On Saturday, only days before election results come in, Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign will focus on foster care.
During an online town hall organized by a foster-youth led initiative called Foster Youth for Hillary, potential Second Lady Anne Holton will field questions from foster youth across the country.
“I think it is very clear that the system needs improvement,” said Sixto Cancel, one of the co-founders of Foster Youth for Hillary. “This is an opportunity to reinvent the way we deliver foster care services.”
Foster youth advocate Kevini Gilmore with Hillary Clinton at a campaign event. Photo: Foster Youth for Hillary
Cancel said that Holton, wife of Vice Presidential Candidate Tim Kaine, was the perfect choice for the event. Cancel, a former foster youth himself, added that he anticipates that Holton will be a key driver of foster care reform in the White House should the Clinton campaign prevail on Tuesday.
“Anne really guides with her core belief that young people should have all the opportunities to thrive in their future,” Cancel said.
Holton is no stranger to the issues foster youth face, a fact that has made her a popular figure in child welfare circles.
Holton is a lawyer, judge and former Virginia Secretary of Education who has worked on numerous projects involving child welfare reform.
While Holton was Virginia’s First Lady from 2006 to 2010, she led a major reform of Virginia’s foster care system to connect more children with permanent families. She later became a consultant on foster care reform across the country as part of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Child Welfare Strategy Group. Holton has also served as the program director for Great Expectations, a project of the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education that helps youth in the foster care system gain access to higher education.
The online town hall will be moderated by Cancel and Foster Youth for Hillary Co-Founder Lexie Gruber, also an alumn of the foster care system.
“This is the first time in our nation’s history that a presidential campaign is hosting a town hall on foster care issues led by former foster youth themselves,” Gruber said in an email. “I think that speaks volumes about Hillary Clinton’s devotion to this cause.”
The event starts at 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. Visit this link to RSVP.
