Link to presentation slides: presentation slides
Link to January Webinar recording: January Webinar recording
Link to Handout: Handout 1, Handout 2, Handout 3
This webinar will provide a youth-led perspective on how reducing the barriers to extracurricular and enrichment activities improves the outcomes of young people in foster care. The trainers will provide research demonstrating the significance of these activities on youths’ mental health and well-being, highlight the current law that entitles and enables participation in the activities, and discuss how current complex care efforts and funds can be leveraged to support family and community-based placements that include these activities.
Presenters:
Makayla James, M.S.W., is a skilled speaker, trainer, coach and policy advocate with a passion for fighting for systemic change. She holds a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Kentucky. James has held leadership roles at the international, federal, state and local system levels involving policy advancement, curriculum development and facilitation. Her training is centered around the experiences of those who are involved in the system and their definitions of best practices. As such, her work is deeply rooted in recommendations from people with lived experience. James provides a necessary lens that supports groups to achieve the collective goal of bettering the lives of people impacted by public systems.
Christina Parker has been in service for over a decade to diverse communities that experience foster care, juvenile justice and homelessness. Parker’s advocacy and passion for system change started with California Youth Connection, a foster youth-led organization that empowers communities to use policy, legislation and advocacy to progress system change. Ze worked on California’s Foster Youth Bill of Rights (AB 175) which includes allowing LGBTQIAS+ youth in care to be placed in gender-affirming facilities and have the right to be called by their chosen name and identified pronouns. Parker has also trained thousands of professionals in effective advocacy and reached millions through zir social media company, Everything College. In additional to holding a bachelor’s degree from California State University San Bernardino, Parker is a is a Political Social Work 2022 graduate.