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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate recognize that | ||||||
| 3 | foster youth and
alumni are some of the State's most precious, | ||||||
| 4 | valuable, and vulnerable citizens; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, The mission of the Foster Care Alumni of America | ||||||
| 6 | (FCAA) is to connect the alumni
community and to transform | ||||||
| 7 | policy and practice, ensuring opportunity for people in and | ||||||
| 8 | from
foster care; it seeks to serve and act on behalf of the | ||||||
| 9 | rights, needs, and well-being of current
and former foster | ||||||
| 10 | youth; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, FCAA-IL is one of 23 state chapters that the FCAA | ||||||
| 12 | has around the country with
members dedicated to its mission; | ||||||
| 13 | and | ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Children and Family | ||||||
| 15 | Services (DCFS) protects children
who are reported to be abused | ||||||
| 16 | or neglected; it works to increase their families' capacity to | ||||||
| 17 | safely
care for them and provides for the well-being of | ||||||
| 18 | children in DCFS care; they provide
appropriate, permanent | ||||||
| 19 | families as quickly as possible for those children who cannot | ||||||
| 20 | safely
return home; they support early intervention and child | ||||||
| 21 | abuse prevention activities, and they work
in partnerships with | ||||||
| 22 | communities to fulfill this mission; and | ||||||
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| 1 | WHEREAS, The services that DCFS provides include a | ||||||
| 2 | Statewide Youth Advisory Board whose
mission is to advocate and | ||||||
| 3 | educate all youth in care; the Statewide Youth Advisory Board | ||||||
| 4 | is
committed to youth empowerment, development, leadership, | ||||||
| 5 | and achievement across the State
of Illinois;; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, FCAA-IL, working together with DCFS and their | ||||||
| 7 | Statewide Youth Advisory Board,
are proud to host the fourth | ||||||
| 8 | Annual Illinois Foster Youth and Alumni Legislative Shadow Day | ||||||
| 9 | on
May 15, 2019; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, The purpose of this day is to connect current and | ||||||
| 11 | former foster children with a State
legislator to educate them | ||||||
| 12 | on the legislative process; the legislators spend their day | ||||||
| 13 | mentoring
them; this process helps reshape the impression of | ||||||
| 14 | who youth in foster care and alumni are and
connects | ||||||
| 15 | legislators to the youth that they impact directly and | ||||||
| 16 | indirectly; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, The actions of founding FCAA-IL Chapter President | ||||||
| 18 | James McIntyre, National
Board Chair April Curtis, and current | ||||||
| 19 | and former DCFS Statewide Youth Advisory Board
members | ||||||
| 20 | represent shining examples of those in our communities doing | ||||||
| 21 | positive things for
foster children, past and present, and are | ||||||
| 22 | responsible for the creation of the Annual Illinois
Foster | ||||||
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| 1 | Youth and Alumni Legislative Shadow Day; therefore, be it
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| 2 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | ||||||
| 3 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare May 15, 2019 | ||||||
| 4 | as the fourth Annual Illinois Foster Youth and Alumni | ||||||
| 5 | Legislative Shadow Day and acknowledge the dedication, hard | ||||||
| 6 | work, and significant contributions made to the well-being of | ||||||
| 7 | current and former foster children; and be it further
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| 8 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 9 | presented to all participants in
recognition of their efforts.
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