Child Welfare News Organization Helps PBS SoCal's Foster Youth Initiative

LOS ANGELES - Dec. 20, 2016 - PRLog -- Nonprofit journalism organization Fostering Media Connections (FMC) contributed feature stories to "To Foster Change" – an initiative by PBS SoCal, the home to PBS for Greater Los Angeles and Southern California. The stories focus on foster care in Southern California and debuted on the initiative's website on November 30.

Since its formation in 2010, FMC has reported on foster care and distributed its stories to mainstream media outlets to change the overarching narrative of children and families in crisis.

PBS SoCal's "To Foster Change" is a media initiative aimed at fostering change in the realities and life outcomes for Southern California's foster youth.

"The whole purpose of FMC is to drive mainstream media coverage toward the often untold stories of the foster care system," said Daniel Heimpel, executive director of FMC. "We're elated that PBS SoCal has taken strides in this arena, and we are honored to support their work."

For the launch of the "To Foster Change" website, FMC's staff produced seven stories that highlight the challenges foster youth face in accessing education, transitioning to adulthood and navigating public policies that affect their daily lives.

The "To Foster Change" initiative is comprised of community conversations, broadcast and digital content – including original documentaries, public service announcements, web series and social content – and direct youth engagement.

"Our hope is that 'To Foster Change' will ultimately change the narrative about the foster youth community," said Jamie Myers, PBS SoCal's COO and VP of Education & Community Outreach. "And it is through community partnerships that we are able to make this initiative successful. We are thankful for Fostering Media Connections for helping us highlight the important stories in this community that spark dialog and progress."

Fostering Media Connections (FMC) is a 501c(3) non-profit that harnesses the power of journalism to advance child welfare reform by covering emerging solutions to the system's challenges. The majority of its stories appear in The Chronicle of Social Change – a national online news publication that produces daily news about child welfare, juvenile justice and children's mental health issues. View the stories FMC has placed in media outlets at http://fosteringmediaconnections.org/about-us/the-law/qua....