The annual policy recommendations from participants in the Foster Youth Internship (FYI), a program operated since 2008 by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI), will be unveiled on Tuesday afternoon at a briefing on Capitol Hill.
The yearly FYI report is one of the most anticipated child welfare documents each year. FYI participants spend the summer interning for members of the Senate, House or committee staff, gaining an understanding of how the political process works in Washington.
The interns each craft a proposal – most of which involve some form of new legislation or bills to rewrite existing law – they believe would improve federal child welfare policy. Each of the recommendations is included in the final report, which will be released at a briefing held Tuesday, 3:30 p.m., at the House Ways and Means Committee hearing room in the Longworth Building.
As we have done for several years, The Imprint will produce a profile and analysis of each FYI proposal. The first of our series on the FYI policy proposals will be published Thursday, July 20.
This year’s report is entitled “Unlocking Potential: The Strength of Our Stories As The Key To Child Welfare Reform.” Among the proposals made by the interns:
- Requiring a child-focused approach to placement decisions
- Requiring juvenile justice agencies to track the involvement of foster youth in the criminal justice system
- Improved collection and use of state data on youth and families involved in the child welfare system
- A federal foster care bill of rights.
Click here to read previous reports from the FYI participants.