046 - Making a Difference in the Foster Care System with Maralyn Beck
Listen to full episode :
PC046 - Making a Difference in the Foster Care System with Maralyn Beck
Maralyn Beck is the Founder and Executive Director of New Mexico Child First Network, the only non-profit organization in New Mexico dedicated to improving the lives of children in foster care and empowering the families who care for them. After learning first-hand how broken the New Mexico foster care system really is, Maralyn decided to start her organization to provide simple solutions that can make a significant, positive impact in her community. While being a single foster parent, Maralyn has fostered 39 children, and of those - 12 were teenagers. In 2011, Maralyn worked for Governor Martinez, the United States’ first female Latina governor for her first year in office. Since then, Maralyn has been drawn to the political arena as a platform to engage with other passionate people that want to make the world a better place.
Maralyn joins me today to discuss how she helps children in foster care and their families. We discuss her entry into the political landscape and what inspired her to become a foster parent. She shares her first-hand experience as a foster parent and why she believes it’s the most broken legislative infrastructure in the country. We discuss the upEND Movement and its negative impact on foster children and foster families. We discuss why it’s critical to continue to recruit and retain foster parents and guardians to support the country’s most vulnerable children. We also discuss how the pandemic has impacted the severity of child abuse across the country and how you can get involved to help support foster children and their families.
“Every day that we’re making a positive experience in that child’s life, I hope, can contradict a previous negative one.” - Maralyn Beck
This week on Political Contessa:
What inspired Maralyn to become an active participant in the political arena
Why Maralyn decided to become a foster parent
How she discovered that the foster care system was broken
The challenges many foster parents face when fostering children in New Mexico
The paradigm shift to abolish foster care
The Family First law, why it was initially created, and why it’s crucial to recruit and retain foster parents and guardians
The psychological impact of leaving a child in the care of their biological parent ‘at all costs’
Why I believe many male politicians choose to avoid getting involved in foster care issues
What Shadow Foster Care is and how you can get involved in helping a foster child or foster family
How New Mexico Child First Network strives to support and empower foster families
How the baby formula shortage has significantly impacted foster children and their foster families
New Mexico legislation that Maralyn has advocated for that could help improve the foster care system on a national level
The difference between raising a child in poverty versus neglecting a child’s needs
Understanding what an Office of an Ombudsman is in Child Protective Services
How the pandemic has impacted the severity of child abuse cases
Resources Mentioned:
Awaken Your Inner Political Contessa
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Political Contessa. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
Spotify I Stitcher I Apple Podcasts I iHeart Radio I TuneIn I Google Podcasts
Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media. And if you’ve ever considered running for office – or know a woman who should – head over to politicalcontessa.com to grab my quick guide, Secrets from the Campaign Trail. It will show you five signs to tell you you’re ready to enter the political arena.
