We are Organizational Assets

Hey y’all! This is Diamond Whitley, the Youth Engagement Specialist from One Voice IMPAACT (follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @onevoiceimpaact, please). About a year ago, I was asked to join the Florida Performance Improvement Prototype (PIP) workgroup. This workgroup was designed to find the root causes to some of issues in the Florida […]

WE are Worthy of Being Heard

Foster youth from all over the world are using their voices to relay what they need to see changed in a system, that’s a concept created for them. Whether you are a biological parent, a foster parent, a caseworker, a judge, a stranger, I encourage you to LISTEN. Not only do I encourage you to […]

Youth Voice in Philanthropy: An idea whose time has come

Philanthropy plays a critical role in helping to address some of the most difficult challenges in American society.  Yet foundations, like government, are far removed from the lives of those who are most impacted by these challenges, making it tough to know what investments will make the biggest difference in improving outcomes. Thankfully, foundations in […]

A Pluralistic Approach to Child Welfare

Through the advocacy work I do within my community, and across the state, I have learned the ingredients for effective youth-adult partnerships that drive sustainable policy and practice changes. The key component, which I have witnessed firsthand, is a pluralistic approach to dealing with the issues related to child welfare. The benefits of a pluralistic […]

Authentic Youth Engagement

I have been privileged to work for over 30 years in the service of children, youth and families. The health, wellbeing and safety of children and youth has been my passion starting with my work at the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office in 1992. As a young prosecutor, I worked with Domestic Violence Survivors and their […]

Reframing Transition Age Youth

Who are transition-age foster youth? Transition age foster youth are young people between the ages of 16 and 23 who are transitioning out of the foster care system…

Using Our Voices to Create Change

I spent half of my life in the foster care system. I’ve mostly been in kinship care and ended up aging out of a group home. I never really had a say on where I wanted to be placed, or if I was comfortable with where I was going to go. I always felt as […]

My Inspiration

My name is Bianca Feliciano, and I am here to tell you about my biggest influence prior to foster care. When I was about fifteen years old, me and my three siblings were removed from my parents due to neglect. At the time I felt confused, mad, and afraid all at the same time. There […]

The Art of Listening to Youth

Today’s blog post is guest authored by Larry Rein, Larry Rein, President & CEO of ChildNet, lead child welfare agency in Broward & Palm Beach Counties….

Listen to Connect

All people want to be seen, heard, and valued. We want to be deeply heard to meet our need for connection. As a system of care, we are always talking about the concept of youth engagement and improving communication methods to keep youth plugged in. Well, I think as a system it’s time to stop […]