Getting Your Own Attorney
This document helps young people learn how to ask for an attorney. It explains…
This document helps young people learn how to ask for an attorney. It explains…
Senate Bill 564 (2024) Made the Biggest Revision to Independent Living…
In March, 2016, the Board of the Governors of the Florida State University System realized the need to revise its Regulation that limited the use
A Legal Health Check Up is a FREE personal meeting with a lawyer who will review all aspects of your life and help you determine
Florida’s independent living laws offer terrific benefits for young people. But the laws are complex…
“College for Students with Disabilities: A Guide for Students, Families, and Educators” and offers information for students with disabilities and their families to find resources
This packet contains introductory information about two scales meant to help you measure youth empowerment and participation. The Youth Efficacy/Empowerment Scale – Mental Health was
This brief offers tips to increase meaningful youth participation in collaborative team planning meetings. Access Document Here
This tip sheet helps meeting facilitators and team members address common issues that occur during team meetings in order to promote meaningful youth participation. English
This tip sheet offers suggestions and strategies to help young people become more involved in their team planning meetings. English Version Spanish Version
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.