Youth Rights
YLAT Advocacy for Rights for Youth in Foster care
In the spring of 2008, YLAT members ratified the Maine Youth in Care Bill of Rights. This idea came from a group of youth in care and adult allies who realized a need for a document that provided youth in care with a tangible resource they could use to advocate for themselves, make sure that the rights legally bestowed upon them are honored and upheld, and to improve the foster care system through returning some power and authority to youth currently in care and future generations.
The rights of Maine youth in care are defined in law, in policies, and in statements of belief. This Bill of Rights is a written contract between the State and youth in its care that outlines the rights and responsibilities that foster youth, caseworkers, Guardian Ad Litems, care providers and able biological parents should make possible, and that youth should expect to receive from their caregivers while in custody.
Comprehensive Youth Rights
In an effort to provide a comprehensive list of rights that encompass a larger purview, an Integrated Youth in Care Bill of Rights was created in partnership with Maine youth in foster care, the Youth Leadership Advisory Team, and the Office of Child and Family Services, with Adopted Normalcy and Siblings rights from the New England Youth Coalition.
YLAT members have been strong advocates for the rights of siblings in foster care, who are often separated from one another when the child welfare system becomes involved in their lives. Since 2000, YLAT members have advocated for new programs, policies and laws to protect the rights of youth and their siblings. In 2011, YLAT members worked with the New England Association of Child Welfare Commissioners and Directors and New England Youth Coalition United to create the Siblings Bill of Rights (SBOR) which recognized the importance and value of sibling relationships, and the need for their preservation. This document was inspired by the stories of youth in foster care across the region, many of whom have permanently lost touch with their siblings due to displacement.
Sibling Bill of Rights
In 2011, YLAT members worked with the New England Association of Child Welfare Commissioners and Directors and New England Youth Coalition United to create the Siblings Bill of Rights (SBOR). The SBOR was developed in recognition of the importance and value of sibling relationships and the need for their preservation. The SBOR was inspired by the stories of youth in foster care across the region, many of whom have permanently lost touch with their brothers and sisters.
Sibling Bill of Rights
Resources, Policies, and Information Regarding Rights
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Camp To Belong Maine: Jennie, a YLAT member, learned about Camp To Belong, a summer camp that reunites separated siblings. She advocated for Maine to create a Camp To Belong and by 2004 Camp To Belong Maine became a reality.
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DHHS Sibling Visitation and Placement Policy: In 2001, the DHHS Bureau of Child and Family Services Director asked YLAT members to help develop the first-ever DHHS policy for siblings in foster care. They did and it became policy in 2002!
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YLAT Position Paper on Sibling Visitation and Placement: This 2001 Position Paper was written by YLAT members during the process of working with DHHS on their Sibling Visitation and Placement Policy.
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Sibling Visitation Law, MRSA 4068: In 2006, the Maine Legislature passed a law that protected the rights of siblings to see one another when at least one of the siblings comes into foster care. The law was the result of 4 years of hard work by a YLAT member and her peers.
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The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA): was signed into law as part of the Federal Bipartisan Budget Act on February 9, 2018. This act reforms the federal child welfare financing streams, Title IVE and Title IV-B of the Social Security Act, to provide services to families and children who are at risk of entering the child welfare system.
Normalcy Rights
What is "normalcy”? In 2013, YLAT members began exploring conversations about the barriers foster care may create that disrupts a young people’s ability to experience “normal” developmental opportunities and experiences.
“Normalcy” refers to standard or usual activities regularly experienced by youth who are not in out-of-home care. “Out-of-home care” includes residential treatment facilities, foster homes, group homes, and placements with relatives or kin, and normalcy for anyone in these living situations means the ability to participate in standard activities, as well as the right to share input, have decision-making power, and to be an active participant in their own day-to-day lives.
The New England Youth Coalition (NEYC) created a formal definition of normalcy and then developed the Normalcy Bill of Rights, which Maine adopted and signed on June 29th, 2016, at the annual YLAT Teen Conference. NEYC has also created a workbook for teenagers in Out-of-Home Care and their supportive Adults, The Normalcy Toolkit. This is an extensive workbook for both young people and adult partners to understand and ensure normalcy in all the settings a young person may engage in.
The Normalcy Bill of Rights focuses on six major areas of “Normalcy”:
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Families
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Social and Peer Inclusion
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Community Inclusion
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Cultural Awareness
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Age-Related Milestones
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Decision-Making