FACT SHEET FOR FOSTER YOUTH ADVOCATES Implementing The Federal Preventing Sex Trafficking And Strengthening Families Act Of 2014 in Your State On September 29th, 2014, President Obama signed into law new federal rules that could make a real difference for foster youth across the US. Current and former foster youth pushed for this law to happen – a big victory for foster youth advocates! However, there’s more work to do. The federal government passed this law, but the 50 states are responsible for making them happen. Below you will find information about some important parts of the law. You will also find recommendations about implementing these laws at the state level. These recommendations were gathered from youth leaders and staff from Foster Youth in Action Partner organizations, FosterClub, and the National Foster Youth and Alumni Policy Council on a FYA-­‐hosted webinar on February 18th, 2015. PROTECTING CHILDREN AND YOUTH AT RISK OF SEX TRAFFICKING WHY Children and youth in foster care are at serious risk of being victims of sex trafficking. It is vital to know more about who is at risk and ensure that they receive appropriate services and support quickly. Any foster child or youth within the system is considered to be at risk. WHAT? The Federal Law tells states that they must: NOW WHAT? •
Collect and report data, and determine services for victims of sex trafficking or at risk. •
Inform law enforcement within 24 hours of receiving info about any youth who as been identified as a victim of trafficking. •
Create and carry out plans to locate children missing from foster care. States must develop a system for documenting and reporting by September 29, 2015. A year later (9/29/16), they need to be able to report to law enforcement about victims of trafficking or missing foster youth. Recommendations for state level action from 2/18/15 Webinar participants •
Work with state agencies to help them understand that all young people are “at risk” of sex trafficking and to develop tools to adequately screen all youth. •
Advocate for your state to have a “Safe Harbor” law that protects victims of trafficking from criminal charges of prostitution or work with agencies to make sure youth who are reported as victims do not get charged. www.fosteryouthaction.org SUPPORTING NORMALCY FOR YOUTH IN FOSTER CARE WHY? All youth need opportunities to take reasonable risks, meet new friends, make decisions on their own, and learn from their mistakes. Foster care regulations, designed to keep children and youth safe from harm, can get in the way of kinds of things that foster youth need do and experience to help them prepare for adulthood. WHAT? The Federal Law tells states that they must: •
Put in place a “reasonable and prudent parent standard” for decisions made by a foster parent or a designated person in an institution like a group home. SAY WHAT? This means that states need to give foster parents more flexibility to allow youth in their care to participate in after-­‐school activities, get a job, sleep over a friend’s house, play sports, etc. NOW WHAT? By September 29, 2015, States must put in place new rules (“prudent parenting standards”) that allow foster parents to be able to make more day-­‐to-­‐day decisions for youth in their care. Implementation Recommendations and Ideas: The National Foster Care Youth & Alumni Council has the following recommendations for the Federal Government: •
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Adopt a formal, federal definition of normalcy. Do not allow states to disqualify foster youth from activities based on their foster care status. Include foster youth in developing and providing assistance to states regarding prudent parenting. Recommendations for state level action from 2/18/15 Webinar Participants •
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Work with your state agency to mandate funds for activities and transportation for young people to facilitate their participation. Work with your state to increase foster parent payment rates. Help your state recognize that what’s normal for one group may not be normal for another and normalcy can only be understood on a case-­‐by-­‐case basis. Encourage state child welfare agencies to empower youth to take risks and live life and ensure that agencies make decisions in conjunction with youth. Work with your state to ensure that the increased latitude in parental decision-­‐making by foster parents doesn’t come at the expense of more restrictions for foster youth. Mandate that your state child welfare agency allows children and youth to make their own decisions about extracurricular activities in order to find their own normalcy. Work with your State child welfare agency to encourage intensive and ongoing community education for youth, providers, courts, and foster parents around normalcy and related laws and policies. Work with your state to create quality indicators to assess what normalcy could look like in a placement. Determine how to measure normalcy with meaningful and measureable indicators. Work with your state child welfare agency to mandate or encourage social workers and GALs engage with youth around ensuring normalcy. Encourage your state child welfare agency to provide each child or youth with a list of activities and outlets to pick and choose from to discover normalcy. www.fosteryouthaction.org RIGHTS FOR YOUTH IN CARE SO WHAT? Most foster youth are never told they have specific legal rights. WHAT? This new Federal Law tells states that they must: NOW WHAT? •
Provide a written list of rights to foster youth ages 14 and older. These include rights around education, seeing relatives, health care, court hearings, and other areas. •
Explain these rights in ways that make sense to the youth. •
Ensure that youth ages 14 and older participate in the development of their case plan. By September 29, 2015, states must ensure that youth know about these rights. Implementation Recommendations and Ideas: The National Foster Care Youth & Alumni Council has the following recommendations for the Federal Government: •
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Encourage states to include input from youth in the development of foster youth rights Provide specific guidance about how and how often rights must be provided Provide requirements about items that must be included in list of rights Encourage states to educate other stakeholders about foster youth rights Require states to include a youth-­‐friendly grievance process with every list that is distributed Recommendations for state level action from 2/18/15 Webinar Participants •
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Work with your state to help youth be involved in discussion and development of rights. Engage state-­‐based organized foster youth groups in helping determine where information on rights will be provided. Work with state child welfare agencies to ensure that every youth (14+) physically sign and acknowledge that they understand their rights in the foster system. Work with state child welfare agencies to ensure that when youth in the foster system are transferred to another placement, they are given a receipt that explains what is happening and the differences in rights in the new placement. Encourage your state’s child welfare agency to post rights where they are easily accessible to foster youth in their foster homes. Encourage key state child welfare leaders to look to the example of Iowa and ensure that the foster youth bill of rights is posted anywhere youth would be including: social agencies, homes, group homes, child welfare offices, etc. Work with your state to mandate that social workers are educated about rights so they can educate others. Advocate for your state to establish a ombudsman, specifically focusing on rights of foster youth. Encourage your state to establish a toll free line for youth to express any complaints or concerns, allowing youth to be aware of available help and information. www.fosteryouthaction.org GETTING DOCUMENTS THAT FOSTER YOUTH NEED WHEN THEY EXIT CARE SO WHAT? Many foster youth exit care without really important documents they need to secure housing, get a job, or apply to college. WHAT? This new Federal Law tells states that they must: •
NOW WHAT? Ensure that foster youth must receive their BIRTH CERTIFICATE, SOCIAL SECURITY CARD, HEALTH INSURANCE INFO; MEDICAL RECORDS, and a DRIVER’S LICENSE or other STATE ID CARD before they exit care. By September 29, 2015, States must ensure that youth are getting these documents. FOR MORE INFO Info for the fact sheet comes from the documents listed below. If you want more details, start here: The National Foster Care Youth and Alumni Policy Council. Recommendations for Implementation of Public Law 113-­‐183. November 2014. •
This was written by youth and young adults on the Council, and has good ideas about how to help states implement the law effectively. Children’s Defense fund, Child Welfare League and others. Implementing the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act to Benefit Children and Youth. January 14, 2015. •
This document is very detailed (over 40 pages) and covers every aspect of implementing the different provisions of the Legislation. The final page also has resources. www.fosteryouthaction.org