Santos Amigon

He/Him/His

Hello everyone, I’m Santos Amigon and I live in Los Angeles CA. I am currently working as a general floorman for California Amforge Corporation and attending New Beginnings Church Ministry. My goal is to become a Youth Guidance Counselor. Specifically for at-risk youth in the juvenile justice and foster care system. The reason being because sometimes all youth need is someone to talk to even someone who just listens.

I joined the CARES project because I believe that child welfare systems need to be more supportive of older youth who are leaving foster care. Being a former foster youth and juvenile justice youth I know first hand the flaws and cracks of the system. Many youth transitioning out of care are often times ill-equipped to face the challenges the world has and therefore end up either in jail, homeless, or worse, dead. I just want youth to have hope and aspire to chase their dreams.

When I am not at work, you can find me in church or out in my community evangelizing spreading the love of Jesus Christ!

#CARES4Power

Follow us on Instagram to learn more about our work, the CARES Ambassadors, and the policies we are building to advance change for all transition age youth.

Though we strive not to practice "color-blind" ideology, evidence shows that child welfare decision-makers often judge parents of color more harshly--one result being more children being removed from their families. Calls for systemic change to amend these barriers are growing at a rapid pace. In 2021, the "blind removals" program in Nassau County (New York) was created to address racial bias in decisions regarding the removal of a child from their caretakers. California – which has the most disproportionate share of Black children in foster care of any state in the nation, according to the National Center on Juvenile Justice – is considering a bill that would create blind removal pilot projects in several counties. @childcarenassau
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#Classisinsession #KeyEquityTerms #CARES #CARESAmbassadors #CARES4Power #Equity #Colorblind #ColorBlindRacialIdeology #ChildWelfare
See how Atlanta CARES Ambassador Aisha feels about being an ambassador for the past three years and her work on the National Policy Agenda featured in our Linktree! 

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#CARES #CARES4Power #NationalPolicyAgenda #CARESNationalPolicyAgenda #FosterYouth #Policy #Youth #YoungPeople #TAY #TransitionAgeYouth
The Child Welfare League of America defines cultural competence as the ability of individuals and systems to respond respectfully and effectively to people of all cultures, classes, races, ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, and faiths or religions in a manner that recognizes, affirms, and values the worth of individuals, families, tribes, and communities, and protects and preserves the dignity of each. 
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#Classisinsession #KeyEquityTerms #CARES #CARESAmbassadors #Equity #CulturalCompetence #ChildWelfare
When woven into practice, cultural humility includes:
- An examination of one's own biases.
- Open dialogue with families.
- Proactive efforts to level the playing field and address systemic inequities.

While race and culture are not synonymous, cultural humility with a racial equity lens can help address the stark racial disparities in the [child welfare] system and promote attention to the intersections of race and other cultural identities. 
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#classisinsession #KeyEquityTerms #CARES #CARESAmbassadors #Equity #CulturalHumility #ChildWelfare