By Erica Fischer-Kaslander
Executive Director
(Originally posted March 2020, edited June 2021)
Maybe some foster care agencies need luggage, but most of the time, your hand-me downs are not what will truly help.
If I had a dollar for every time I have seen a very well-meaning person share the embedded Facebook post, Passaic County CASA would be all set for our fundraising goals for the year…and it’s only halfway through the year. Throughout the child welfare world, this post has been making the rounds for quite a while with resounding choruses from foster care agency staff, child welfare caseworkers, CASA staff, and even some judges chiming in with comments such as “We need to turn this into a positive somehow” and “I wish we could educate people about the system more.”
In response to this viral post, which is acquiring more frequent flyer miles across the virtual sky than we can dream of (and anyone who knows me knows how much I love my frequent flier miles!), so we have decided to address it head on.
People have been contacting our office quite frequently, asking “Do kids really pack their belongings into garbage bags?” and “Is this really a need?” These are semi-complicated questions because every situation varies drastically, but for all practical purposes: yes, kids entering foster care do still put their belongings in garbage bags when other options aren’t available, but no, that doesn’t mean that we want your old suitcases. Keep reading though, about how you CAN help a child.
CASA has and will continue to work in coordination with the Division of Child Protection and Permanency to ensure that other options, such as duffle bags and large storage options similar to “Ikea”bags, are available to caseworkers to use during removals. However, in emergency situations, those bags aren’t always at hand. Used suitcases are never the answer though.
1. They are bulky to store both before and after use for both CASA and DCP&P.
2. A child is not typically given the luxury of much storage space in the placement facility, foster/resource home, group home, or where they will be placed after they are removed from home. A duffle bag or other lightweight bag could be shoved under a bed or in a drawer until it is needed, while a suitcase typically cannot.
3. Caseworkers need something to keep “at the ready” in the trunk of their car for emergency removals, or when moving a child from one foster home to another. Duffle bags are generally the best answer to quickly and easily move a child. Sometimes in an emergency removal, youth still end up packing belongings in garbage bags, but there’s no amount of donated suitcases that will change that.
Dignity is the main reason a trash bag should not be used to move a child’s belongings. Is your 20 year-old ripped and/or stained luggage really any more dignified than a black plastic bag?
Our organizational philosophy revolves around providing normalcy to children in the child welfare system. Normalcy means offering experiences and a lifestyle that is as close as possible to a “normal” life outside of the foster care system; normalcy is not allowing foster care to define a child’s life and opportunities. There are many ways we work to address this, but one material way is the “Open Door Store.” It is our hope and dream that in the future, we will have space for a permanent location, but currently the Open Door Store operates as a “Pop Up Shop” several times a year and by request. The Open Door Store provides quality, new clothing, shoes, coats, winter gear, school supplies, and holiday treats for youth to select for themselves both in person and through submitted “wish lists”. Occasionally, we get extra special donations of items in the store such as outdoor summer toys, Halloween costumes, and sporting goods which are especially exciting to see our children receive. Our youth are empowered to shop, without a financial burden, and allowed to select items of their own style, that fit them appropriately, and meet their needs.
In conversation around the office, we’ve collected some ideas of more productive ways that you can help youth in foster care beyond a one-time donation of your used suitcase:
Collect donations of reusable grocery bags, large blue/yellow “Ikea” type bags and foldable laundry totes.
Increase awareness through social media and follow organizations such as CASA on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn
Contribute to the Play Fund to support CASA kids who can’t pay for extracurricular activities, school clubs, sports, and music lessons by making a financial donation.
Become a CASA Community Ambassador
Offer to be a support to a foster parent in your neighborhood
Become a foster parent in New Jersey (Click here for more information)
Offer personal assistance to children in foster care in your area of expertise (i.e. resume help, tutoring, entrepreneurship, mentorship, etc.)
Become a CASA and advocate for a child’s best interest in court
Donate more than just the duffle bag, but a “First night bag” to help a child get settled in their new placement
In addition to donating duffle bags, consider contributing items and financial support to the “Open Door Store” pop up shops (More information here and here)
Attend one of our community education workshops to become more trauma informed and aware of the challenges that young people in foster care are experiencing in our communities every day!
We sincerely believe that everyone can do something. Currently, our youngest donor is age 5 and raised $37 at his lemonade stand last summer to support youth in foster care while our oldest CASA Ambassador volunteer will turn 88 this year. She out-wrapped me (by far) this past holiday season during our holiday gift wrapping days. If you do nothing else after reading this, please share a conversation with someone about what you’ve learned regarding youth in foster care and inspire them to also support youth. You are part of the solution to giving each of our youth a hand up.