2015 ohio casa panel

1. Empowering
the
Voices of
Foster
Youth
2015 Ohio CASA Conference

2. • We exist to be the knowledgeable statewide
voice that influences policies and practices
that effect all youth who have or will
experience out of home care.
OHIO YAB Mission

3. Transition to Young Adulthood for
a young person growing up with their biological family

4. Challenges faced by a young person
who “ages out” of foster care

5. Today’s youth
need
a bridge to the
future
and guidance
along the path

6. Traits We Look For in Adults

7. Permanency Pact:

8. What exactly
can I rely on you for?
It is critical to the youth’s success to identify those adults who will continue
to provide various supports through and beyond the transition from care.
Clarifying exactly what the various supports will include can help to avoid
gaps in the youth’s safety net and misunderstandings between the youth
and the supportive adult(s).
• A home for the holidays
• A place to do laundry
• An emergency place to stay
• Care packages while in college
• Storage
• Someone to discuss problems with
• A phone or computer to use

9. Copyright Lisa Dickson
Circle of Support:

11. • Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard
• Participation in Age-Appropriate Activities
• Including Group Homes and Residential Placements
Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act
PL 113-183
Sec. 111. Supporting normalcy for children in foster care

12. • This law focuses on the child welfare goal of well-being, after years of
restrictive policies that put safety over well-being
• Defines “age-appropriate” as activities that are generally accepted as
suitable for children of the same chronological age or level of maturity.
• States that children in out of home care are entitled to participate in
age-appropriate extracurricular, enrichment, and social activities.
• Lists what the caregiver is to consider when determining if the activity
is “age appropriate.”
Ohio Revised Code (HB 213)

13. Is the foster care placement
the right fit for the child?

14. Extra-curricular activities

15. Normalcy  Preparation for
Adulthood

16. Lack of normalcy hurts well-being

17. • Specific options on housing, health insurance, education,
local opportunities for mentors and continuing support
services, and work force supports and employment”
Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions
Act of 2008
Title II, Section 202

18. • Ninety days prior to the youth’s emancipation from the
agency’s custody, the PCSA or PCPA shall work with the
youth to develop a final transition plan.
• The plan shall be youth-driven and as detailed as the
youth chooses.
Ohio Administrative Code

19. Essential Elements:

20. Name that logo

22. The Foster Youth Advocacy Center provides free legal help to current and
former foster youth in Central Ohio, ages 16-25.
This team of lawyers and law students can assist with:
• Attaining an original birth certificate
• Attaining an original social security card
• Attaining a current state identification card
• Understanding legal documents
• Sealing or deleting criminal records
• Getting healthcare, public benefits, housing or insurance

25. Collective voices of current and former
foster care youth