GET INVOLVED
Advocacy
You’ll be taught the skills you need to advocate for yourself and for others in foster care so your voice can be heard, whether it’s loud or soft.
Advocacy Opportunities
Speaking Engagements
Share your Story
Youth Panels
Represent Yourself and your Peers
Social Media
Be featured in News Outlets
Leadership Development
Sharpen your Leadership Skills
Collaborative Partnerships
SPEAKOUT (Strong Positive Educated Advocates Keen On Understanding the Truth)
SPEAKOUT is for youth in foster care and alumni, age 15-26, who are interested in using their voice to provide input on foster care regulations, policy, guidance, and practice concerns, while also building advocacy and leadership skills. The group will ideally consist of 15-20 foster youth from across the state. It is expected that the group will meet several times a year to discuss issues and share ideas with VDSS. The meetings for the group will be held in various locations throughout the state.
Be a foster care success story!
Help yourself and other youth in foster care by speaking up, sharing your ideas, getting involved in opportunities to change the foster system and becoming a leader. Project LIFE conference planning, SPEAKOUT, Youth MOVE, workshop co-facilitation, and youth panels are all great ways to take a giant step toward the life you want.
Lacey Radford
Youth Development Coordinator
Lacey joined Shineforth, formally UMFS, in 2023 as the Youth Development Coordinator. Prior to this role, she served as the Education and Training (ETV) Administrative Specialist with the Virginia Department of Social Services. An alumnus of the foster care system, Lacey entered care at age 15 and later aged out of Impact Living Services’ Independent Living Program on her 21st birthday. Before aging out, she earned her associate degree from Germanna Community College with the support of Great Expectations and plans to continue her education. In her role with Project LIFE, she supports young adults in the foster care system by coordinating and assisting with workshops that help youth develop essential life skills for success, serving as the liaison between SPEAKOUT—Virginia’s Youth Advisory Board—and Project LIFE, and managing the program’s social media presence.
Most recently, Lacey has represented Project LIFE at the Safe Children, Strong Families Child Welfare event at the Governor’s Office, where she met Governor Youngkin and shared her lived experience in foster care with him and others. Lacey is deeply passionate about supporting youth and using her lived experience to connect with, empower, and guide young people toward success. Her work is driven by a genuine commitment to helping youth feel seen, supported, and confident in their futures.