Acceptance and Empowerment: Helping LGBTQ+ Youth in Foster Care through Training, Data Collection and Non-Discrimination Laws

It's Saturday.  After today, I have one more day in the Senate Finance Committe (Minority).  I will work for Senator Wyden only one more day.  I am having severely mixed emotions, as I'm sure you can imagine.  To go from an extremely busy lifestyle these past six and a half weeks and knowing I will be returning to little 'ole Idaho floods my mind with mixed emotions.  The next 3 weeks of my life will be critical!  Will I drop the ball and return to my (relatively) mundane lifestyle?  Or, will I prosper and continue to thrive?  I'd like to say the latter, but I think generally speaking it is safe to say actions speak much louder than words.  I will have to BE the truth I speak.

I anticipate that this will be a bit of a lengthier post, so please go grab your drank, covfefe and/or snack so you can really enjoy and let what I'm about to say sink in 😆.


If you've been with me through this whole process (which if you haven't, you stop reading right now and read everything from start to finish... I promise you will not be disappointed.), you should know the drill by now... I usually post accomplishments and the reflection of events from the previous week or so.  Without further ado:

(in no particular order)

• I got to meet Senator Wyden (D-OR)!!! I literally have the BEST supervisor ever!

• I visited the National Archives Museum
• I went on an Italian food tour and learned about the history of DuPont Circle
• I went to the D.C. Zoo!
• I went to "church" (A.K.A. Rock Creek Park)
• We had our briefing! (more to come on that later)
• Representative Aderholt (R-AL) "slipped" an amendment into a House Approprations Bill that would allow discrimination against LGBTQ+ foster youth and parents within the Child Welfare system
• I took a gander to Takoma Park
• President Trump nose-dived at the Helsinki summit with Putin
• I attended the Holocaust Museum
• I'm sure there is more, however, I don't remember it at this exact moment.

Oh, did I mention, there are only 6 more days until I head home?  These past two month have been such a blur... like where has the time gone?  We have our White House briefing on Monday and a few more events.  After that, I'm headed back to Boise!  6 EFFING DAYS!

I am excited to return home, but I'm so nervous.  I'll be going from being so busy ALWAYS, to not being busy at all.  The level and quality of work I have been producing has been absolutely impressive and incredible.  At times, I even wonder how I was even able to accomplish any of it!  There have been days where I didn't want to get out of bed--I wanted to sleep in and get rest.  There were times where I wanted to throw in the towel--but I didn't.  

You want to know why?

It's because this is so much bigger than me.  It's bigger than ALL OF US.

I told myself coming into this that no matter how difficult it got, I would always remember how life was in Naval Basic Training and the Naval Fleet.  It would then remind me that it's all in how you perceive everything.and your attitude towards life and outcomes.  With that in mind and also knowing there are nine other brilliant, amazing individuals sharing similar experiences as me, I was able to make it!

The briefing this past Tuesday was so surreal.  Click HERE to see my segment of the brief.  Click HERE to see our published work (my report is on page 38).  When CCAI posts the entire briefing, I will be sure to provide that link as well; as I think each and EVERY Foster Youth Intern's story is equally as important. Never, in my entire life, have I felt what I felt that day.  Not to mention there wasn't even enough room for everyone to fit!  People were packed like sardines.  It made it even that much more of a powerful experience.

No direction in life

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Happy Thursday everyone!  One more day until the weekend begins!  This week has been a lot to chew on.  It is absolutely astounding to believe I have only 15 more days here in Washington D.C. I cannot believe how fast it has gone either!  I give my briefing remarks in five days.  The quote above is a sentence in my briefing remarks for next week.  If you are unable to attend, fear not—it will be posted on CCAI’s YouTube channel for the world to see!

Let’s get to the bigger picture and reason why I decided to post an “out-of-turn” blog post.  This post is primarily so I can reflect upon the week that is almost dead and gone.  Here on Capitol Hill, us interns are fortunate to have an intern lecture series.  This is essentially a time where esteemed individuals (politically affiliated or not) kind of tell their stories.  They also offer advice and words of wisdom to us “Youngins.”  To be honest, the majority of presenters are individuals I know little or nothing about.  You should know by now, I came into this internship with absolutely ZERO understanding of politics.  I’ve grown leaps and bounds since then, but still have such a long ways to go.  Just this morning I was educated by a fellow intern on how the Electoral College is setup!  If you refer to a previous post of mine, you will see senator Bennet (CO-D), as well as the current Secretary of the Navy who were also guests for the Intern Lecture Series (ILS).  I just happened to be lucky enough to get a picture with them.   Anyways, I digress…

