(0 items)
Nebraska
JoAnn LeBaron |
JoAnn LeBaron has dedicated a great deal of her energy and life to making a difference for abused and neglected children. She has done so as a private citizen, creating opportunities without the strictures often imposed by titles and employment situations. A nurse by profession, she and her husband have made a very personal contribution by providing foster care for 33 children, adopting 4, and becoming legal guardians of 1. One of Ms. LeBaron's earliest "public" contributions came when she discovered that children living at the Nebraska Center for Children and Youth were required to wear uniforms at all times. Perceiving this requirement to be a constant reminder to all that these were "institutional" children, she both changed the requirement and raised funds to purchase "real" clothes. Identifying the need for foster parents to join together for support, Ms LeBaron brought together foster parents in the Lincoln area, eventually becoming Nebraska's first statewide foster parent association. Recognizing a broader system need, Ms. LeBaron is one among a small group of people who developed the concept of a citizen board to review cases of all children in out-of-home placement. The group convinced legislators of the benefits children would experience from such review, and the Foster Care Review Board was statutorily created in 1992. Since that time, the Board has become a distinct force for children in Nebraska. Additionally, Ms. LeBaron has worked at the federal level to help formulate the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA). Instrumental in creating the Friends of Foster Children Foundation, this nonprofit organization raises funds to help children in foster care by purchasing items or services that sweeten and improve the quality of their lives. JoAnn LeBaron emerges as a unique individual who has devoted her entire adult life to working for the good of children at a personal as well as state and national levels.