Foster Teens Talk,
President Listens
On December 14, 1999, President Clinton signs into law a bill that doubles federal spending on program to help teens who are aging out of foster care (to $140 million per year). Two FCYU writers, Craig Jaffe (center, above) and Danielle Joseph, attend the ceremony, along with Alfred Perez (right), a former teen activist from California Youth Connection, the foster teen advocacy group in that state.

Two years earlier, Perez had given Hillary Clinton his copy of our foster care anthology, The Heart Knows Something Different: Teenage Voices from the Foster Care System, and encouraged her to read it if she really wanted to know what it was like to be in foster care. We were told by a lobbyist that Mrs. Clinton read the book cover to cover. She became the major administration supporter of the foster care bill.

National Public Radio's All Things Considered runs a 20-minute segment (11/20/99) on Wunika Hicks and Max Moran, in which they discuss their lives in foster care and how writing for the magazine helped them confront troubled pasts and work toward brighter futures.

NYC and FCYU Get New Logos
Former NYC artist and current Youth Communication production assistant Chris Pope modernizes the logos for both magazines.

Website Launched
In the Fall of 1999 we load the first test version of our Website, which we refine over the next several months. We realize that putting up a "basic" Website, which explains our core programs and offers browsers samples of our work, is feasible with our existing resources. The "mega site" we envision, with a complete archive of Youth Communication stories, downloadable booklets for teens and teachers, and powerful search capabilities, will have to wait for additional funding.

A New Book and Teachers Guide on Resilience

In Spring 2000 Free Spirit Publishing releases The Struggle to Be Strong, an anthology of 28 stories which focus on teens' capacity to persist in the face of adversity. The book, co-edited with resilience expert Sybil Wolin, is organized around Wolin's theoretical understanding of resilience as seven behaviors that help protect teens from tough times.

Free Spirit also publishes the book-length Leader's Guide to The Struggle to Be Strong, which gives teachers, counselors, and other adults who work with teens clear guidance and a wealth of suggestions for using the stories to nurture resilience in the young people in their classrooms and programs.

A Changing of the Guard (and the Generations)
Among Youth Communication Editors
For many years, NYC and FCYU were led by senior editors Al Desetta, Philip Kay, and Andrea Estepa. In the late 1990s Kay leaves to pursue new opportunities, Estepa founds our Girls Writing Group, and Desetta departs for the pastoral pleasures of Woodstock, New York, where he works on special projects (including this Website).

Over a 30 month period, four new editors take their places: Rachel Blustain, from the Moscow Bureau of the Forward; Nora McCarthy from Newsday; Kendra Hurley, from book editing and the Columbia MFA program in creative nonfiction writing; and Clarence Haynes, from the Fubu Website. For the first time in 15 years, all of the Youth Communication editors are again under 30 years old.

We Launch a California Edition of Foster Care Youth United: One in five foster teens in the country live in California. A special grant allows us to create a special edition of FCYU which includes California-based stories, a California legal column, and news about California foster events.

Biological Parents Join the Mix in FCYU: In November, we begin publishing one story in each issue by a parent who has lost her children to foster care. We hope the column will help create a dialogue between teens and parents, help parents overcome the stigma of losing their children, and encourage parents to take the steps they need to get their children back.

New Topics for the Girls Writing Group: The Girls Writing Group focuses on sexuality and women's history during 1999-2000.

Sex Ed: Girls Group participants write stories about acquaintance rape, abortion, and how they decide whether or not to become sexually active for a special section of NYC (Sept. 1999) called, "Are We Ready to Have Sex?" Newsday's Sheryl McCarthy devotes a column to praising the supplement. She writes: "New Youth Connections does a great service in this issue. Instead of saying sex is bad for you, it says, think about it. Here are the experiences of some of your peers. Learn from them. Then make your own decisions, taking precautions and knowing what your options are."

TV Talk: Girls Group participant Jesteen Dick appears on the Queen Latifah Show (Sept. 1999) to discuss body image issues and their impact on teen girls' self-esteem.

Foster Care Advocacy: Max Moran, Danielle Joseph, and other FCYU writers speak around New York City and the country about their experiences and the need for a youth voice in foster care. Venues include the Children's Bureau annual conference in Baltimore (Sept. 1999) and the National Resource Center for Youth Development conference on permanency planning for adolescents in Oklahoma City (Aug. 1999).

March 2000: 150th issue of NYC is published. It features women's history stories from our Girls Writing Group.

Summer Workshops: In 2000, Youth Communication hosts its 21st Annual NYC Summer Writing Workshop; it's 8th Annual FCYU Summer Writing Workshop; its 3rd Annual Girls Summer Writing Workshop; and its 3rd Annual Summer Illustration Workshop.

Teen Staff Profile: Shortly after being named South Africa Bureau Chief for The New York Times, former NYC writer Rachel Swarns (84-86) quickly publishes three front page stories in the Sunday Week in Review section.

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