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| Guiding Principles of the Ohio Adolescent Health Partnership |
On Friday, December 13, 2024, Lisa Dickson presented for the Ohio Adolescent Health Partnership.
Here's a link to her presentation, which focused on:
Milestones are markers on the road on the journey to make things better. Grateful for the work of so many foster care youth, alumni and allies over the past 25 years to improve the immediate circumstances and long term outcomes of foster youth.
Ziigwan Frazer is a 24-year old mom of two. Her nine years of experience in foster care and juvenile detention have fueled a deep desire to serve and uplift others through local, state, and federal advocacy efforts. To envision and create a better serving system for Fosters, by Fosters. After graduating in 2022 with her BSW, Ziigwan obtained her current role as the Policy and Advocacy Manager for a Minnesota nonprofit called Foster Advocates that elevates Fosters expertise and vision for change through state policy and organizing efforts.
In 2020, Ziigwan participated in an Education Leadership Team, identifying bold solutions to address the education gap for former foster youth. From that work came the Fostering Higher Education Act, the most robust college support in the country for Fosters.
This Act passed in 2021 and went into full effect in 2022. Thanks to this legislation, any young person who experienced foster care in Minnesota for at least one day after age 13, is eligible for their full cost of attendance to be covered - including tuition, books, housing, food and transportation support.
Addressing the education gap doesn't only impact access to higher education. It stabilizes housing, it creates food security, it allows young people with a foster care history to successfully move forward to build their futures.
In addition to their work on education, Minnesota foster care youth and alumni advocates were able to successfully establish an Office of the Ombudsperson for Foster Youth in 2022. They are currently working on the creations of a Foster Bill of Rights, which is scheduled for introduction to the Minnesota legislature in January 2025.
