Worker is 'a gift' to foster teens

Trina Melchert admits teenagers didn't inspire her career in child welfare.

She figured working in foster care would involve younger kids, not surly, independent teens told by a court where and with whom they could live.

That was until she started meeting the runaways. Mostly girls, they would bolt from group homes or foster homes, thinking the streets would be better. Odds were these teens would instead become sexually exploited or victimized by men claiming to be boyfriends.

"All children are vulnerable, but foster teens are a different kind of vulnerable. Their sense of trust, it can be used against them," said Melchert, 28, who for six years has worked for Hillsborough Kids Inc., the nonprofit agency overseeing the county's 2,800 abused and neglected children.

"They want to be loved. They want to be told they are beautiful, and the people on the streets will provide that for them."

The National Alliance to End Homelessness estimates that 39,000 young runaways or homeless children a year are sexually assaulted or exploited in the United States. Most fall into the trap within 48 to 72 hours of leaving a foster or group home.

The insidious speed at which these predators move heightened Melchert's determination to improve the way she and others searched for Hillsborough's foster runaways. A turning point was the discovery of a pregnant, 16-year-old foster runaway in an abandoned apartment. The girl was passed out, with drugs in her system.

Melchert discovered that Duval County was having luck in finding runaways and keeping them from fleeing again. She went there, learned and proposed revamping how Hillsborough Kids and local law enforcement deal with foster runaways.

Within a year, the number of Hillsborough foster runaways dropped, from 62 to 19.

The changes didn't involve an infusion of money. They included new search tactics: fliers were passed out in neighborhoods where the teen used to live.

More importantly, runaways weren't treated as criminals once they were found. Case managers asked about what made the teen take off and see what kind of help they needed. Scolding a girl for running off and getting high did nothing to build trust and relationship, Melchert said.

"People connect to people, not a program," she said.

That ability to develop a healthy rapport with foster teens comes naturally to Melchert, her supervisor says. And her professional passion for helping runaways sets a high standard for the whole staff.

"There are boundaries and she's aware of it," she said. "She's not texting at 3 or 4 in the morning," said Jessica Harlan, Hillsborough Kids' family connections manager. "She stays connected in a safe way for herself and the kids and their family. It truly is a gift. It's not something that's taught."

Michelle Stook was 15 and a habitual runaway when she and Melchert met three years ago. Stook liked reading the popular Twilight teen novels, and Melchert made the girl an offer: stay at your foster home for 30 straight days, and the cynical social worker would read one of the melodramatic vampire novels.

Stook was intrigued by the challenge and held the case worker to the bargain. Melchert became equally obsessed with the young adult romance stories, and the pair since has read each of the Twilight books together and watched each of the movies.

"She wouldn't force me to do stuff. She gave me some respect," Stook said. "So I guess I thought she deserves my respect."

For foster teens, success is measured pragmatically. To Melchert, a phone call from a runaway may be the victory. "It all comes down to relationships," she said. "If kids can connect safely … they may run less or even stay."

And that's what Stook would do when she did run. "I would call and tell her I'm not dead. I haven't been beaten," the teen said.

Now 18, Stook has earned her high school equivalency diploma and is training to be a veterinary technician.

She doesn't have to stay in touch with Melchert, but the pair still gets together regularly for pie at a Brandon Village Inn. When asked if she liked Melchert, she said no.

"I love her."