Bill Written By Teenager Would Increase Involvement, Awareness Of Teens In Foster Care

Teens in foster care may soon have the opportunity to be more involved in the legal process. 

House Bill 4749 adds three articles to the Foster Child Bill of Rights.

Children aged 13 and older would have the right to proper notice of a hearing where the outcome may affect them, the option to attend the hearing and the right to have the outcome explained to them.

The bill was written by Katana Curry, 17-year-old resident of Turning Point, a long-term residential care program serving older youth who are currently wards of the state. She told the House Judiciary Committee Thursday that the rights she proposed would foster transparency and empowerment.

“Throughout my own experiences, I’ve spent years feeling lost and blaming myself for circumstances I didn’t fully understand or even know of, and the reason is miscommunication and being uninformed,” she said. “Let’s work together to ensure that our foster care system not only supports the children, but empowers them to be a part of the conversation regarding their own lives together, we can create a brighter, more inclusive future for the children who need it most.”

Curry told the committee she would also like to see more inclusivity for children in foster care.

“I feel like a lot of teenagers, especially girls and boys, and those who have had more of a juvenile record and been in juvie, don’t get into foster homes, and there are hardly any foster homes at all for teenagers,” she said. “I want to see more foster parents be able to care for these teenagers, and I want to see more pre Independent Living Facilities be opened for teenagers, and more shelters and placements in general.”

The bill’s lead sponsor Del. Evan Worrell, R-Cabell, said Curry brought him the bill after she visited the legislature over the summer with a group of children in foster care.

“We sat down and discussed her legislation and sounded like a really great idea, and worked with our counsel to draft the bill,” he said. “We’re excited that, you know, a constituent, a member, brought forward some legislation that affects their life.”

Since last year, bills in House committees are required to go through two days of discussion. But Thursday the committee dispensed with the second day of discussion on Curry’s bill so she could be present when they approved its advancement to the full House.