Search
Donate

Senate Bill Could Help Hand Car Keys To Kids In Foster Care

MIAMI (CBSMiami/NSF)

February 18, 2014 9:18 PM

A bill that would give teens and young adults in foster care greater access to driver’s licenses unanimously passed its first Senate panel on Tuesday.

It’s the latest measure by state Sen. Nancy Detert, a Venice Republican known as a champion of foster kids, aimed at keeping them from falling behind their peers.

Not many of the teens and young adults learn to drive mostly due to liability issues, and Detert said that’s a barrier to their future success.

“Only 2 percent of them leave our care as adults knowing how to drive a car,” she said. “And we all know in today’s world and in Florida how important it is to have a vehicle in order to go to work and be a productive citizen.”

The bill, which was approved by the Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee, would establish a three-year pilot program to cover the costs of driver’s education,  licensure and auto insurance for qualified foster children. It would also cover the costs for foster parents to add kids to their motor-vehicle coverage.

Victoria Jackson, a member of the advocacy group Florida Youth SHINE, told lawmakers that as a former foster youth, she knows what it’s like to have no access to a car.

“So I ask you today, on behalf of all former and current foster youth, to provide us keys to independence — or better yet, our passports to independence,” she said. Also Tuesday, Rep. Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, filed the House version (HB 977) of Detert’s bill.

The News Service of Florida’s contributed to this report.

Share this article:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
WhatsApp

Related Posts

Stay In Touch

Sign up for our Newsletter
Board PhotosHeadshots (6)

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.

Skip to content