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The Office of the Foster Youth Ombudsperson handles complaints from anyone, prioritizing concerns from young people about their rights, care, safety, and placement in Minnesota foster care, including youth in Extended Foster Care and those who have recently aged out of care.
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In 2022, the legislature responded to community advocates who brought forward the bill to create the Office of the Foster Youth Ombudsperson, or OOFY. In 2023, Misty Coonce was hired as the first Ombudsperson, followed by the rest of OOFY’s staff. In 2024, OOFY opened to start receiving complaints and concerns from Minnesotans about the rights and experiences of youth in foster care, with a special emphasis on hearing directly from children and youth.
Building a small agency has been a challenging but rewarding endeavor. We have tried to borrow best-practices from other ombuds offices in the state and country, while tailoring our work to the needs of Minnesota youth. Most of our staff have spent time in foster care ourselves, and we are all passionate about improving the lives of foster youth and addressing the systemic barriers seen in our work.
Since May of 2024, OOFY has:
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Heard 400+ concerns from 55+ counties
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Developed materials for foster youth (with more coming!)
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Elevated systemic concerns related to:
Thank you to all of the partners, collaborators, agencies, workers, attorneys, Guardians ad Litem, legislators, caring adults, and community members who elevate and support our office and the Fosters in their lives.
Most of all, thank you to the Fosters who share concerns with our office, give feedback on our materials, and serve on our Advisory Board. We would not be able to do our work without your powerful voices.
Looking forward to another year,
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National Foster Care Month
May is National Foster Care Month! This is a month of awareness and reflection, and a time to focus on the needs of youth in foster care and elevate the voices of those with lived experience.
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Foster Profile: Marqueishia Velazquez, Foster Alum and Advocate, OOFY Advisory Board Member
"My experience on the OOFY board has been very positive and knowledgeable. I enjoy the work and support all the women on the board gives. The passion and dedication from everyone from different backgrounds/perspectives have to give. I love the changes it has brought and the tools we have been trying to implement for Fosters all over Minnesota.
A topic that is under-discussed to me at this moment in time is parenting youth. Young mothers in foster care are overlooked and there isn’t much resources out there to help prepare someone with child to be ready for their new life of parenting. Due to my own experience of parenting while still being in foster care. The state using that as a way to try and take our kids from us is disgraceful and unacceptable."
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The Imprint: Advocates Want Luggage, Not Trash Bags, for MN Foster Youth
Check out this recent article by Hana Ikramuddin at The Imprint, highlighting a protection in the proposed Foster Youth Bill of Rights that guarantees the right to “appropriate travel bags.”
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Disclaimer: OOFY is excited to share opportunities that may be of interest to the Foster community but does not endorse or assume any liability for participation in projects led by external entities.
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Opportunity: HYVE (Harnessing Youth Voices and Expertise):
HYVE (Harnessing Youth Voices & Experiences) is a paid opportunity for young people ages 16–24 in Minnesota who have experienced housing instability or navigated housing-related support systems.
Participants will work alongside Youthprise and the Minnesota Department of Human Services to help improve how funding and support systems work for young people.
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Approximately 5 hours/month
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Applications due May 30, 2026
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Opportunity: Tomorrow’s Leaders Today Youth Leadership Conference:
Registration is open for the 2026 TLT Conference: Leadership Starts Here. The conference will run from July 22-24 and is for current or former foster youth ages 16 to 20 who are either on a county social worker’s caseload or involved with a nonprofit agency youth program.
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The next meeting of the OOFY Advisory Board will be held Tuesday, June 2nd, from 9:30-11 am. A reminder and link to the virtual meeting will be sent out a week beforehand. To see upcoming meeting dates and to view meeting minutes, visit our website using the link below.
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These values guide our work, in line with our agency purpose to promote the highest attainable standards of competence, efficiency, and justice for youth who are in the care of the state.
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We Fix the Root, Not Just the Branches
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