This week the Honorable Kevin McCarthy (House Majority Leader) and Dr. Arthur C. Brooks (President of the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute) were my selections for the ILS this week.  Here were my main takeaways from these lectures, as I found these tidbits to be EXTREMELY motivational and some of these things I already felt or followed.  I just hadn’t verbalized or acknowledged them yet:

• You can never have too many friends
• One should never stop learning
• The Senate is like a country club, while the House of Representatives is like having lunch at a truck stop
• Believe in the exceptionalism of our country
• Don’t blame others for our own challenges
• Don’t put off touch decisions just because you think it’s difficult
• Be happy; happiness will make people want to know more about you!
• Peace without freedom is meaningless
• Don’t silo yourself based on your philosophies
• Ask better questions to be more successful
• Saying yes and taking more risks with your heart will often yield more successes than downfalls
• Don’t focus and obsess on the “what you do,” but rather focus on “why you do what you do”

1 week + 1 day before the Congressional briefing!!!

First thing's first--I hope everyone had a fun, safe holiday!  I definitely got some much needed rest. Let's start off with a few highlights from this past week:

• Our policy reports were sent to the press...a week from tomorrow I will be able to say I am a published author!!!
• Tonight at 9 PM President Trump will reveal his selection for nominee of the next Supreme Court Justice at which point the Senate must vote on whether or not they believe it to be a fit choice
• I began prepping remarks for our Congressional and White House briefing!
• The Trump Administration was granted an extension in reuniting migrant families
• 1 week from tomorrow we have our Congressional briefing!
• I viewed Cézanne's Portrait exhibit at the National Gallery of Art
• I also attended the National Museum of American History
• I officially walked past the White House for the first time since getting here

With less than three weeks left of my internship, it's crazy to think about how fast it has all flown by.  I feel that there is still so much to do, to see and it isn't even really feasible to accomplish the list of things I still want to complete and do before I leave!  I have made it a point to get out of my dorm and see things, but every exhibit and museum is so gargantuan here!  In order to fully appreciate everything I believe you have to attend everything at least twice--something I won't have the time to do--so I guess it just makes for a great excuse to return one day!

Speaking of returning one day, I could see myself living in our Nation's Capital one day.  Having grown up in a conservative Boise, Idaho (I understand Boise is a liberal pocket of Idaho, but if you were to compare Boise to San Francisco or LA or Chicago, it is still pretty conservative :-D), I feel that Washington D.C. is the first place I've been where I feel I belong.  There's so much diversity and culture, I feel like I just fit in here.  Not to mention how much I enjoy being busy, I've grown quite fond of the hustle and bustle here.

I also love the ability to get around without a car.  The metro is such a great transporter!  It was extremely overwhelming at first, but now it's a second nature to me.

Anyways, let's make a quick transition to a more serious note.  Next Tuesday the 10 of us Interns will discuss our policy reports in a 3.5 minute remark.  Something I've always been good at is running my mouth and talking.  Something I've always been good at, but have never really liked is speaking in front of strangers.  As I prepare for my final remarks, struggle I'm finding that keeps recurring is talking about my sexuality and sexual orientation in a serious manner.  Pretty crazy considering I just did an entire congressional report on it, right?!  I'm very nervous to be speaking in front of so many people (ESPECIALLY policy makers and members of Congress) and talking about the oppression, discrimination and struggles myself, my fellow brothers and sisters in foster care currently face.  It's like coming out all over again.  I am very intimidated; this will be like finding my own voice all over again.  Regardless, I have a week to find my voice and grow a backbone! LGBTQ+ youth in foster care are counting on me to make an impact at this briefing.

I must knock it out of the ballpark for them!  I constantly have to remind myself that all of this is so much bigger than me...

It's so easy to fall short and cut corners.  It takes someone of good character and judgement to give it their all even when it's uncomfortable... And so that is what I am going to have to live up to.  I don't have much of a choice.

Anyways, let me stop this sob story!  I hope to post again before this week is over so I can tell y'all how far I've come preparing my remarks since this post!  Thanks for listening to me whine (LOL).

Until next time :-)

Past Week Recap!

Hi Everyone!

Last week was such an eventful week y'all... Here is a quick recap of the series of events that took place (both politically as well as personally, in no particular order):

• Supreme Court Judge Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement
• I finally finished my policy report!
• The Supreme Court upheld the travel ban, ruling it constitutional
• I edited my policy report with at least 4 drafts within the past week
• Starbucks begins offering transgender community employees comprehensive life-saving health care
• My hometown Boise, ID suffered a traumatic experience where 9 kids and adults were stabbed by a felon.  This particularly affected the Refugee community.  The 3 year old celebrating his birthday died from the stab wounds.
• 575 were charged with "unlawfully demonstrating" a protest in the Hart Senate building--and I got to witness the rally first hand
• An estimated 10,000 attended a rally regarding immigration at our Nation's Capitol this past Saturday
• I attended Rock Creek Park for the second weekend in a row (It's beautiful!)

