Teen pregnancy, foster care, and Child and Family ... - Missoula Mom

Lately I?m seeing a lot of opinions in the Missoulian having to do with mom stuff. I don?t know if it?s just the month of May being the month that?s home to Mother?s Day or what, but I?m liking it.

I do know that May is Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month ? and I know this thanks to a letter to the editor from the Montana Teen Pregnancy Prevention Coalition. That letter stated that ?Each day in Montana, approximately three teens give birth? and went on to describe the challenges faces by these teen parents. It ended with a call to action: ? If parents, youth, schools, businesses, faith leaders and health care providers join together to address teen pregnancy, we can make a difference!?

Speaking of calls to action, the new documentary ?From Place to Place,? produced by Missoula?s Matt Anderson, is already making huge waves ? and it hasn?t even screened in Montana yet. The documentary follows the lives of two Missoula youth who age out of the foster care system ? without a family.

These youth have become advocates for change; one spoke at a Montana child welfare conference earlier this month, and I understand they have spoken to other leaders in the national system as well. You can read Anderson?s guest column in the Missoulian here. And you can watch ?From Place to Place? at its first Montana screening at the Wilma Theatre a week from today, on Thursday, June 2, at 7 p.m.

And finally, in her guest column last week, Child and Family Services Division administrator Shirley K. Brown also had some important information to share ? including information about how you can help protect Montana?s abused and neglected children:

In Montana, 903 children were removed from their homes because of child abuse or neglect from July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2010. The type of abuse experienced by these children includes physical neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and medical neglect.

Montana?s children are our future ? children need a safe, stable family environment. Each individual in Montana can protect children who are being abused or neglected by reporting suspected abuse or neglect. To report concerns about a child?s safety, call 1-866-820-5437 (1-866-820-KIDS). Another way to help is by learning more about becoming a licensed foster parent. To learn about becoming a foster parent, call 1-866-939-7837 (1-866-9FOSTER) or email AskAboutFosterCare@mt.gov.

Source: http://missoulamom.com/?p=2249

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