Article archive / October 2021
Originally published: . Volume 12, No. 10. Source pages: 6.
Senate Bill 151, authored by Sen. Regina Barrow was signed by the governor making it Act 351. The measure establishes a "Foster Youth's Bill of Rights" to be implemented by the Department of Children and Family Services. The Department is to support the rights of youth, ages fourteen through eighteen, who are in foster care in this state.
Act 351 includes 18 elements of rights including the following:
(1) The right to privacy concerning the youth's personal and confidential information.
(2) The right to attend all court hearings regarding the care to be received.
(3) The right to be in a stable and supportive setting that is free from neglect and emotional, verbal, physical, and sexual abuse or exploitation, and that is the least restrictive to meet the youth's needs.
(4) The right to participate in all case plan meetings, to include supportive adults of the youth's choice to be on the planning team, and to be provided a copy of the youth's case plan every six months or whenever changes are made to the plan.
(5) The right to have the youth's medical and mental health needs met on a regular and timely basis.
(6) The right to be provided adequate trauma-based counseling and therapeutic services throughout the youth's time in foster care.
(7) The right to be provided the contact information of the youth's caseworker, attorney, and CASA volunteer, and to attend meetings with them on a regular basis.
(8) The right to have access to a telephone to talk to or visit with approved friends and relatives, including siblings, at least once a month.
(9) The right to access materials necessary for school and to further the youth's education, including access to a computer or other electronic devices and to the internet when needed to complete assignments, the right to receive tutoring services, and the right to a access information regarding college admissions.
(10) The right to access information regarding testing accommodations for any learning or developmental disability or special health need.
(11) The right to be involved in extracurricular activities, including school clubs, dances, field trips, and sports teams, and to be provided with supplies and uniforms required for team participation.
(12) The right to remain in the youth's school of origin.
(13) The right to attend a driver's education class.
(14) The right to obtain employment and transportation to employment within the vicinity of foster care placement.
(15) The right to refuse involvement in religious-based activities and the right to continue the youth's cultural, religious, and ethnic traditions and belief systems.
(16) The right to be free from discrimination of any kind on the basis of the youth's race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic, or social origin, property, disability, birth, or other status. […]
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