Entering foster care is traumatic for any child—even more so when siblings are separated. High school senior Kala Clark of Maine, who entered care at age 12, knows that only too well. And she's done something about it—successfully pushing for state legislation that establishes the right of siblings to spend time together when families are divided by child welfare authorities. She spoke with Connect for Kids Editor Susan Phillips.

Portland, Maine high school senior Ashley Keiran is an expert in something she feels Portland teachers should know more about—how hard it can be to meet the expectations of school while homeless or dealing with the uncertainties of foster care. So Keiran, with help from a youth development grant and an adult mentor, is working on a lesson plan.

In this story adapted from What Kids Can Do, unleashed teen power is driving change in a small Maine town, once a center of the sardine canning industry—now an innovator in aquaculture.

The Maine Children's Alliance is a strong, powerful voice for children, youth and families and provides leadership to create or change policy on their behalf. The Maine Children's Alliance collects the voices and data of various organizations, develops, promotes and advocates a substantive strategic plan including desired outcomes to insure positive change for children and their families.

Two new Kids Count reports document family struggles in impoverished rural areas, and what can be done to ease hardship and strengthen rural communities. "Making Kids Count in Rural Northern New England" indicates that economic trends in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont are leaving rural children behind.

Issue Areas:
Adolescent and Youth Development
Data and Trends
Employment and Career Raediness
Family and Parenting
Foster Care
Juvenile Justice
Life Skills
Mentoring
Minority Youth
Model Practices and Policies

Social/emotional development
Parent-adolescent relationships
Impact of poverty on youth outcomes
Impact of dropout on youth outcomes

IDEA’s requirements for transition planning
Child welfare requirements for independent living assessment and planning
Juvenile transition
Vocational Rehabilitation’s role in transition
Children’s MH system