I'm sure there is more, but these were the highlights of the last week.  It was a busy and sad week in history this past week.  

Other than what I mentioned last week I don't really have a whole lot else to say right now other than these two remarks:

1. After tirelessly working, editing and turning it into "Hill speak," my policy report is on its way to be published!  Below is my final Executive summary, visual and references!  Once it has been published, I will post the link to the online publication.  Then, and only then can I say I've had a piece of work published!  For Congress!  I'm ecstatic.  So much hard work, sweat and tears put into this by so many people, I cannot begin to express my gratitude.
2. If you have ever doubted whether or not you have a voice, be confident.  The louder you are, the more likely you will be heard.  When I say loud, I don't necessarily audible volume.  You can be loud and strong, even in silence.  Be confident; the louder you are, the more likely to be heard.  Power isn't always quantitative of numbers.  Be passionate.  Be honest.  Be real.  Be Yourself.  Be true to your morals and beliefs.  Do not waiver.  If your heart is in the right place, you will shine.  Timing is everything.

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Credit given to Gaby Rodriguez and CCAI as well as CSSP's "Out of the Shadow" publication (see references list below)

Executive Summary

Youth in care who identify as LGBTQ+ are over-represented in the child welfare system and face unique challenges. LGBTQ+ youth are at greater risk of experiencing violence, and they are at higher risk of experiencing negative health and life outcomes such as poor educational outcomes and mental health issues. With such knowledge and information, it is imperative that the foster care placement process be revised. To improve the experience of LGBTQ+ youth in foster care, Congress must improve the foster care placement processes by screening youth entering care for sexual orientation and gender identity, ensuring that individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ are not discriminated against and can become foster parents, and requiring states to provide training for all professionals and foster parents working within the child welfare system on the special needs of LGBTQ+ youth.  

Credit of anything not common knowledge to perspective authors.  See reference list below:

You know you’re Obsessing over Your Policy Report When…

So, I thought I‘d entice you with a quick read post before I post a more in-depth post later this weekend.  I came down with a gnarly summer cold earlier this week and am actually in the process of still getting over it!  It was so bad that it prevented me from going to work one day.  I ended up sleeping the entire day actually, therefore making it extremely difficult to go to sleep the following evening. 

Anyways, I had the craziest dream!  As many of you know, if you have read my previous posts, we are nearing the end of our papers… Final drafts are due this Saturday at 6PM EST!  At that point they are sent off to be published for the world to see.  It is at that point we begin preparing our remarks for the Congressional and White House briefings.  Big things are coming! 

My dream consisted of me, alone at the airport.  I was attempting to get onto a flight.  Where?  I’ll never know.  As many people do nowadays, I was using my iPhone as my boarding pass.  When I went to scan my boarding pass, all of a sudden it was no longer working.  I glanced quickly at my phone to see what was happening and realized my phone was no longer displaying my boarding pass… but rather it was displaying my policy report.  Not only was it now displaying my policy report, but now it was also displaying all track changes* of my report—FROM THE FIRST DRAFT UNTIL NOW.  Now, NOT ONLY was it displaying my policy report and track changes from start to finish, but it looked very eerie like a VHS does when it’s tracking**.

It was at that point that I woke up, freaking out and struggled to go back to sleep...

I cannot wait til Saturday y’all (Lol).

With that fun little distraction post, enjoy the rest of your week, do something fun and safe outside of your comfort zone this weekend, and stay tuned for Sunday when I post next! 

I hope everyone is trying to see a positive or two in this tragic week for Americans :-)

 

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*For those of you who don’t know what track changes are, it is a review tool in Microsoft Word that allows yourself and other individuals to markup the paper.  See an example of me marking up this blog post before I posted this blog below:

**For those of you who don’t know what it means to be “tracking a VHS”, see this link here: You can definitely see how this can maybe be a little perturbing now?

Today isn't for the light-hearted...

Hi Folks!

Happy heavy hearted Monday.  Before I get into too much detail, I’d like to share some sweet news:

FINAL DRAFTS OF OUR POLICY REPORTS ARE DUE THIS COMING SATURDAY!

Here is a sneak peek of my almost completed executive summary:

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"Youth in care who identify within the LGBTQ+ community are over-represented in the child welfare system and face unique challenges.  LGBTQ+ youth are at greater risk of experiencing violence or being victimized, and they are at higher risk to experience negative health and life outcomes such as experiencing violence or having negative effects on education and mental health. With such knowledge and information, it is imperative that the foster care placement process be revised. To improve the experience of these youth in foster care, Congress must require states to provide training for all professionals and foster parents working within the child welfare system on the special needs of LGBTQ+ youth, improve the foster care placement processes by screening youth entering care for sexual orientation and gender identity, and incentivize state-wide non-discrimination laws protect this historically marginalized community."
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I cannot wait to share the finished product with everyone!  The amount of hours I have put into this policy report has been pretty extensive!  It has been so rigorous and invigorating.  Not to mention juggling many struggles I have been battling with internally re: things going on back home but I’m still managing to stay afloat—it’s amazing what practicing self-care does!

