A key goal of the CHAMPS campaign is to improve the understanding among policymakers and the public about the vital role that foster parents play in helping children and youth heal, succeed in school and transition out of foster care to the care of a permanent family. CHAMPS is incredibly grateful to have be partnering with Marissa Sanders, founder and Executive Director of the West Virginia Foster Adoptive and Kinship Parents Network, who is an incredibly effective messager on the needs of children in foster care and the role of foster parents. Under her leadership, the WV Foster Adoptive and Kinship Parents network has undertaken significant policy improvement efforts in West Virginia. What’s more, Sanders has established the network as a go-to source for information on policy and best practices relating to caregiving for children and youth in foster care. In this blog post, we share a compilation of media pieces that Sanders helped to generate over the past couple of years as part of the network’s advocacy efforts.
A list of monthly columns from the Charleston Gazette Mail, for a series titled Kids in Care, authored by Sanders.
April 2021
Kids in Care: Caring for 25,000 kids in need | Life & Arts | wvgazettemail.com
May 2021
June 2021
Kids in Care: Changes coming to WV foster care system | Life & Arts | wvgazettemail.com
July 2021
Kids in Care: Bringing foster and bio parents together | Life & Arts | wvgazettemail.com
Aug 2021
Sept 2021
Kids in Care: Families need supportive that’s more supportive | Life & Arts | wvgazettemail.com
Oct 2021
Kids in Care: What foster parents most need, and how you can help | Life & Arts | wvgazettemail.com
Nov 2021
Kids in Care: Policy recommendations to help foster care | Life & Arts | wvgazettemail.com
Dec 2021
Kids in Care: Looking to 2022 | Life & Arts | wvgazettemail.com
Jan 2022
Kids in Care: Looking ahead to 2022 | Life & Arts | wvgazettemail.com
Feb 2022
Kids in Care: A Network Hoping for Change | Life & Arts | wvgazettemail.com
March 2022
Selected print news stories that include foster, adoptive, and kinship caregiving issues in West Virginia
Jan 2019
West Virginia foster care officials meet at public hearing | WCHS (wchstv.com)
Oct 2019
W.Va. Foster Parents Say They Need More Support | WVPB (wvpublic.org)
Dec 2019
Dec 2019
Survey highlights needs of Mountain State’s foster parents – WV MetroNews
Jan 2020
7 Reasons W.Va. Struggles To Find And Retain Quality Foster Parents | WVPB (wvpublic.org)
March 2020
May 2020
Differences already seen as West Virginia’s updated adoption law takes effect – WV MetroNews
Jan 2021
Work continues on foster care legislation | Legislative Session | wvgazettemail.com
Feb 2021
Sept 2021
WV lawmakers say they’ll look at problems at foster care group homes (mountainstatespotlight.org)
Oct 2021
WV foster care advocates propose reform (mountainstatespotlight.org)
Nov 2021
West Virginia Foster Advocates Propose Changes – The Imprint (imprintnews.org)
Nov 2021
Dec 2021
CPS Shortages Lack of Data Plague System as Demand for Foster Parents Rises / Public News Service
Dec 2021
Manchin faces political blowback at home, but it may not last – Roll Call
March 2022
Foster care advocates concerned after WVa bill’s defeat (wdtv.com)
March 2022
Bill addressing concerns in W.Va. foster care system dies in state legislature | WCHS (wchstv.com)
Op-eds by Sanders
Sept 2018
Oct 2019
Op-ed: The foster parent retention solution no one is discussing |
Aug 2020
On Coronavirus-School Decisions, Foster Parents Must Be At The Helm (imprintnews.org)