Reading Time: 3 minutes

As children continue to enter foster care across Milwaukee, agencies working the front lines say the greatest need isn’t funding or policy promises, it’s people willing to open their homes. Especially to teenagers.

We spoke with Jakob Eisen, director of social services, and Karen Steinbach, treatment foster care supervisor, with La Causa’s Treatment Foster Care program, to understand what becoming and supporting foster parents can look like. 

Shortage of foster families

Children placed in foster care range from newborns to young adults, sometimes remaining in care until age 21 or older if they are still in school. 

Steinbach said what youths share is trauma because being removed from home, even for safety reasons, is itself traumatic.

“These kids come to us during the worst moments of their lives,” she said. “They need adults who are patient, empathetic and willing to stay even when things get hard.”

Data shows a desperate shortage in Milwaukee of people willing to take in adolescents. 

In 2024, there was an average of 515 children aged 12 years or older in out-of-home care. Of these older children, 275 (53%) were placed in a family-like setting, 146 (28%) were placed in congregate care, and 94 (18%) were in other care.

Ninety percent of children aged 12 and under were placed in family-like care. 

Steinbach said teenagers often cycle through dozens of placements, a history that can fuel mistrust, anger and difficult behaviors.

“There’s a myth that teens are harder or more dangerous,” she said. “But if you’ve been in 30 or 40 homes and every one of them asked you to leave, why would you believe the next one will be different?”

She said behaviors like running away, breaking property, withdrawing emotionally or acting out are often trauma responses, not defiance. And younger children show it, too. 

Foster parents are asked to look past those behaviors. 

“That’s the hardest part of the job,” Steinbach said. “And also the most important.”

What does it take to become a foster parent?

Becoming a foster parent is a serious commitment, and the licensing process reflects that. 

Prospective families must pass background checks, provide references, complete home safety inspections, participate in interviews that explore everything from parenting experience to mental health history, and meet other state requirements.

“It’s personal,” Steinbach said. “We ask hard questions because we’re asking you to care for children who have experienced significant trauma.”

There are different levels of foster care. Treatment foster parents, who care for children with higher behavioral or emotional needs, receive additional training and support. 

Eisen said most foster parents work full-time jobs. What helps them succeed as a foster parent is preparation and support from employers, family, friends and agencies themselves.

“We ask people upfront: Who’s your village?” Steinbach said. “Because no one does this alone.”

Removing stigmas of fostering

Some community members hesitate to engage with foster care because they believe the system “takes” children from families. Eisen said that perception misses critical context.

“No child is removed without legal authority,” he said. “Every case goes before a judge. There are statutory thresholds, multiple layers of review and ongoing court oversight.”

In most cases, he said, parents retain legal rights and decision-making authority. Foster care is intended to be temporary, with reunification as the primary goal whenever it can be done safely.

“We don’t want to keep kids,” Steinbach said.  “The best outcome is getting them home.”

Their goal is to help foster parents work alongside birth families to support them as they complete court-ordered steps.

“When foster parents and birth parents can work together, kids do better,” she said. “And reunification happens faster.”

How you can help, without becoming a foster parent

Not everyone can foster, but Steinbach and Eisen stress that everyone can help.

Support can be as simple as providing respite care or babysitting, helping with school pickups or transportation, bringing meals or offering child care so foster parents can attend training. 

“These small things are huge,” Steinbach said. “Sometimes a foster parent just needs an hour to grocery shop or take a shower.”

Community members can also help by challenging stigmas when they hear them, sharing accurate information and encouraging others to consider fostering.

“Even planting the seed matters. Most people think about fostering for years before they ever make the call,” Eisen said.

Prevention and support

While foster care agencies work daily to recruit and support families, leaders say long-term solutions lie in prevention. Investing in mental health care, addiction services, transportation, supervised visitation and family support can help keep children safely at home.

“If we could work ourselves out of a job, we would,” Eisen said. “But until then, we need people, not perfect people, just people willing to show up.”

For children in foster care, that willingness to “show up” can mean the difference between another disrupted placement and the first adult who truly stays in their lives.
For more information on becoming a foster parent, you can look here and here.

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Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

‘No one does this alone’: Milwaukee seeks more foster parents and supporters is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Angel Shelton never imagined herself holding a leadership position as she spent her teen years in the foster care system in Milwaukee. Now, at 20, she’s the new vice president of Wisconsin’s Youth Advisory Council, hoping to advocate for the needs of foster youths. 

The Wisconsin Youth Advisory Council began in 2005 and consists of current and former youths in foster care who work with government officials to advocate for foster youths in the state. 

“I wasn’t planning on running for this position,” Shelton said. “I guess God had other plans for me.”

Issues she plans to highlight as vice president include the need for improved transportation, more social workers, increased support and expectations for foster parents and more mental health resources. 