Speaking of self-care, for me it means running and staying physically active in my lifestyle.  What do you do to practice self-care when you’re going through difficult or stressful times?  I’m interested to hear some additional techniques I could utilize sometime 😊.

For now, let me get off of my soap box.  Just over 30 days left here in good ole D.C.  Time is flying by at a rate which I can’t even realize anymore!  It seems like it yesterday was my first day here, yet here we are almost a month in.  Here is a recap from my last week:


-I observed medics treating an individual on the street who appeared to be hit by a car
-I watched my first ever real-life fight break out in Union Station (I truly though those things only took place in the movies!)
-I gave the money in my wallet to a homeless woman stating she was trying to feed her children
-My feelings of sadness and empathy grow more and more when I see a homeless person struggling on the streets

Other than those things, everything else that happened this past week seems minuscule to me.

A Post of a Post!

Happy Sunday!

I promised 2 posts this weekend, and I will deliver!

Click here to see CCAI's blog!

Click here to see my specific post!

If you want to just read here on my own personal blog, it's below :-D

Thanks for all of your supports!

Birthday Post!

Hey Y'all!

So before I even begin this long overdue post, I want to let everyone know, you are all in for a treat this weekend!  I have a surprise post coming for you soon.  I signed up for CCAI's professional blog and—well I'm quite proud of my work!

In other news, today marks my last year in my twenties.  I wonder how many grey hairs I've got coming this year as I enter my final four semesters of my Bachelor's degree.  If anyone is wondering how I am spending my birthday today, I've got an answer for you. I am spending it working on my Policy Report!  Just kidding (well, sort of :-D ).

Actually, I will be participating in an EDM/Night Run!  Check it out!  It's the only fun run of its kind.  I'm pretty excited to be running it with some friends.  I couldn't ask for a better way to spend my day of birth away from home.

A few quick highlights as I finished my second week on the Hill:

• I met and took pictures with both Senator Bennet (CO - D) AS WELL AS the 76th Secretary of the Navy—Richard V. Spencer.

• I received edits on the first draft of my Policy Report
• I sat in on a lecture with Minority Leader Representative Nancy Pelosi
• I've learned a plethora of new terms I wasn't aware of existed (when I say I have no political background whatsoever, I meant it!)
• I faced additional challenges and struggles I had to overcome, one being confrontation on the D.C. Metro (It was pretty scary, actually)
• I told my story in front of CCAI's Advisory Council (Including Representative Aderholt [R - AL], Representative Mullin [R - OK] and Representative Bass [D -  CA]

Quick Update!

I did it you guys... I survived my first week on Capitol Hill!!! It was difficult. At times, I had a lot of self-doubt. I wondered if I was right for my placement within the Senate Finance Committee (Minority). I got minimal sleep. I wasn't able to work out as frequent as I had hoped.

Nonetheless, I persevered. Next week may not be easier, but at least I know what to expect!

Now, to complete my first draft of my Policy Report!!!

#Prosper

Long Overdue Post

IT'S HUMP DAY Y'ALL!!!

I hope everyone is having a great Wednesday!  My apologies for making everyone wait such a long time in between posts, but I have been so busy  The pace in Washington D.C. is no joke.  I truly had no idea what to expect, and I'm glad I didn't set any expectations!

Expect this blog to be nothing but a bunch of disorganized thoughts... I spent all my organizational energy preparing my outline  for my policy report earlier this evening and my plans for the 1st draft of my Policy Report--not to mention that SO MUCH has happened in the last week and a half that I would bore you to death if I stated and expanded on all of my experiences since I last posted.  Feel free to skim or skip over anything in this blog post... I'd rather you skip parts than read and lose interest!

Okay, so since I  last posted on May 29, 2018 here is a (kind of, but only KIND OF) chronological list of things that have happened in my life:

• I arrived in Washington D.C.
• I checked into my single dorm at George Washington University (I still have communal stalled showers, which bring be back to Navy Times.)
• I attended a panel where I learned several ways to be successful on Capitol Hill.
• I have been to the Washington Monument.
• I have been to the Abraham Lincoln Memorial.
• I've gotten lost while exercising the streets of the U.S. Capitol.
• I've driven through 2 additional states aside from Washington D.C.
• I've went and enjoyed/learned a significant amount about my cohorts during a retreat in Danville, PA.
• I created a very intimate collage to express where I've been, where I am and where I'm going

...