Carlie Patrick spent 13 years in Texas's foster care system, she entered foster care at a very young age and experienced fifteen placements, ranging from foster homes to group homes.

She was placed on medications and in residential treatment programs due to her mental health struggles, and she believes that the last group home placement she was in truly helped her overcome these struggles. The foster mother in the group home treated everyone the same, loved everyone the same, and believed in Carlie and never gave up on her. Carlie considers her foster mom her family, and is grateful for all the additional support her foster mother provided.

Carlie is now finishing her second year in college and has been reunited with her adoptive parents. She is passionate about improving the system and believes that every foster child should have supportive and loving foster parents. Carlie participated in the DC shadow day program last May. She enjoys writing and plans to obtain her degree in communication studies, but still creatively writing on the side.

State(s)
Texas
Team(s) or Cohort(s)
2017 Outstanding Young Leaders