For foster children, adopted kids, and others living without their parents, that’s not always the case, said local AMP Coordinator Cassie Johnson.

“They can talk about those unordinary situations they’re in. If you’re in school and you’re talking about your foster mom, or your foster sister, somebody in that situation, kids look at you like you’re different,” Johnson said. “But in AMP they can talk about what they talked about with their therapist that day, or that their medications got changed, or that they’re not going to be able to go home for another six months — without getting any judgment. … They love the group because they get to be themselves.”

AMP — Achieving Maximum Potential — is a program of Iowa Foster Care Youth Councils. Youth age 13 and up meet twice a month to learn life skills, to have fun, and especially to help them advocate for themselves.

“It’s teaching them to have a voice, from their court stuff, to with their foster parents, and with DHS,” said Johnson. “Just having that voice of their own.

-Messenger photo by Joe Sutter
Youths in the local AMP council take part in a self-esteem exercise at a recent meeting.

“Unfortunately, the thing about kids in the system is they tend to not have any kind of voice. It’s their worker telling them this, it’s their foster parent telling them that. It’s never them getting to decide for themselves. What AMP does is we’ve taught them to have that voice.”

The Fort Dodge council usually meets Monday evenings at First United Methodist Church. There are featured speakers and adult facilitators, plus fun activities.

“I always make sure there’s something fun included,” Johnson said. “Today we’re going to focus on self-esteem, and following the self-esteem activity we’re going to have them tie-dye shirts.

“Sometimes we’ll play trivia. I like to teach life skills too. Those healthy boundaries, healthy relationships. We’ve had the police come in to talk about internet safety. … We’ve even had Wells Fargo come and talk about budgeting.”

Johnson works at Children and Families of Iowa’s Fort Dodge office as a behavioral therapist, and with the Youth Employment Program. In Fort Dodge, AMP is contracted through Youth Shelter Care, she said.

-Messenger photo by Joe Sutter
Joey Maharas works on a drawing/writing exercise while AMP Coordinator Cassie Johnson prepares white T-shirts for the tie-dye activity coming up next. About 10 AMP members, ages 13 to 20, gather regularly at the United Methodist Church for camaraderie, and for a program which aims to give foster kids a voice.

There’s more than meetings. The program also gives kids the opportunity to go to AMP camp for free.

“It was in June. So I sent three of our kiddos there, and it was an awesome experience,” Johnson said. “Last year I went to it, and I went the full week.

“They all have a story,” she said. “They got into the system one way or another. At AMP camp they get to tell their story, and they grow from retelling their story and getting it out there with no judgment.”

AMP also has a presence at the state capital every year, taking kids to the statehouse to advocate for themselves.

“One last year was, when a kid goes into the system and they need a different home to go to, they can go to a family member and those family members can get all of the things foster parents get,” Johnson said. “Before, if you were to go to a family member, they don’t get food stamps, they don’t get help to buy clothes, they don’t get any of that extra stuff that normally they would if they were a foster parent.

-Messenger photo by Joe Sutter
Akasha Wendel reacts as she sees her tie-dye shirt pattern looks like a word at a recent AMP meeting. About 10 AMP members, ages 13 to 20, gather regularly at the United Methodist Church for camaraderie, and for a program which aims to give foster kids a voice.

“They also raised the age for a program called Aftercare,” she said.

Kids who graduate out of the foster system at age 18 can now receive benefits up until they’re 24, she said.

Johnson hopes more foster kids will join the program.

“I know there are foster kids out there, there are a lot of adoptive homes out there where they could be sending the kids,” she said.

-Messenger photo by Joe Sutter
AMP Coordinator Cassie Johnson, left, shows Angelina Eldridge how to twist and tie a shirt for a tie-dyeing activity.