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Better foster care requires more knowledge | Letters to the editor

The Florida House during the 2022 legislative session in Tallahassee. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
The Florida House during the 2022 legislative session in Tallahassee. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
By  | Sun Sentinel

 

The Florida Legislature has passed several laws to benefit children in foster care, but until now, our state did not have educational standards in place to ensure that children know of their existence. Caregivers also often don’t know how to educate kids about the laws that impact their future.

The child welfare system can be complex and confusing. Children may think they can’t play sports, go to college or hold a job while in foster care. Data estimate that only 35% of Florida foster youth received transition services they were eligible for between ages 14 and 21. That’s 12% less than the estimate nationally, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

So we applaud lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis for passing and signing Senate Bill 272, the Nancy C. Detert Champion for Children Act. The law creates a clear process to educate youth in foster care in a developmentally appropriate, consistent way about important laws to help them succeed. It is the result of five years of relentless advocacy by Florida Youth SHINE (FYS), a statewide group run by and for youth who are or were in the child welfare system. Young people in the system will now be better informed about their rights and better equipped to achieve financial stability and independence.

Geori Seldine, Boynton Beach

The writer is executive director of Florida’s Children First (FCF), which advances the rights of at-risk children and youth in foster care.

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Alexia Nechayev

FYS Events & Meeting Chair
(Palm Beach/Miami)

Alexia Nechayev, from Miami, Florida, is a dedicated advocate for youth with lived experience in foster care and with homelessness. After being placed in foster care as a teenager, Alexia experienced firsthand the stigma surrounding the system, as well as the challenges of navigating a system that didn’t provide support for her to advocate for herself. This experience motivated her to create change, ensuring that other youth in care have the tools and resources she lacked.

She graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Florida International University, and upon graduation worked as a Hope Navigator with the Department of Children and Families which allowed her to assist clients through individualized care plans, further deepening her commitment to improving the lives of marginalized youth. Alexia is now applying to law schools with the goal of advancing her advocacy work through a legal career. As the Events and Meetings Chair for Florida Youth SHINE (FYS), she creates opportunities for foster and homeless youth to collaborate and push for meaningful change. She is also an active member of the Policy and Initiative Team for Florida Youth SHINE, where she helps create and shape policies that directly impact youth in foster care. One of her proudest accomplishments is helping to develop the Foster Care Bill of Rights, a law that she feels would have made a difference during her own time in care.

In addition to her work with FYS, Alexia serves on the Board of Directors for the parent organization of FYS, Florida’s Children First. In this role, she contributes to strategic decision-making while advocating for the rights and welfare of children statewide.

Every year, she travels to the state capitol to advocate for bills she and her peers have helped shape, including key pieces of legislation that benefit foster and homeless youth. However her advocacy extends beyond her state, as she represents Florida Youth SHINE at national conferences such as the National Leaders 4 Change Conference.

Through her internship with the National Foster Youth Institute, Alexia continues to refine her advocacy skills, preparing for a future where she can contribute meaningfully to both policymaking and the legal system. Guided by the belief that “the blue sky is always there,” she remains committed to ensuring that every youth in foster care has the power and support to advocate for themselves.

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