Woman Formerly in Kansas Foster Care Selected for Congressional Internship

Press Release Submitted by Theresa Freed, Director of Communications, Kansas Department for Children and Families

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TOPEKA –A young women, formerly in Kansas foster care, was recently selected for an internship with the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI). Alexandria Ware, 24, was one of 12 young professionals selected to participate in the CCAI’s Foster Youth Internship Program. Through the program, Ware gained a summer internship with the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means.

Prior to acquiring this congressional internship, Ware was a successful participant in the Kansas Department for Children and Families’ (DCF) Independent Living program in the Wichita Region. During that time, she was also an active member in the Kansas Youth Advisory Council (KYAC) and the Regional Youth Advisory Council (RYAC).

U.S. Senator Pat Roberts with Alexandria
Ware, Washington, D.C.
Photograph courtesy of Kansas Department for Children
and Families

Ware graduated in May 2016, with a bachelor’s degree in Family Studies and Human Services, with a minor in Conflict Analysis and Trauma Studies from Kansas State University, while utilizing DCF’s Independent Living services. She also received a certificate in Conflict Analysis and Trauma Studies, as well as a certificate in Non-violent studies. Ware is currently a graduate student at Oklahoma State University-Tulsa, pursuing a master’s degree in Human Development and Family Science.

“Alexandria is setting a wonderful example for Kansas youth from foster care,” DCF Secretary Phyllis Gilmore said. “She is demonstrating how perseverance, hard work and dedication are the keys to success, no matter the trauma one experiences early in life.”

She co-founded Fostering Success, a program that seeks to provide college students in or exiting from the foster care system with resources and skills, along with connections to mentors.

Her goal is to advocate for those in foster care with the hope of establishing a center where youth in foster care will have access to tutoring, mentoring and assistance for future college admissions.

CCAI is a non-profit organization that “works to raise awareness about the needs of children without families and to remove policy barriers that hinder children from knowing the love and support a family provides.”

Currently, there are nearly 7,000 children in foster care in Kansas. DCF serves as the State social service agency, providing oversight for the well-being of children and their families. In May, DCF released a new Foster Care Recruitment Campaign designed to recruit foster families, provide support to current foster families and increase the public’s awareness about the need for temporary, stable homes for children coming into care in Kansas. If you would like to learn more about this campaign, visit fosterkskids.org.