Private child welfare agencies’ top employees pulling in six-figure salaries
April 4, 2011 Florida’s privatization of child welfare services was supposed to be good for kids and taxpayers. But in the decade since the state
We believe that all children have the right to food, clothing, housing, education, medical care, property and personal privacy.
Florida’s laws, policies and practices respect, prioritize and protect children and youth impacted by the child welfare, juvenile justice, and disability systems.
April 4, 2011 Florida’s privatization of child welfare services was supposed to be good for kids and taxpayers. But in the decade since the state
March 16, 2011 A measure capping legal damages for agencies providing foster care services cleared a House committee on an 11-4 vote Wednesday, despite emotional
March 16, 2011 A measure that would cap damages for pain and suffering by children in Florida’s child welfare system was approved by a House
March 14, 2011 It is apparent that significant gaps and failure in common sense, critical thinking, ownership, follow-through and timely and accurate information sharing defined
March 11, 2011 First, every day, in every part of the state, at-risk children and families are provided high quality, appropriate and timely services by
March 10, 2011 The image of Nubia – golden hair and smile framed by pony tails, sitting up straight and facing the future – is
March 10, 2011 Some legislators are more interested in protecting the private sector than they are in protecting Florida’s children. Identical bills in the House
March 9, 2011 From the moment they were taken away from their biological parents in 2004, Nubia and Victor Barahona were supposed to be shepherded
March 9, 2011 Sen. Ronda Storms told Gov. Rick Scott’s social services secretary Wednesday to “dispense with the niceties” and demanded he provide some answers
March 9, 2011 When Jermaine McNeil was 5, the Department of Children & Families decided it best that he be raised by someone other than
March 8, 2011 Four days after Nubia Barahona’s decomposed body was found in the flatbed of her adoptive father’s pickup truck, state child-welfare authorities completed
March 7, 2011 How dare they? As The Post’s Pat Beall reported Friday, Florida’s privatized child welfare companies want to limit their liability and accountability
March 7, 2011 The private agency responsible for protecting twins who were found along I-95 — one dead and decomposing and the other doused in
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.