Growing Up Female in Foster Care: An Interview with Larbriah Morgan, Juvenile Law Center Youth Advocate

Claire Glass, Intern, Juvenile Law Center,

Above: Juvenile Law Center Youth Advocate Briah Morgan served as a panelist at the Stoneleigh Foundation's recent symposium, "What About the Girls?"

Youth in the foster care system consistently face challenges that threaten access to life’s most basic necessities, like housing, education, and medical care. Young women in foster care face even more challenges, including access to reproductive health care and a high risk of experiencing sexual and domestic violence.

On May 13, 2014, the Stoneleigh Foundation held the symposium “What About the Girls?” to address these unique risk factors. Panelists included Malika Saada Saar, executive director of the Human Rights Project for Girls; Leslie Acoca, president of the National Girls Health and Justice Institute; Gwendolyn Bailey, executive director of Youth Service, Inc.; and Larbriah (Briah) Morgan, a Juvenile Law Center Youth Advocate.

As a member of our Youth Fostering Change and Youth Speakers Bureau programs, Briah, 20, advocates for change in the child welfare system through projects targeting specific areas of reform and by speaking out about her personal experiences in the system. In addition to this work, Briah is a rising senior at Temple University, majoring in biology.

Juvenile Law Center intern Claire Glass sat down with Briah after the symposium (and her final exams). They discussed the realities she’ll face when she turns 21 and “ages out” of the system in early June, and how she thinks the system could be improved to help more foster youth both make it to and succeed in college and find stable housing.


CG: What’s the most important thing you hope attendees will take away from the Stoneleigh Foundation’s symposium? Was there anything you heard about for the first time?

BM: Females in the child welfare system are prone to [experience] more violence. That’s the case for any child in the welfare system, and it’s not our fault. Period.

I gained a lot more knowledge about how unequal things are for females, especially young females in the juvenile justice system. Because I’m on a different path, I didn’t realize the struggles for youth who go down the “wrong path.” I didn’t realize their rights weren’t being met. As Leslie and Malika said, it’s not their fault, and they always have to deal with this pejorative stigma.

Larbriah (Briah) Morgan

CG: You described taking on the role of an adult at a young age, and having to advocate for yourself when most parents would have stepped in. What’s the impact of all this added pressure on youth in the system?

BM: Being in the child welfare system is extremely stressful, and I can only imagine how it is for teens with children. I felt like I was taking on the roles of my DHS and social workers at times. People don’t understand what you’re going through, so they make assumptions.

I had my advisor and DHS worker telling me I couldn’t go to college or medical school, and it was really discouraging. You hear a lot of people congratulating you about choosing the right path, but then you realize they don’t expect you to make it.

CG: What was it like navigating all of these challenges at such a young age? Who have you turned to over the years for support?

BM: There were numerous times when I wanted to give up and drop out of the system and do things by myself, because I felt like I was doing it by myself anyway. Having talks with my sisters was my main influence to keep going in school. They always tell me they don’t want me to be like them. My older sister dropped out of community college, and another one dropped out of trade school. I just looked at their situation, and how much they’re struggling, and decided I wanted to do the opposite and to keep going and see how far I could get.

CG: What’s your relationship with your family now?

BM: My older sisters and I are best friends, really. They continue to guide me with lessons of what not to do, and at the same time, I’m inspiring them to get back to school and go to work.

I used to say I didn’t like my mom, but like all my siblings, I’ve grown to be a little more forgiving. She was out on her own at 14, too, and the fact is that she’s actually trying. She may not be successful, but she didn’t just leave and not contact us at all. We’re still building the connection with our mom.

CG: Let’s talk about health care, since that was one thing your fellow panelists focused on during the symposium. Did you have access to medical care when you were growing up?

BM: I’ve been making my own doctor’s appointments since I was 14. My mom was on welfare, so I guess that’s how I was covered. I didn’t really have anyone telling me what to expect about anything.

Briah speaking at the Stoneleigh Foundation's symposium, "What About the Girls?"

In certain situations, I didn’t know how to ask something without worrying about being judged, especially at gynecologist visits. I know what to ask now, but when I first started, I remember lots of times I wouldn’t say anything or ask questions because I wouldn’t know how the doctor would react. I used to get Depo Provera birth control, and now I know that in the beginning stages, it affects your menstrual cycle. But at the time, I didn’t. So I let it run its course. And the whole time, I was scared and never asked about it.

