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ASK-Y Meeting Minutes: 1/09/06

Present

• Mockingbird Society — Jim Theofelis, Lauren Frederick, Darcie Gray, Najja Morris, Jessica Hale, Jacob Harrison, Jamica Henderson, Dietra Clayton, Courtney Konietzko
• City of Seattle — Valerie Douglas
• Youthcare — Curtis Knopf, Karen Danz
• Friends of Youth — Sarah Benton, Kelly Land, Frederica Rose, Angenie McCleary
• Orion Center — Jessie Forsythe
• Ryther Child Center — Johnny Ohta

• Intro/Welcome (Jim)
• Youth Advocacy Day: HB 2002/Foster Youth Achievement Act (Jim)
  • The hearing for HB 2002 will take place on Monday, January 16th, at 1:30 PM in the John O’Brien building at the Capitol in HHR D. The hearing will probably last for 1.5 hours. Other legislative proposals may also be heard at this time.
  • Not everyone who attends the hearing will get to speak, but attendees can sign a sheet that indicates whether they are for or against the bill. It is important to have a crowd in the room to show support for the bill.
  • Rep. Kagi is the Chair of the Children and Families committee, which is conducting the hearing.
  • Sen. Regala is sponsoring a companion bill in the Senate (SB 6324), which means that legislators in both chambers will be educated about the Foster Youth Achievement Act at the same time. This is critical for a short session. A possible date for the Senate hearing is January 24th.
  • An Executive Leadership group from Seattle University has adopted HB 2002 for this legislative session and is highly involved in advocating for it. Bob Watts, a VP of Community and Government Relations at Boeing, has given permission for Boeing’s lobbyists to discuss the bill with legislators. The SU Executive Leadership group will be testifying at the hearing on Jan. 16th.
  • In an effort to educate Eastern Washington about this issue, we will have an Op-Ed piece published in the Spokesman Review regarding this issue.
  • About 400 youth age out of Washington’s foster care system each year. Only 1/3 of these youth have a GED or high school diploma. Last year, the fiscal note was based on all 400 youth continuing to stay in care. The expenses were projected to be $1.4 million the first year, $2.3 million in 2007, and $4.6 million in 2011. Jim stated that the actual expenses will be much lower, because only 1/3 of the 400 youth who age out of care will be eligible, and not all of those youth will want to pursuer higher education or stay in care.
  • If we need to, we will work with Rep. Dickerson to put a cap (probably about 50 youth) on the number of youth who can access services the first year the bill is in place. That would cost less than $1 million per year. Although we would make this compromise if necessary, we will ask for this to be an option for all youth who age out of care, have a GED or high school diploma, and want to attend higher education.
  • Valerie will confirm whether or not the city of Seattle is endorsing the bill.
  • We will tell the UW School of Social Work that our Advocacy Day is happening, so they and Nancy Amidei can join us.
  • Jim explained the path that a bill takes before it becomes law. The system is designed to kill bills. 5,000 pieces of legislation will be introduced this year.
  • Jim stated that the bill would help add workers to the labor pool, which is important because now the baby boomers are retiring.
  • Courtney stated that giving youth an opportunity for further education will save money in the long run.
  • Rep. Dickerson is working on a definition of “higher education” in the bill. A youth would probably have to take a certain number of classes and maintain a certain GPA to be eligible after 18. She plans to cap the number of eligible youth at 50 per year. The bill has a better chance of passing if it has a cap and a low fiscal note.
• Committee Report: Youth Advocacy Training Day (Najja)
  • Training Day will be Thursday, February 2nd, at the 2100 Building.
  • Speakers will include youth who participated in last year’s advocacy day.
  • Last year, half of the youth who attended Advocacy Day did not feel prepared to meet their legislators. So on Training Day this year, we will talk about the basics of who their legislators are, and how to effectively share their story with legislators.
  • Youth will practice telling their stories and asking questions.
  • Youth will be told in advance which legislators they will be meeting.
  • Courtney will make buttons again.
  • Sarah and Friends of Youth volunteered to assemble packets.
  • Johnny asked how we can get homeless youth excited about Advocacy Day. Jim asked him and Valerie to speak on this topic at Training Day.
  • We could also invite someone from Real Change (Rachel Myers?) to speak to us on homeless issues.
  • Courtney stated that the statistics show that many foster youth end up homeless, so there is an important connection.
  • Najja & MBS youth will make fliers to advertise Training Day.
  • Freddy has a contact who might be able to help with food. She will contact Lauren.
  • Another way to engage homeless youth is to talk with them about the need to restore funding for Health & Human Services, and to advocate for the funds.
• Committee Report: Youth Advocacy Day (David)
  • Youth Advocacy Day will be Friday, February 3rd, in Olympia.
  • David has located rooms for us in Olympia.
  • The committee has almost finalized the list of speakers.
  • The day will start at 9:30 AM in the Cherberg building and end around 2:30.
  • Jim stated that he wants the youth to have a chance to see committees in session. He suggested a sample schedule.
  • Valerie will let us use a city van to get to help with transportation that day.