Mockingbird Staff Meet with Federal Elected Officials
In the course of one week staff and youth had the opportunity to meet with
Senator Patty Murray and Congressman Adam Smith.
Editor's Note: Network Representatives Deonate Cruz and Montrai Williams were on hand to speak directly with Senator Murray and Congressman Smith about their experiences with homelessness, the foster care system, and The Mockingbird Society. This has been an exciting time for us here at Mockingbird, as we have the opportunity to share our mission with our federal elected officials. It is by continuing to leverage these important relationships that we can move closer towards building a world class foster care system. Below are Deonate's and Montrai's accounts of the meetings.
Bringing my voice to the top
By Deonate Cruz, Network Representative
The Mockingbird Society had the excellent opportunity to sit down and discuss important matters in the child welfare system with Senator Patty Murray. Along with Treehouse we were able to stress the importance of school continuity, safe housing, and the expansion of the Mockingbird Family Model. All of the issues discussed hit close to home for me, so it felt really great to sit down and speak with Senator Murray about them. Having someone like her listen to my story and discuss these issues with makes me feel like we are getting that much closer to building a world class foster care system.
Some of these issues already have solutions, but we are in the process of building awareness or advocating to expand them. We are thankful that we had an opportunity to present these issues to someone as influential as Senator Murray. One of the main issues we are advocating for is the Mockingbird Family Model (MFM), which has proven effective at offering safety to youth in care, as well as resources and support for the foster parents to be the best parents that they can be. I can personally attest to its effectiveness, having lived in an MFM constellation. I know that it personally played the biggest part in me being as successful as I am today. Senator Murray was instrumental in securing a $350k federal grant that let us get the MFM started in 2004. We look forward to continuing to work with the Senator as the MFM expands in Washington state and beyond.
We also discussed Extended Foster Care. Our state’s progress in implementing the Extended Foster Care program is in large part thanks to the federal Fostering Connections Act. Unfortunately, only certain youth are currently able to take advantage of this important program. We took the opportunity to update Senator Murray on our progress and what still needs to be done before we reach our goal of making sure all youth in care can participate in the program.
We hope to continue to raise awareness and gain support, and we hope to continue to keep working with Senator Patty Murray on important issue that effect our systems in the future. I want to personally thank the Senator for taking the time to meet with us and for listening to my story.
The beginning of a wonderful relationship
By Montrai Williams, Network Representative
On Thursday, August 15, The Mockingbird Society hosted Congressman Adam Smith. He represents the 9th Congressional District, which due to redistricting now includes Mockingbird’s headquarters. We had the opportunity to introduce Congressman Smith to our organization and the child welfare and youth homelessness issues we are known for. After this visit I hope these issues continue to be ones he is interested in.
During the 30 minute meeting we gave Congressman Smith the rundown of The Mockingbird Society and what we do. Our Acting Director Ros Ghan started with a great introduction, and then our Public Policy & Communications Coordinator, Jon Brumbach, went through the overview of our agency. This included how we are funded, what we do, and the laws and policies we want to implement or improve. We ended with Deonate Cruz giving his personal story on how Foster Care to 21 and the Mockingbird Family Model helped him. I also talked about Mockingbird Youth Network and what we do as Network Representatives.
This was my first time doing a Network presentation for a member of Congress, and it was a very good experience. It just shows me even more that our work impacts all types of people, and that this is why I love what I do.