Jamey Madonna's Page

Every year, there are a half million children in foster care at any given time. A half million children every year lose their parents, families and homes. To a child, losing so much is synonymous with death. The trauma that foster care causes is often the unspoken plight of these children. One of the most grievous sins we can commit as their caretakers is improper funding that results in their languishing in the system.

The bureaucracy and social debate surrounding foster care often makes real… Continue

Children who have aged-out of foster care need special attention when they finally are on their own in the world. These aged-out youth usually have a lot of emotional baggage, and are often saddled with low self-esteem. They have problems getting and maintaining jobs, and sometimes don’t even have a diploma. 33% of them are homeless during the first year they are out of foster care, and only 40% finish high school. Less than half have jobs, but they are usually in fast-food restaurants where the… Continue

In America, there’s a popular conception of foster care that is very far from the truth. Many Americans are fooled by feel-good movies and sitcoms that portray foster care as the answer to all orphaned youth’s problems. Many Americans think that as soon as foster care youths are put into the system, they are quickly adopted out. After all, with all the infertility issues in America, why wouldn’t they be? Most Americans think of “Little Orphan Annie” when they consider orphans, and see the life o… Continue

Ask any foster child what they think of the foster care system, and you will get a myriad of answers. While some foster care children seem to get the best services and best referrals, some always fall through the cracks and languish in the system. The difference between receiving good care and receiving abuse from the system can be as simple as crossing a state line.

The best programs that can help foster care children are privately owned national programs that are open to girls and boys all ov… Continue

Small-town life in Midwest America isn’t all its cracked up to be anymore. While many middle- to upper-class families move to small towns in the Midwest to escape the problems of the coast, they are finding that a new pandemic is assaulting the peace of the country: methamphetamines.

Methamphetamines are wreaking havoc on the social welfare system in Middle America. Meth addicts constantly seek more meth, and will go to extremes to produce it at home. These labs are exceedingly deadly, and many… Continue