Foster care alumna Alexis Cook in DC

On April 8th, Alexis Cook traveled to Washington, D.C. with FosterClub. During her time in DC, she met with U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH). Alexis attended his weekly coffee with constituents where she discussed the importance of providing services for young people in foster care once they turn 18 and “age out” of the system.



Alexis is currently involved in the Youth and Alumni Advisory Committee on Ending Homelessness. This group is made up of current and former foster youth ages 14-26 who serve to represent the voices of Youth and Alumni in Lighthouse Youth Services’ 16 month planning process to end youth homelessness in Cincinnati.

During the Kick Off of the Hamilton County youth council, Alexis was the first to arrive. She manned the registration desk and welcomed each young person as they arrived. Because Alexis had already received training in FCAA Ohio Purposeful Sharing back in 2010, she was able to answer questions from other youth about how to determine what was appropriate to share.

Two days after the Kick-off of the Youth and Alumni Advisory Committee on Ending Homelessness, Alexis helped present foster care youth and alumni recommendations and insights to the larger Steering Group for this initiative. She was interviewed by Clyde Grey of WCPO news about the need for additional transitional housing options for young people.

Three Days On the Hill ~ Legislative Visits, Day 3 and Sightseeing

During our final day in DC, we had one morning visit:

• Senator Sherrod Brown's Constituent Coffee 

We spent the rest of day sightseeing, prior to our flights home.

Three Days On the Hill ~ Legislative Visits, Day 2

During our second day of legislative visits, we participated in the following meetings:

• Senator Rob Portman's Constituent Coffee 
• Representative Joyce Beatty (Franklin County) 
• Legislative Assistant for Representative Jim Jordan (Huron County) 
• Senator Rob Portman 
• Legislative Assistant for Representative Bob Gibbs (Stark County)

2014 Three Days On the Hill ~ Legislative Visits, Day 1

During our first day of legislative visits, we met with:

• Becky Shipp, Health Policy Advisor to the Senate Finance Committee 
• Legislative Assistant Rebecca Kastan, U.S. Congressman Pat Tiberi's Office 
• Representative Mike Turner (Montgomery County)
• Legislative Assistant for Congresswoman Marcia Fudge (Cuyahoga County)

Link to more photos. 

Three Days On the Hill ~ Training Day

During Three Days on the Hill 2014, our subject matter experts during training included:

• Ruthie White, Executive Director of the National Center for Housing and Child Welfare
• Todd Shenk, Senior Fellow from Casey Family Programs and Special Assistant to the Secretary's Senior Advisor for Housing and Services.
• Matt Aronson, Program Specialist at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development

We were also delighted that Bethany Koshinsky, FCAA Ohio member and one of the sponsors of this year's event, was available to help facilitate training.

Three Days On the Hill ~ Arrival and Icebreaker

We deeply appreciated Bethany Koshinsky's roommate, Angie Debendetti, and her willingness to take us on a grocery run after our arrival in DC.

2014 OHIO YAB April Meeting

2014 april yab meeting from Lisa Dickson