Oregon Foster Youth Connection

When I was 17, my bike was stolen. It was a pretty difficult situation for me. The year before, I had entered foster care with my 7-year-old sister. I depended on my bike to get me to my first job, which wasn’t very close to the foster home where my sister and I had been placed.

On Tuesday, an Oregon foster youth will be asking tough questions of the state’s candidates for governor.  Organized by Children First for Oregon, the Debate for Oregon’s Future is entirely youth led, with all questions written and presented by 16 Oregon youths ages 12-19.

At its bi-annual policy conference, Oregon Foster Youth Connection (OFYC) announced recommendations designed to improve the state’s foster care system as it prepares to introduce legislation during the next legislative session.

J. Cortez III was just 16 years old when he proved to the court he was independent and could be legally emancipated from his mother, though he’d been on his own since he was 12.

A bill mandating a foster youth’s right to stay in contact with their siblings was introduced into the Oregon legislature last month. House Bill 2216 would expand on existing policy that efforts be made to keep siblings together by also seeking to guarantee visitation and other contact among separated siblings both in and out of the system.

Earlier this month, Foster Youth in Action, a national foster youth advocacy organization, hosted its inaugural “Voices Rising” webinar, an online presentation during which young people in the foster care system share their stories about action and organizing.

The Oregon legislature passed a bill this week that will require the state of Oregon to inform all foster youth of their rights Senate Bill 123-A was conceived by the members of Oregon Foster Youth Connection (OFYC), and is aimed at giving foster youth an understanding of the rights they have under state law.

Five foster youth are set to testify tomorrow at a public hearing to convince Oregon lawmakers of the need for the creation of a statewide bill of rights for youth in foster care.