On Thursday, September 5, 2024, the Ohio Department of Children and Youth (DCY) convened teams of youth-serving agencies from each of Ohio's 88 counties at the Hilton Downtown Columbus. There were 900 attendees present.
Their purpose was to:
- Share about the Department of Children and Youth and its mission to serve all Ohio children.
- Develop a plan to better support children and families in the community with a person-centered approach.
- Provide an opportunity to learn from and collaborate with local and other leaders from across the state to increase collaboration to support families.
OHIO YAB Youth Ambassadors Jaylin Hart and Yonnae Hobbs presented as part of a morning panel. Their purpose was to inspire attendees to "Do What's Right for Kids." Their experiences underscore the importance of having a youth-centered approach to decision-making:
- For Jaylin, reunification was not in his best interest. Repeated attempts at reunifying him with his biological family each time he came back into foster care cost him years of his life, and delayed his pursuit of permanency. Throughout the process, his voice was not heard.
- Yonnae never experienced abuse. Her parents struggled with poverty and unhealthy coping mechanisms. She feels that they could have received help, which would have allowed her to stay at home, rather than entering foster care. Yonnae has valuable insights to share about how systems could work better to support struggling families.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment