The Overcoming Hurdles in Ohio Youth Advisory Board (OHIO YAB) is a statewide organization of young people (aged 14-24) who have experienced foster care.
We exist to be the knowledgeable statewide voice that influences policies and practices that impact youth who have or will experience out of home care.
Statewide Quarterly Meetings
The OHIO Youth Advisory Board customarily meets on a quarterly basis, on the third Thursday of January, April, July and October. Due to COVID-19, the OHIO Youth Advisory Board was unable to hold in-person statewide meetings since January 16, 2020, but we will be reinstating statewide quarterly meeting in January 2022. Here is the 2022 meeting schedule.
The OHIO YAB invites each regional/county board to nominate two YAB Ambassadors, to serve on the statewide board at this time. Here is a link to the nomination form.
OHIO YAB Protocol
The OHIO YAB welcomes insights and invitations from our allies. We have established protocols if you would like to invite youth to participate on a panel, or if you are interested in sharing information at one of our statewide quarterly meetings. We have also recommended a protocol for CST engagement.
OHIO YAB Tools and Projects:
These include:
- A menu of ways that community members can help improve outcomes for the foster care population. We encourage those who want to empower youth voice to learn more about best practices when it comes to engaging foster care youth and alumni.
- A video to recruit community members to serve as foster parents for teenagers. The video application is closed, and we are happy to announce that this project is complete. You can watch the finished video on YouTube.
- A toolkit to support county and regional Youth Advisory Boards.
- A flyer specifically to invite Bridges young adults to participate in statewide quarterly meetings, and liaisons/agencies to transport them.
- If you are a young person who wants to get more involved in the statewide board, we invite you to fill out the Ohio YAB Officer in Training Application. This provides an opportunity to shadow and work with current officers, and be involved in statewide decision-making and implementation of youth ideas.
Overcoming Hurdles in Ohio Youth Advisory Board
County/Regional YAB Ambassadors:
- Roman Sandhu, Allen County
- Kyajah Rodriguez, Athens County
- MaKayla Lang and Regine Turner, Cuyahoga County
- Raven Grice and Nariah Swails, Cuyahoga ~ CSU
- Alexys Madero and Curtis Malone, Franklin County
- Emmonie Crouch and Logan Lay, Franklin ~ CSCC
- Stevie Hayslip, Greene County
- MeKaisha Hatcher, Hamilton County
- Fayvian Ferguson and Vincent Badalamenti, Lake County
- Jorge Cortes, Lorain County
- Justin Curtis and Tajanae Martin, Montgomery County
- Raven Baggett and Izabell Loue, Stark County
- Jonathan Thomas, Wood County
Ohio YAB Resources
2020 OHIO YAB Strategic Focus Areas
General Format of Statewide OHIO YAB meetings:
11 am – 11:15 am – OHIO YAB Youth Officers report out on recent events
11:15 – noon – Youth participants separate into brainstorming sessions in different corners of the room
Noon – Lunch
12:30 – Continued brainstorming
1:00 pm – Youth participants report out on their brainstorming, and define next steps to move forward
1:45 pm – New and Good / Updates from county/regional YABs
2:00 pm – Departure
