Toledo Blade coverage of Press Conference

Lawmakers seek bill of rights law for foster youth
Jim Provance, Toledo Blade, Oct. 22, 2021.

Oct. 22—COLUMBUS — A pair of Democratic legislators called Friday for cementing into Ohio law specific rights for children in the state's foster-care system, ranging from protection from abuse to access to food and health care.

"It's the state's responsibility to be the parent of our children who find themselves in the foster-care system," state Sen. Teresa Fedor (D., Toledo) said. "Thus, it makes complete sense to evaluate its responsibility to perform that duty for our most vulnerable."

The current state budget called for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to write a bill of rights for foster-care children in state rules. But Ms. Fedor, fellow state Sen. Tina Maharath (D., Columbus), and foster-care advocates are backing Senate Bill 254, which would insert such a bill of rights into permanent law that could not be easily changed later.

They also called for creation of an independent ombudsman to hear foster children's complaints. Ms. Fedor said she will attempt to amend that into a separate foster-care measure currently in the Senate that would reform how the foster-care system handles complaints. House Bill 4 was triggered by the 2019 death of a 10-year-old Dayton boy in the system after years of unchecked abuse.

"This bill of rights is really great ... but for it to be enforced, for it to be able to have substance and to actually make changes in foster youths' lives so that there's not another [horrifying foster-care story], we really need to have this office so we can enforce this bill of rights," said Cloe Cooper, of the Fostering Achievement Network. "This bill of rights is a great foundation, a bottom line, for change."

The bill does not yet have co-sponsors from the Republican party, which controls both Ohio General Assembly chambers. But the separate House Bill 4 has already passed the Ohio House of Representatives with overwhelming, bipartisan support.

House Bill 4 calls for creation of an ombudsman within ODJFS, but Democrats argue the office should be independent because otherwise it could result in the agency being asked to investigate itself.

The family-services department has not yet written the bill of rights called for in the budget law. Senate Bill 254 instead proposes 31 specific rights that the bills say are supported by those within the foster-care system.

Among those would be the rights to:

—Be free of physical, verbal, and emotional abuse; inhumane treatment, and sexual exploitation.

—Have the child's privacy protected and belongings secured.

—Access to medical, mental, and educational evaluation and treatment.

—A clean and safe living environment.

—Be placed away from other foster-care children known to pose a threat.

—Have communication with a caseworker at least monthly.

—Have regular visitation with siblings, barring a court order to the contrary.

—Have clothing appropriate to a child's age and "gender identity"

"The rights established in this bill would help to keep foster youth safe, healthy, and cared for while in the foster youth system," Ms. Maharath said. "It's also going to help educate foster youth of their rights, empower them to make their informed decisions."

Press Conference for Foster Youth Bill of Rights

State Senators Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo) and Tina Maharath (D-Canal Winchester) held a press conference on Friday, Oct. 22, 2021 at 10 am to introduce Senate Bill 254, to codify the Foster Youth Bill of Rights in Ohio Revised Code.

Raven, Melinda, Ashley, Deanna and Lisa were honored to participate. Nikki and Cloe assisted in early morning preparation. Participants were quoted in the Hannah Report.

Foster Care Alumni, Lawmakers Urge Foster Bill of Rights to Be Written into Law
Hannah Report, Oct, 22, 2021.

Former foster youth joined two Democratic senators Friday to advocate for codification of rights for children under state protection, to help them have a voice in setting the direction of their own lives and give them meaningful recourse when facing mistreatment.

Sens. Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo) and Tina Maharath (D-Canal Winchester) introduced SB254 earlier this week; it was also referred to Senate Judiciary Committee this week. Fedor and Maharath -- the latter of whom spent time in foster care -- joined several advocates who experienced foster care themselves to press for action on the measure during a press conference Friday.

Maharath said the proposal would guarantee rights to be free from physical, verbal, emotional and sexual abuse, from discrimination, and to have privacy, belongings and access to communication, among other things.

A codified bill of rights for foster youth was among recommendations of the DeWine administration’s Children Services Transformation Advisory Council. (See The Hannah Report, 10/26/20.)

Fedor, who’s spent much of her legislative career focused on trafficking issues, said foster youth who are frequently moved around and crave attention and stability become targets of traffickers. 

Though they expressed support for the legislation, the former foster youth said the state needs also to create an independent ombudsman’s office for foster youth to ensure their rights are truly preserved.

Lisa Dickson, representing ACTION OHIO and the Ohio Youth Advisory Board, said from the founding of those foster youth organizations she’s observed the following three trends: grievances filed by youth generally sit unaddressed on someone’s desk; youth who call abuse hotlines are not taken seriously; and those who run away from abuse are often sent right back to the place they’re being abused. 

These situations make it “vitally important” that foster youth be informed of their rights, including whom to contact when those rights are violated, and that those complaints generate a meaningful response, she said. 

Melinda Juergens, now 30, described the abuse she experienced in her teen years at her fourth foster placement -- being made to stand with her arms outstretched for hours at a time, severe restrictions on food, orders not to sit down unless asleep, bathing or in the bathroom, and having to drink dish soap after being reported for cursing at school. “For a long time, I couldn’t even smell lemon dish soap without getting queasy,” she said. 

