster Youth/Alumni!

A hopeful positive letter to children within the foster care system of America. They are presented with so much negative…it’s time they received a little positive. Dear Fellow Foster Children/Alumni~ I know you may feel your life is currently in turmoil, not in a place you really consider your home or awaiting a final decision [...]

60 Years Ago Today!!

Sixty years ago today, in the early hours of the morning, a young nineteen year old unwed woman gave birth to her first child…a son. She spent most of her pregnancy in a home for unwed mothers as her father would not, as he said, allow a bastard child in his house. She was uneducated [...]

What the U.S.A. Should Do About Haiti Earthquake Orphans

I have in the past few days been sharing stories found on the Internet about babies/children being orphaned due to the tragic earthquake on January 12th. Serving on the Board of Directors & as Regional Manager for North America on behalf of World Initiative for Orphans I feel I must write my personal feelings on [...]

Orphans from Haiti arrive in U.S.

January 19, 2010 5:38 p.m. EST Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (CNN) — More than 50 Haitian children — rescued from an orphanage damaged by last week’s earthquake –arrived Tuesday in Pennsylvania, most of them headed eventually to adoptive homes. Gov. Edward Rendell, who traveled to Haiti to accompany the orphans back to his state, said the 53 [...]

Prayers Answered:Haitian orphans rushed to new homes abroad!

I had to jump for joy and shout Yes, Yes, Yes when I read this and had to share it. Hopefully this is just the beginning. From CNN January 17, 2010 8:02 p.m. EST Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) — Slashing red tape or ignoring ordinarily required paperwork, officials in the United States and the Netherlands have [...]

Children, A Tragedy of the Haitian Earthquake

Adopted Haitian kids were almost home when quake hit By Jessica Ravitz, CNN January 15, 2010 If he could, Jim Boston would hop on a plane right now to bring his daughter, Farica, home. The 4-year-old Haitian girl has been part of his family since the day he and his wife, Rebecca, began the adoption [...]

Hefty: The Official Luggage of Foster Care

A few hours ago I was visiting a forum about foster care that I participate. One of the entries I read concluded with the signature above noting, “Hefty: The Official Luggage of Foster Care.” This evokes very strong and bad memories for me of the years I spent in foster care. I was in care from [...]