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Webinar Recap: Every Youth Needs Someone

See presentation slides here.

Dr. Sharrica Miller spent 12 years in foster care, moving among at least seven different placements. In this webinar, Every Youth Needs Someone, she shares three lessons learned from this lived experience to help child welfare professionals empower youth to succeed.  

  1. Connect before you correct: Help youth reconnect with themselves, nurture their interests and take a genuine interest in what is important to them. 
  1. Believe in youth more than they believe in themselves: Find value in each young person’s talents and skills and create a sense of normalcy around their success. 
  1. Be willing to plant the seeds you may never get to see grow: Focus on the process of engaging youth and not the outcome, acknowledge small victories and keep your standards high but support and empathy higher. 

Dr. Miller is a foster care researcher, advocate and mentor whose work earned her the 2019 Cal State Fullerton Diversity, Equity and Inclusion award, as well as the 2021 Casey Family Foundation Foster Care Alumni Award. She currently serves as Associate Professor and chair of Diversity at Cal State Fullerton. 

A nationally recognized speaker and consultant, Dr. Miller facilitates trainings and workshops for child welfare organizations for better engagement with youth in care. She is the author of a self-published memoir titled “Verses: Lessons Learned from Foster Care,” and her story was featured in the documentary “Still Waters Never Crash,” which chronicled her journey from foster care to Ph.D. 

The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is committed to collaborating with and elevating the impact of child welfare professionals. Join our community to receive stories of impact, lessons learned and practical resources to support your work.  

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