Celebrating Fosters and the passage of our bill!
Photo on left by Andrew VonBank
Photo on right by Senate Media Services
May is National Foster Care Awareness Month. This is a chance for our community to take a moment to stop, reflect and learn more about the issues affecting Fosters. At Foster Advocates, we empower our young people by lifting up them and their stories. We work together towards meaningful change.
Our network of Fosters have been working hard this spring to elevate three critical issues affecting Fosters in Minnesota. It’s finally time for us to celebrate all of their hard work. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate this month than to announce that our bill to Establish an Ombudsperson for Foster Youth (HF 3845/SF4209) has passed!Yes, this bill is on its way to the desk of Governor Walz to officially be signed into law!
We could not have done this without our lead testifiers, our Community Board, and our champions at the legislature - special shoutout to our Chief Authors Rep. Jessica Hanson and Sen. Karin Housley. Thanks to their support, Minnesota has taken a giant step forward. With this office, we will improve outcomes for our most vulnerable children, and Fosters will have a direct channel when it matters most.
Beginning in 2024, Minnesota will officially open the doors to this new Office of the Foster Youth Ombudsperson!
Photo by Andrew VonBank
On Friday, May 6th HF 3845 passed 121-4 on the House of Representatives Floor.
On Wednesday, May 11th SF 4209 passed 57-9 on the Senate Floor.
On both of these days, our team dropped (almost) everything and made our way to the Capitol to show support. In less than 48 hours notice for both dates, we were able to rally 17 Fosters from all over Minnesota! We had folks drive in from Bemidji, Moorhead, St. Cloud, Rochester, Circle Pines and of course from all over the metro. We were able to celebrate the passage of the bill and had a chance to meet our tremendous legislative champions! It doesn’t get much better than that.
The list of supporters is too long to include in this email but we want to thank all of the legislators and community partners who worked with us. Thank you for stepping up for Fosters!
Each year, our work to deliver true justice for Fosters by Fosters takes about $600,000 from our community of donors–and we’re already about halfway there. We’re grateful for the support so far!
In solidarity,
Ariana Guerra
Policy & Advocacy Manager
P.S. Our legislative work is not done yet! There is more information to come on our other two bills - Maya’s Law (HF3971/SF4435) and Social Security Survivor Benefits (HF3211/SF3955). Please stay connected via social media. It’s never too late to get involved and join our efforts. If you want to talk more about how we work, or get involved, please reach out.