CHELSEA'S LIFE - A STORY OF A CHILD IN NEED.

Byline: Miriam Aroni Krinsky Local View

Los Angeles is home to nearly one in 10 of our nation's foster children. As a community, we all ``parent'' these children; we jointly share responsibility for providing them with the stability, education, nurturing, and grounding that will put them on the path to productive adult lives.

Chelsea is one of the nearly 26,000 Los Angeles youth living in foster care. She told her poignant story as part of the annual Foster Care Awareness Campaign's foster youth writing competition.

This competition afforded foster youth the opportunity to share their perspectives by reflecting on the questions: ``Where have I come from ... Where am I going?'' Chelsea's answer was quite simply: ``Well, that all depends on who I'm talking to, how much I trust them, and which mask I was wearing that day. You see, my whole life I thought I had to hide from my past and be ashamed of who I was and where I came from.''

On the surface, Chelsea acknowledges that her family appeared just like many others. ``I had two adorable little brothers, an older brother who always looked out for me, a loving mother and a very intelligent father.'' < But probing deeper revealed the root concerns that precipitated Chelsea's entry into our foster-care system: ``Let's start off with my older brother. He was always a violent kid, the late-night yelling, the temper tantrums, the big ego. He pretended to be so tough, yet inside he was the saddest, loneliest boy I ever knew.''

Chelsea writes descriptively and perceptively about her parents: ``Then there's my dear old daddy ... I found out he wasn't my real father at age 10. He was always in and out of jail, and just like Mary who had a little lamb, my mother was sure to follow. What a great role model he made while sitting on the opposite side of a bulletproof window.

``Next comes my mother. When I was young, I knew something wasn't right. Whether it was her leaving late at night in a trench coat and high heels; the strange men who came over to my house with a video camera; I don't know, but for some reason I didn't believe it when she said she was a nurse.''

As with many youth in our foster-care system, Chelsea was reluctant to acknowledge the difficulties and family concerns that she faced. ``Remember in school when all the kids would go around a circle and say what their parents did for a living? When it was my turn, I always said my father had his own business and my mom was an actress.''

But ultimately things fell apart, and Chelsea and her brothers entered the foster-care system. Chelsea was devastated. ``I can't believe I used to cry every night praying we'd go back. Why? I don't know. Well, like they say, some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.''

Chelsea is now a junior in high school, with a part-time job. She plans to attend college. Her resilience is inspiring and also indicative of the tremendous potential foster youth possess - a potential that too often is lost in the inattention and communal neglect that marks life in foster care.

``My future is looking good. I realize that I can control my life and be different from my parents, and their lives can't affect my decisions and dreams.''

Too few of our foster youth find themselves on the positive path Chelsea has taken. Almost half of youth in our foster-care system do not complete high school, and only 15 percent attend college. Within two to four years after they emancipate from foster care, 51 percent are unemployed, 30 percent are on public assistance, 25 percent become homeless, and one in five are incarcerated.

Chelsea aptly advises other youth with similar experiences to look ahead with hope: ``You can focus on the bad memories and how you wish things had been different, or you can put it behind you, move on, and take charge of your own life. Prove to yourself you can make all your wildest dreams come true, smile, and then share your story with the world.''

Children like Chelsea need support from all of us. There are ample ways to engage - by serving as a foster or adoptive parent who gives abused and neglected children a permanent, loving home; volunteering as a court- appointed special advocate to work with children in dependency court; providing teens in foster care with critical job opportunities and training; or donating the extra personal items so many children in foster care may lack.