Conferences
Our two interlinked annual conferences, the Summer Leadership and Policy Conference and the Day at the Capitol Conference, provide dynamic forums for putting into action our dual goals of empowering youth and improving foster care. At summer conference, members explore solutions to issues identified by the chapters and selected by the CYC Youth Board, and propose a set of policy recommendations. About six months later, CYC members travel to Sacramento for Day at the Capitol, when they meet with legislators, urging them to support our sponsored bills.
Pivotal to the fulfillment of our mission, CYC’s Day at the Capitol conference has resulted in the eventual passage of dozens of new laws and policies that have profoundly improved the lives of children and youth who experience foster care.
Summer Leadership and Policy Conference 2018
CYC’s Summer Leadership and Policy Conference 2018, held at Sonoma State University, was AMAZING.
Thanks to the generous support of the Reissa Foundation more young people than ever before were able to attend!
Our #FosterStability Campaign continued to strengthen and develop at the conference, with chapters developing excellent local strategies for Systems Improvement Plans (SIPs) to take back to their counties.
We also explored intersectionality, looking at our community beyond the definition of “foster youth.” Recognizing that we all bring complexities to our advocacy, being able to build community around our whole authentic selves is a beautiful gift.
Members, staff, volunteers, and supporters declared “WE SEE YOU” throughout the conference. The #FosterStability campaign is all about seeing young people as individuals with individual needs but most importantly it is about honoring the need for stable connections. Big love and thanks to everyone who came out to hear CYC Talks on the last day of our conference!
DAY AT THE CAPITOL 2018
On February 12, 2018 over 140 members of our beloved CYC community converged on Sacramento for our 2018 Day at the Capitol (DAC). During the preceding two-day conference, CYC members participated in youth-led trainings to deepen their understanding of the legislative process and prepare to meet with members of the legislature. Prior to the noontime rally, CYC youth members from throughout the state spent the morning visiting over 100 offices to brief legislators on their 2018 priority, increasing stability for all foster youth.
With the leadership of CYC, Assemblymember Mike A. Gipson (D-Carson) introduced AB 2247, a bill that sets the foundation for a youth-centered process for planning stability. Read his press release here.
Assemblymember Gipson, Assemblymember Tony Thurmond (D–Richmond), and California Department of Social Services Director Will Lightbourne all spoke at the rally on the West Steps of the Capitol, congratulating CYC on its 30 years of youth-led advocacy and systems change, and expressing their support for CYC’s priorities.
“What makes Day At the Capitol a powerful event is the multiple chapters that come together. We are able to see that we are not alone in this fight. We not only come together, but we learn as one, practice as one and all journey to accomplish the same goal. DAC reinforces that we can accomplish anything if we work together because it takes a village to move a mountain. CYC is that village, our legislation is that mountain and DAC is where we get all of our supplies and equipment to actually move this mountain.”
— Christina Parker
San Bernadino Chapter Member
Listen to CYC board member Miguel Almodovar’s podcast, How to Change the World, made at Day at the Capitol. Miguel interviews fellow CYC members who explain AB 2247 and why it is so critically needed.
Read more about CYC’s 30 years of impact.
