Top 10 Advocacy Priorities 2016

10 Policy and Advocacy Priorities

Foster Care Alumni of America surveyed it national and state leaders to indentify top policy and advocacy priorities for our organization.  here is what they told us is most important this year:

1. Housing Stability
2. Higher Education
3. Health and Mental Health
4. Sex Trafficking Prevention
5. Aging Out
6. LGBT Services and Support
7. Employment
8. Financial Stability
9. Sibling Connections
10. Child Welfare Finance Reform

Through her national fellowship with Foster Care Alumni of America, Crys O’Grady is helping us establish the direction for each policy and advocacy priority by writing our national policy agenda. Although, one issue is most near to her heart.

She shared, “The issue I care most about is child welfare finance reform, because it has to do with issues of disproportionality and disparity, with families of color and LGBTQ youth. Child welfare finance reform can free up funds for family prevention and ease the transition back home for families and youth. Right now we are just intervening at a time of crisis and not doing the necessary preventive interventions. A lot of youth end up in care because of neglect and poverty issues. We should be able to divert them by focusing on those families,” said Crys.

To address these priority issues, some of the federal legislation Foster Care Alumni of America has taken a stand to support in the past few months include the following bills or laws:

• All Kids Matter Act  (S. 1932)
• Every Student Succeeds Act (S. 1177)
• Family Unification and Preservation Modernization Act (S. 2289)
• Health Insurance Reform Act or the Health Insurance for Former Foster Youth Act (S.1852)
• Indian Child Welfare Act Reauthorization (Amicus Brief No. 12-399)

Stay tuned for more information related to Foster Care Alumni of America’s policy agenda for 2016.