Imagine being a youth in foster care. You face many challenges that most people never experience and don’t have the same access to resources as your peers. Luckily, you are eligible to receive social security benefits. But, just as you start to feel that things are looking up for you, those funds are taken by the people who are meant to care for you. This was a reality for Oulu Noonan, a first-generation PSU Bachelor of Social Work student who recently proposed multiple senate bills to protect Oregon foster youths’ rights to claim social security benefits.
As a former foster youth who has experienced navigating poverty, Noonan has seen firsthand some of the challenges to positive outcomes faced by those who age out of care and has long advocated for systemic change.
“Since I aged out of foster care in 2009, I have advocated for Oregon's child welfare agencies to repay former foster youth any social security funds seized. The taking of these funds is an example of how foster youth are exploited; monetarily, physically, and emotionally. I find it unethical; these funds were meant to improve our lives, not to be used to reimburse the cost of our placement in care.”
Proposing multiple senate bills is a fantastic achievement, and doing so while being a full-time student and mother of four shows just how determined Noonan was to protect the rights of current and former foster youth.
“I do not have experience writing bills; what I do have is a never-ending perseverance to call on changes and meet with leaders who will listen and partner with me to make those changes,” said Noonan.
Noonan’s efforts did not go unnoticed for long, catching the attention of Senator Sara Gelser Blouin and Representative Maxine Dexter, who would prove to be the kind of leaders that Noonan was seeking.
Senator Blouin has a Master’s degree in social work, is Chair of the Oregon Senate Human Services Committee, and has consistently advocated for better outcomes for Oregon’s youth. Her accomplishments include expanding Oregon's mandatory child abuse reporting law, establishing transparent child welfare fatality reviews, and reducing barriers to access to medical and support services for children with disabilities.
Representative Dexter is Chair of the Oregon House Committee on Housing and Homelessness. Dexter also serves on the House Behavioral Health and Health Care committee and the House Emergency Management committee.
Noonan cited the support of Senator Gelser Blouin and Representative Dexter as a critical component to her success in navigating the legislative process; "You have to understand legal codes and what can be changed or what needs to be changed before a bill can be presented. It takes a lot of time and hard work to make a bill, and I had a lot of help.”
The proposed senate bill 556 aims to prohibit the seizure of benefits intended for youth in the custody of the Department of Human Services (DHS), while senate bill 557 would direct DHS to establish a grant program to provide financial support to those entitled to repayment of funds seized while they were in the custody of DHS.
Committed to continuing her work in improving outcomes for foster care youth, Noonan hopes to use her social work education as a means to do so.
“For the many barriers and struggles I have had to face as a former foster youth: how I am 33 years old and still navigating poverty, how accessing resources is difficult and my outcomes are still on one of the better ends of the spectrum, this is why I am interested in social work,” said Noonan. “I hope to either work for child welfare and one day direct this agency, or to be involved in political social work advocacy. I guess I aim high.”
Oulu Noonan is truly an extraordinary student who has accomplished something that will benefit the lives of countless foster youth in Oregon. We are proud to support Noonan in her journey to improve outcomes for youth statewide and we are excited to see what the future holds for her.