Child Welfare

The welfare of our children is our prime responsibility. Kids in vulnerable situations, from foster care to homeless youth to the juvenile justice system, need vocal advocates and champions to ensure that they too have every opportunity to succeed in school and their future careers.

Foster Care

As a former foster parent, Noel understands firsthand the trials and triumphs our foster children face every day. At a time when our state lacks enough foster families to meet the demand, we need to step up to provide the tools, support, and resources these young people need to thrive.

As our 36th LD State Representative, Noel championed:

  • HB 1747 (2022) – Prioritizing placing kids with relatives during child welfare proceeding (PASSED)

  • SB 5693 (2022) – Stipends for youth who aged out of extended foster care during the pandemic ($11M) (PASSED)

  • HB 1219 (2021) – Providing dependent children with right to legal counsel (PRIME SPONSOR, PASSED)

  • HB 1251 (2017) – Creating pilot project for providing dependent children with access to legal counsel. (PRIME SPONSOR, PASSED as an amendment to SB 5890)

  • HB 1808 (2017) – Providing support for foster youth in obtaining drivers’ licenses and automobile liability insurance (PASSED)

  • SB 6222 (2018) – Allowing young adults to come in and out of extended foster care an unlimited number of times until their 21st birthday (PASSED)

Vulnerable Youth

We must promote the well-being of all youth, taking extra care to our vulnerable youth populations. It is critical that we fund social services that focus on young people and provide them with the resources they need to succeed and live healthy lives. LGBTQ+ kids are over-represented in state child welfare systems, particularly foster care, because of strife at home and the lack of acceptance of a child’s sexual orientation or identity. Many of our kids in foster care and the juvenile justice system exit into homelessness, where they become incredibly vulnerable to those who would do them harm.

As our 36th LD State Representative, Noel championed:

  • HB 1905 (2022) – Reducing homelessness for youth and young adults discharged from public systems of care (PASSED)

  • SB 5883 (Trudeau) – Allowing homeless youth access to nonemergency, outpatient, primary care services (PASSED)

  • HB 1816 (2017) – Homeless youth information sharing (PRIME SPONSOR, PASSED)

  • HB 1630 (2017) – Allowing minors to consent to share their personally identifying information in the WA homeless client management information system (PASSED)

Juvenile JuStice

Everyone makes mistakes and sometimes those mistakes can land children and youth in our juvenile criminal legal system. Noel is committed to ensuring that the kids who find themselves in trouble have every opportunity for rehabilitation and successful re-entry into society. Additionally, she believes we need to focus on ending the stark disparities faced by youth of color in our justice system and will work tirelessly to reform our system to give all kids a fair shot at a future.

 

As our 36th LD State Representative, Noel championed:

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