FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 18, 2023
Missouri Sponsoring Two Youth Attending FosterClub AllStar Internship
JEFFERSON CITY, MO – The Department of Social Services is excited to announce that Missouri will be sponsoring two youth to attend the 2023 FosterClub AllStar Internship.
We are proud to have Lacy Nolan and Shanae Boone as our 2023 FosterClub Allstars. Both youth are members of the State Youth Advisory Board (SYAB), and were instrumental in preparing for and presenting at the 2023 Child Advocacy Day at our state capitol.
In 2022, Lacy was elected as the Censor officer of the SYAB, and is involved in her Local Youth Advisory Board in Kansas City. She is an active member of Al-Anon and Ala-teen family groups and the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program Youth Action Board. Lacy is a freshman at the University of Missouri - Kansas City and aspires to a Psychiatrist after graduation.
“I am excited to be given this opportunity to learn with fellow youth with lived experience of being in foster care from across the United States to make foster care a better place,” Lacy says.
Shanae has the opportunity to attend The Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) Conference. After the conference, she will be an Adolescent Advisor for Maternal and Child Health Programs. She is also an active member of the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program Youth Action Board. Shanae is a freshman at Jefferson Community College and is aspiring to be a licensed therapist to help youth in foster care, a poet, and a writer.
“This is a start of something new and a chance to expand my horizons,” says Shanae.
Our 2022 FosterClub AllStar, Faith Sharp, was selected from a national application process for the 2023 Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) Foster Youth Internship Program (FYI). Faith will participate in a 9-week internship in Washington D.C. and write a federal child welfare policy report throughout the summer.
Faith says, “The FosterClub internship provided me a space to learn more about myself and how to lead in a way that works best for me. I wish the two newest AllStars the best of luck on this adventure, and hope they make the same lasting connections that I did last summer.”
The mission of the Department of Social Services is to empower Missourians to live safe, healthy, and productive lives.
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