Brittany Flintosh

3A

9-26-2016

A. Abstract

The title of my paper and project is going to be We Don't Have the Same Genes, but we

Share a Heart. My overarching topic of my senior project is the fact that interstate placement of

foster care needs to be updated and used more often, rather than placing children with families

that may live closer in proximity to them, but aren't a great fit. I've chosen this topic because I

think it is extremely important that all children are loved and have a home where they feel safe

and cared for. The foster care system has so many children that don't have parents and need

someone that will take them in and be there for them in a time when they need it most. Three of

my driving questions are as follows: Why are there still so many children in the foster care

system? What needs to be done in order to help these children find a loving home? What's being

done when the government finds out foster care parents are abusing their responsibilities? For

my project I would like to host a drive for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates, for

children) along with a flyer given to the parents explaining what CASA is and what they need.

The drive would include a place where kids and parents can donate can come and drop items off

that will go directly to CASA. This is a family fun night for everyone to enjoy, and the admission

requirement is to bring an item for CASA. At the drive parents can drop their children off or stay

and join the drive with them while there are games and activities to be done. The games and

activities I hope to have at the drive will include: finger painting, will it float, ocean in a bottle,
and maybe one or two more activities that have not yet been decided. I am planning on having

Ms. Mikena as my sponsor. I'm having my project at Haygood United Methodist Preschool. The

success of my project can be measured by what things are donated and how many people leave

more aware of the issues of the foster care system. I will need boxes to gather the supplies that

CASA would like for me to collect along with supplies for interactive games, music, and flyers.

B. Learning Skills

New Skills

Organization of a drive
Marketing
Booking a venue

Enhanced Skills

Face to face communication

Writing and grammar
Working with children
Researching

C. Market plan/ Facilites/ Audience

My target audience for my project is going to be children and their parents. I plan on

handing out flyers explaining what interstate foster placement is and how it works. Not everyone

knows about the complex process that is required to place a child with a family. The main reason

I want to do my project on the foster system is because not many people are aware of the

placement process of foster children. Awareness needs to be brought to light that something

needs to be done, not put more restrictions on the process and making it harder for children to

find a family, but to do something to help them find their forever home. What better audience
than those who have children and can relate to the fact that theses children spend too much time

in foster care or moving from group home to group home. The marketing strategies that I hope to

use are as follows: social media, posters, and oral announcements to my congregation. The venue

Im planning on obtaining is my church narthex, where the activities and games can be held, and

there is enough space for all that I have planned.

D. Project Steps

STEP 1: Plan what materials I will need for my project 3 Hours

STEP 2: Research cases and laws on my topic and how I 4 Hours

can incorporate them into my project and paper

STEP 3: Contact representative from casa and plan what 4 Hours

she would like me to collect and guidelines for

collecting those items

STEP 4: Create advertisements for drive and what items 2 Hours

need to be collected, along with social media

coverage

STEP 5: Put together activities and crafts for the kids to do 3 Hour

STEP 6: Plan venue 2 Hours

STEP 7: Host drive and fun night for the children 2 Hours

= 20 Hours

E. Project Documentation

Physical advertisements
Pictures from drive and fun night
 Emails/Texts with Consultant and CASA

F. Project Justification

I am choosing to host a drive and fun night to bring awareness to parents and their

families that some children don't get to have a loving family. This can be changed with the help

of the interstate placement system, this allows for children to be better placed with a family that

meets to their needs. These families can be better equipped and can cater to the needs of the

child. Interstate placement of foster children needs to be used more, and most importantly with

the aid of the interstate placement the benefits. Not many people are aware of the struggle these

children go through, and the homes that are not apt to take care of them. I have a deep interest in

children and child care. I see the foster care system as a great avenue for children who don't have

families and because I care so deeply for children i see where the system needs to be updated to

cater to the children's needs.

G. Project Paper Connection

The topic of my paper has to do with the placement of foster care children and how the

placement process can be fixed and/or changed. To connect my paper and my project, because

the paper is so centered around children, I wanted to do my project with children. For my project

I am going to host a drive for materials and supplies that CASA would like me to collect for

them. All the materials are used for foster care children. Along with the drive, Im hosting a fun

night where children and their parents can come, and there will be games and crafts for the

children to do with their parents. At the end of the night and when the crafts and games are over,
a flyer with information about the foster care system will be given to the parents as a way to

spread awareness of the issue of the placement of foster care children.

H. Academic Honesty

In my own opinion academic honesty is taking your own ideas and incorporating them

into your project. These ideas have to be your own and cannot come from anyone else. Holding

yourself to a higher standard then what is expected and to go above and beyond what is required

of you while maintaining your own beliefs and not copying someone else's. Plagiarism is

something that is done more often than not. Students copy other people's ideas and use them as

their own, or even sometimes they don't realize that they are doing it. It is okay to use someone

else's work, but in order to do that, the student has to give credit where credit is due and not use

the ideas as their own. The consequences of plagiarism can result in a grade of a zero. Not only

does it affect your grade, it affects the way a teacher may look at your work and they may

question your assignments based on previous times that you plagiarized.

I understand that any academic dishonesty by me on any part of the project will result in a

failure of the senior project and forfeiture of the legal studies seal on my high school diploma.