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PHILADELPHIA—Philadelphia has launched Raise Me Up, a powerful new multimedia campaign that serves as a dramatic call to action that empowers people to lift up the lives of children in foster care.
 
Raise Me Up was created by Casey Family Programs, the largest national operating foundation whose sole mission is to provide and improve – and ultimately prevent the need for – foster care. The campaign’s purpose is to shed light on the challenges of children in foster care and show people in communities across the nation what they can do to help.  In Philadelphia, Casey is partnering with the Department of Human Services and nine local nonprofit groups to improve the lives of children in foster care.

There are more than half a million children in foster care in America and more than 6,000 in Philadelphia alone.  Statistically the outcomes for children in placement are poor.  They are more likely to drop out of school, be unemployed, or end up in prison than their peers. 

“This is an urgent call to action for the community to step in and help children who are in state care through no fault of their own,” said Cari DeSantis, executive vice president of Casey Family Programs. “Raise Me Up is a campaign that speaks to everyone who believes that these vulnerable children deserve the same opportunities to grow up happy, healthy and successful that their own children enjoy.”

Raise Me Up is a dramatic and evocative campaign that shows how average people can lift up and improve the lives of abused and neglected children and youth.  The campaign stresses that you don’t have to raise a child to raise him up.  You only have to raise your hand and say you’ll help.
 
“Research tells us that the outcomes for children in placement are much better when they have a caring adult in their lives,” said Anne Marie Ambrose, Commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Human Services.  “Many people want to make a difference in the lives of these children, but don’t know how or think they don’t have enough time.  We are very excited about the Raise Me Up campaign because it shows people that there are literally hundreds of ways they can make a tangible difference in the lives of foster child whether they have only an hour, a day or a lifetime.”

Those moved to action by the ads can visit the www.RaiseMeUp.org Web site, which will give people more information about foster care and what they can do to help strengthen families and children in their community.

Raise Me Up television ads were premiered at a press conference held at Lincoln Financial Field featuring Mayor Michael Nutter and Eagles first round-draft pick Jeremy Maclin, who was himself raised by a surrogate family.  The ads will air on network and cable stations for two months and will be accompanied by outdoor and online ads over the same period of time.

Mayor Nutter praised the campaign for drawing attention to a critical issue and encouraged all Philadelphians to get involved.  “Philadelphians have a great tradition of volunteerism and there is no more important cause than helping improve the lives of children in our city,” he said.   

Maclin, who was raised by his former coach Jeff Parres and his wife Cindy, provided moving testimony about the impact a caring adult can have on the life of a vulnerable child.  He credits his surrogate family for providing the structure and support he needed at an extremely difficult time in his life.  “They were there for me when no one else was.  They made me who I am today,” he said.

As the lead local partner in this ambitious campaign, DHS will play a key role harnessing the vast potential of people who want to help – either by fostering or adopting children, volunteering to help or working directly with youth, or raising awareness about foster care in their community.

In addition to DHS, nine nonprofit organizations in Philadelphia will be prominently featured on the RaiseMeUp.org Web site including: National Adoption Center (NAC); Together As Parents (TAP); Philadelphia Youth Network, (PYN); Congreso de Latinos Unidos; Women’s Christian Alliance; Achieving Independence Center (AIC); Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southeastern Pennsylvania; United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania; and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Philadelphia.

Raise Me Up is a critical component of Casey’s 2020 Strategy, which seeks to reduce the number of children in the American foster care system by half over the next 11 years and reinvest the savings to strengthen families and improve child welfare and support improved education, employment and mental health services for children in foster care.

Casey chose Philadelphia for the campaign launch because of the tremendous work already underway at DHS to improve Philadelphia’s foster care system.  According to Ambrose, in the past year, the agency has taken many important steps to improve the safety and well being of vulnerable children.

• DHS has helped more children move into permanent loving homes.  In the past year, the number of adoptions increased by 12 percent (the first increase in four years) and permanent legal custodianships were up by nine percent.
• DHS has dramatically reduced the number of children in out-of state placements.
• DHS has enhanced child safety by holding both providers and staff to a higher level of accountability.  Program oversight has been improved through the development of the Division of Performance Management and Accountability, which tracks the efficiency and effectiveness of the agency’s services. 

By incorporating safety assessment into all aspects of decision making and implementing a comprehensive continuum of services, DHS has helped ensure families receive a more appropriate level of service to meet their needs.  As a result, the number of families referred for in home services has decreased by 48%.