Children's Services Welcomes 5 Youth Advocates

Children's Services now has five Youth Advocates who serve as ombudsman for young people in foster care. Each of the five, who previously were in foster care, will assist in helping to shape Children's Services practice so that it reflects the real needs of youth in care. The Advocates each have a special area of interest, including working on issues involving permanency; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) youth and sexual reproductive health; mental health issues; immigration concerns; and general advocacy. "We hope that they will provide insight about what young people in care are experiencing," said Dominique Jones, Assistant Commissioner in the Division of Family Permanency Services. "They serve as ambassadors for their peers in the system and help troubleshoot where there might be barriers to youth obtaining what they need to transition out of foster care."

Youth Advocates Angelique Wilson, Jamell Henderson, Abubakarr Sesay, Shavonne Jackson and Pyriel Infinity.

The Advocates are Jamell Henderson, who will work on permanency issues, especially as the agency continues its move away from residential congregate care; Pyriel Infinity, who will work in the area of LGBTQ issues and sexual reproductive health; Shavonne Jackson, who has worked with a mental health advocacy group and will continue to advocate in this area; Abubakarr Sesay, who will work with immigrant youth; and Angelique Wilson, who will work with general advocacy, including leading the project to rewrite the handbook detailing the rights of youth in care.

Abu Sesay’s story is one that will be familiar to other immigrant youth. To escape civil war violence in his home country Sierra Leone, Sessay entered foster care in NYC in 2002 as an undocumented, parentless youth. Now 22 years old, Sesay eventually was able to secure his green card for permanent residency in the US through the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) program. He is now pursuing a law degree at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, majoring in International Criminal Justice. Sesay hopes President Obama “will make immigration reform a top priority and make sure that other immigrants have the opportunity to gain legal status and contribute to America.” He also hopes to bring greater awareness of the SIJS program and how it can stabilize the status of other undocumented youth and minors in the US.

The Youth Advocates’ positions have been made possible with grant and in-kind support from New Yorkers For Children, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Casey Family Programs.