“It amounts to torture, and if I would have had that youth ombudsman office back then, my adoptive parents could have empowered me to go through and use my rights to report these foster parents with the youth ombudsman office, and I could have prevented [placement of] the seven other children they fostered after me,” she said. 

“I was in the same private foster care agency that Marcus Fiesel was in,” Juergens said, referencing the 2006 case of a three-year-old boy murdered by his foster mother. 

Fedor said after their remarks she’d seek an amendment to create an independent ombudsman office. 

Fedor said she would like to see the bill of rights get full hearings in both chambers as standalone legislation rather than attaching it to HB4 (Plummer-Manchester), other child welfare legislation that’s passed the House and is pending in Senate Judiciary, because she wants her colleagues to hear the youth voices behind the proposal.

Presentation for Junior League of Columbus

During this evening's virtual presentation for the Junior League of Columbus.

1. Nikki will share how current safeguards are failing.
2. Jaye will share the need for a Youth Ombudsman Office that is youth-specific, independent and designed by youth.
3. Kim will share current project, strategy and obstacles.
4. Melinda will share some of the next steps in moving forward.
5. Lisa will invite their involvement as we continue to reach out to Senate Leadership asking that HB 4 be amended before it passes the Ohio Senate.

 

18 organizational members of Youth Ombudsman Coalition

The Youth Ombudsman Coalition was initiated by the Overcoming Hurdles in Ohio Youth Advisory Board, which is a statewide organization of young people (aged 14-24) who have experienced foster care that exists to be the knowledgeable statewide voice that influences policies and practices that impact youth who have or will experience out of home care.

Members of this growing coalition include: ACTION Ohio, Adoption Network Cleveland, Athens CASA/GAL Program, Better Together Toledo, the Children’s Defense Fund, Columbus State Scholar Network, Community of Hope, Disability Rights Ohio, El’lesun, the Fostering Achievement Network, iFoster Inc, Junior League of Columbus, the Miresa Arts Foundation, the National Center for Housing & Child Welfare, the Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition, the Ohana Project and Think of Us.

Learn more at: https://fosteractionohio.org/advocacy-toolkit/  

Second Zoom Meeting with Representative Jarrells

The OHIO YAB and ACTION Ohio held a Zoom meeting with Representative Jarrells on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021.

We deeply appreciated Representative Jarrells' offer to circle back with Representative Manchester this week regarding attached strike-through document that we recently sent her regarding HB 4, which is currently being reviewed by the Senate Judicial Committee, and will likely go next to the Senate Finance Committee.

The wording of our message to Representative Manchester was as follows:

After reviewing with participants of the Youth Ombudsman Coalition and the OHIO YAB, we wanted to make additional suggestions to the amendment drafted by LSC. We hope that the attached redlined version of the amendment helps to clarify our positions and moves us towards an amendment that can be supported by the OHIO YAB and the coalition that has been working towards a truly independent and effective ombudsman’s office.

Our redlined version of the amendment does two important  things:

• Clearly makes the youth ombudsman a separate appointed role.  This is the primary request and this change would accomplish the main intent.
  
  
• Clarifies that the OHIO YAB will have input in the selection of the Youth Ombudsman. This is also a primary request and goes hand-in-hand with the first request.

The following are suggestions that build off of some of the changes included in the LSC prepared amendment. These amendments continue to build on the intent of our original proposal to Representative Manchester's office.

• Change the name from Children Services to "Youth and Family" with the "Family Ombudsman" as adult-serving and the "Youth Ombudsman" as youth-serving. 
  
  
• Clarify that the two ombudsmen will be housed in the same office at JFS, but will not report to the Director of JFS and will not be subject to budget reductions
  
  
• Add the OHIO YAB to the list of people who will receive and evaluate the annual report.
  
  
• Create an appropriation line item and clarify that the Youth Ombudsman shall receive no less than 50% of the budget.

 

First Focus Group - Kinship Care Youth and Alumni

 

Excellent insights were shared during the first Kinship Care Focus Group this morning, which was made up of individuals who have lived in kinship care placements.

The OHIO YAB and ACTION Ohio will be holding additional focus groups to gather more feedback, as well as staying in touch with those who shared insights today. This is only the beginning of work to positively improve outcomes. 

#UPChafee

Ohio foster care youth and alumni have been working for years to propose an increase in Chafee funding. 

The Supporting Foster Youth and Families through the Pandemic Act (H.R. 7947) which passed in December 2020, includes a temporary increase of Chafee funds by 400 million in FY 2021, which does not require a state match. 

It also temporarily extends Chafee eligibility until age 27, and allows states to lift the 30% cap on room and board and provide room and board to young people who are between ages 18 years and 27 and have experienced foster care at 14 years of age or older. 

This provision will time out on Oct. 1, 2021. We are currently working with others to request an extension of these provisions. Here is a link to the sign-on letter, which was signed by the OHIO YAB and ACTION Ohio.