She became acutely aware of foster youths’ needs before and during her time in foster care. 

“When we do get a little support, we have to put our foot on the gas to get it fully,” Shelton said. 

Entering a life-changing program

At 16, Shelton met Christine Woods, independent living supervisor at Wellpoint Care Network, who placed her in supervised independent living at 17. 

“Ms. Woods was like an angel that walked up to me and opened all the doors to my journey,” Shelton said. 

Woods later encouraged her to participate in Youth Transitioning to Adulthood, a program that supports youths aging out of foster care by assisting with education, employment, housing, health and care connections. 

While in the program, Woods made Shelton feel secure and introduced her to new opportunities, like becoming a secretary and vice president of the program.

Woods said she admired Shelton’s vulnerability and acceptance of constructive feedback and encouraged her to become a member of the Wisconsin Youth Advisory Council.

“In the beginning, Angel was shy, and now she’s just out there, and I think it’s because she knows people are listening,” Woods said. 

After a year of serving as vice president of the local Youth Advisory Council and filling other roles, Shelton delivered an impromptu speech for a seat on the Wisconsin Youth Advisory Council and won all the votes to become vice president. 

“Her speech was a standing ovation,” Woods said. 

Becoming vice president marked Shelton’s latest step in leading efforts to improve the lives of youths in foster care. 

Providing better transportation services

As a leader on the Wisconsin Youth Advisory Council, Shelton is prioritizing transportation services.

She remembers being late for school each day and knows there are many foster youths with mental health challenges or disabilities that struggle with transportation. 

Also, in a conversation with a peer, she was made aware that some youths aren’t given enough funds to take public transportation.

A call for social workers

Although Shelton had a supportive social worker before aging out, she knows all foster children don’t have the same experience.

She hopes to push for more compassionate social workers who will spend more time with the youths.

“They need to understand that we don’t have parents to call on, so we need more social workers who will be present and hands-on,” she said. 

Shelton wants social workers to check in with children weekly and in person, instead of once a month. 

“I see both ends of the stick between young people and other people of authority like social workers and the system, but I want them to understand how we feel,” she said. 

Improving support for foster parents

Another goal of Shelton’s is for foster parents to participate in workshops that provide proper training and expectations for their role, like providing youths with hygiene products, laundry bags and more.

“I want this to be a mandatory workshop where they’re held accountable,” she said. 

Shelton hopes the workshop reminds individuals that youths should be treated with dignity.

“With some foster parents, once you transition out of their house, they are going to put your things in bags and out,” Shelton said. 

While living in a group home for two weeks, Shelton noticed a lack of hygiene products as well. 

“I ended up telling somebody that I couldn’t live like this, and that’s when I was switched over to my own place,” she said. 

Supporting mental health

Losing a friend to suicide motivated Shelton to open up about proper care for mental health.  

Her goal is to provide more mental health services for at-risk individuals who are 12 to 19. 

“Certain feelings are so normalized now, that some don’t even realize they’re battling something,” Shelton said. 

Woods says Shelton can utilize Wellpoint Care Network’s mental health services to link individuals to different forms of therapy like art, music, games and other outlets. 

To ensure every voice can be heard, Shelton said the council will be creating a TikTok account that posts every day in 2026.

The posts will feature videos from foster youths, parents, staff and professionals asking questions, and the council responding with answers.

“I wanted to create a different system nationwide for everybody, not just (Youth Transitioning to Adulthood),” Shelton said.

Watching her sister shine

Seeing Shelton in a leadership role didn’t surprise her oldest sister, Desirae Shelton, but hearing she won vice president brought her to tears. 

“She is living proof that where you come from doesn’t define where you will go,” Desirae Shelton said.

She admired how her sister carried pain but turned it into purpose as she grew more confident and willing to speak up for herself and others. 

“I just want Angel to make youth feel seen and supported,” she said. “I hope she brings attention to what kids go through emotionally.”

Plans for the future

In May, during Foster Care Awareness Month, Shelton will lead an annual mental health panel for the council, professionals, foster parents and relatives to discuss their lived experiences, needs and other topics. 

An Avenues West resident and nursing student at the Milwaukee Area Technical College, Shelton plans to become a nurse practitioner or a professional in the mental health field. 

In the next few years, she also wants to start a nonprofit that provides mental health services and a group home for at-risk teens.

“Whether I’m helping people in foster care or the juvenile system, mental health is at stake for both,” she said. 

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For more information

You can learn more about the work of the Wisconsin Youth Advisory Council by attending its monthly meeting. They’re held every second Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Wellpoint Care Network, 8901 W. Capitol Drive in Milwaukee.

Individuals who are interested in becoming a part of Youth Transitioning to Adulthood can click here to register for its monthly mandatory orientation. 

‘Where you come from doesn’t define where you will go’: Former foster child becomes vice president of the Wisconsin Youth Advisory Council is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.