The intent of the birthday party was to celebrate the individual strengths of the children as a means to enhance their confidence. Each foster child was presented a gift which represented their educational focus/career aspirations (e.g., a book, an art kit) and/or a gift card. The birthday party was our response to Y.R. Project interviews we conducted last summer about youth recidivism. Interviewee Secretary Donald DeVore (Maryland Department of Juvenile Services) stated that the foster care system is often a precursor to the criminal justice system. Numerous interviewees, to include Director Marlana Valdez (Office of the Attorney General, Juvenile Justice Monitoring Unit), indicated that emphasizing a child’s strengths is one way to help in curbing anti-social and recidivist behavior.

We are looking forward to completing our documentary!