CG: As you know, the Affordable Care Act now allows foster youth to apply for free medical insurance up to age 26. Do you think many foster youth know about this? If not, how can we get the word out?

BM: I learned I’d be covered with health insurance until I turned 26 in Youth Fostering Change. I don’t know how other kids would find out. Social workers and foster parents have to be obligated to let them know, or there should be a website for youth in care to let them know about these things.

[Note: Juvenile Law Center is creating a website about this issue, to help spread the word to foster youth and child welfare professionals and guide them in taking advantage of free medical insurance. Stay tuned for more information!]

CG: I know that you’re facing some challenges in college right now. And speaking of legislation, there’s a new bill in the US Senate [the Higher Education Access and Success for Homeless and Foster Youth Act] that aims to provide foster youth with more support by connecting you to a single point of contact on campus. Do you think a bill like this would have helped you?

BM: Having one point of contact would have been really helpful—I didn’t like telling multiple advisors or instructors that I might be homeless, or that I’m from foster care. It would have been peace of mind—it’s bad enough to tell your story to multiple caseworkers. You have no feeling of privacy. It would have saved a huge amount of time.

CG: What has it been like dealing with not knowing where you’ll be living from month to month and trying to plan for your future at the same time?

BM: I don’t have any security. I feel like I would be homeless and there would be nothing anybody could do about it. The problem is that I’ll be cut off from [the child welfare system] the day I turn 21 in June, even though the apartment is paid for through the end of the month. If I’m allowed to stay in there for the rest of June, it makes a really big difference and means my savings can sustain me for the summer. The fall is another worry.

But there are youth that aren’t like me, who are not as outspoken or driven because they don’t know how to be, who get in situations like this, and they aren’t successful. They end up homeless.

[Postscript: Great news! Since the Stoneleigh Symposium, Briah has found housing support and now has stable housing for the next couple of years.]

CG: Does being a foster youth and navigating these challenges have an impact on your social experience in college?

BM: For most college kids, if they get a bad grade, their parents can tell them it’s OK, it happens to everyone. Children who aren’t in the [child] welfare system more likely know their tuition can be paid; they can have meal plans; they can go home to eat; and they have a place to sleep. They have those family connections. I go home, I make my own meal, and if it’s not enough money—I get $125 for food and I have to worry how I’ll make that work for a month—that’s it.

Children who aren't in the child welfare system more likely know their tuition can be paid; they can have meal plans; they can go home to eat; and they have a place to sleep. They have those family connections.

I go home, I make my own meal, and if it's not enough money—I get $125 for food and I have to worry how I'll make that work for a month—that's it.

I don’t have any friends on campus. I’m turning 21 in June, but I don’t feel like I’m turning 21. Every time I say it, I’m like, I’m only 21? I feel like I’m 30. They’re partying and talking about how they’re going to BS on their paper and I’m worrying about my apartment. I’m used to it now.

CG: What about your academic career? Does all the time you spend on figuring out what you will do when you age out interfere with your study time?

BM: I’m changing my major to psychology because I can’t do the chemistry and math classes—I don’t have the time to study for those classes, so I’m switching to psychology. It’s a sacrifice. I know I have to work and deal with making sure I can get by each month. I’ll spend 3 hours in the waiting room, and hours and hours on hold on the phone when I would otherwise be studying [due to obligations related to being in the child welfare system and responsibilities associated with living on my own].

CG: How has your involvement in Youth Fostering Change affected your experience as a foster youth?

BM: Hearing the youth’s voice is the most important thing and I am very appreciative of being a part of this program where my voice has been heard. I knew we’d try to make changes but I didn’t know it would change me. I have such a big voice in YFC and so do other youth in the program, and that’s why the changes are being made and why it’s effective.

CG: Do you want to incorporate youth advocacy work into your future career?

BM: I would definitely love to work with kids in care. Kids in care aren’t told they can be doctors, so when they actually see someone who did, it could have a huge impact on their life choices.

CG: Thank you for sharing your story, Briah!

BM: Thank you!


For more information on the Higher Education Access and Success for Homeless and Foster Youth Act—and to sign the petition asking the US Senate to consider it—visit this website.