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Op-Ed by Adv. Bd. member John Walsh: Children need real legal protection in court

“Remember, I love you always.” Isn’t that what we all want our children to know? If you were never going to see your child again and could only say one more thing to them, wouldn’t that be it?Those words form the letters of the name of a little girl whom none of us will probably ever see again — Rilya Wilson. The woman with whom the state Department of Children &Families placed her is on trial for her murder right now. Someday, the adoptive parents accused of murdering Nubia Barahona, whose body was found in a plastic garbage bag in the back of a pickup truck, will stand trial, too, as did the murderers of Kayla McKean and A.J. Schwartz before them.You know who won’t stand trial? The state of Florida. Even though our state leads the nation in the rate of child-abuse deaths for the years 2001 to 2010. Even though between 2005 and 2011, 41 percent of all children who died as a result of abuse or neglect had a prior abuse report with DCF, compared to the national average of 12 percent.

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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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