Plan would require foster children to shop for clothing in thrift stores

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by PiKA2001

How could they enforce this? Hand out vouchers instead of cash? The only benefit I see from this is that kids could get more clothes for the money.

Probably in a similar fashion that states enforce the type of food (and overall purchases) that AFDC is used for.

I'm not a huge proponent of such mandates but I completely understand the purpose behind such mandates. As far as I'm concerned, this serves two purposes: (1) these kids can get more clothes for less and lets the money stretch; and (2) people (where's this money coming from?) don't feel as though they are funding these kids buying clothes that their own kids can't even afford. For instance, I wouldn't be a fan of kids getting vouchers to buy name brand clothes from department stores when non-foster families are struggling and many of them have a choice of where to buy clothes, but can't afford exactly what they want from a more expensive store.

On that note, if there is going to be a mandate, it should include all thrift stores including Salvation Army and Goodwill; consignment shops; Plato's Closet; products under $20 from such places as Cititrends; and products under $20 from TJMaxx and Marshalls. All of these stores exist in a few cities in Michigan. I like all of those stores myself except for stores like Cititrends (cringe). I don't like department stores because I'm not a huge fan of malls. I love boutiques but some of them are really overpriced. But, that's how good shopping that stretches the dollar works and these kids won't feel so horrible about their appearance.

It isn't about name brand and being trendy but about having nice clothes that kids actually want to wear. Thrift stores only have what has been given to them so some thrift stores have much older clothes that have been sitting there for a very long time. Even the most confident kid who is excelling at school can be sad that she or he can't find a good "teenager" outfit at the local thrift store. That's not a necessary thing to do to a kid because it's a social-psychological impact that parents can't always buffer.