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Youth Voice

Young people and adults who have experienced the child welfare system possess wisdom that can only be known from their direct and personal experience.

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Youth in care and Alumni of care have shared their perspectives, experiences, and thoughts in various ways, including video presentations, poetry, photography, digital stories, news articles, and artwork. This can be highly impactful both for the artist and the audience. 

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The following videos collaborate with individuals who have experienced Maine’s foster care system. These individuals want you to know about their experiences with Maine’s Youth Leadership Advisory Team (YLAT) and how being involved has impacted their lives. We hope that the personal experiences of current and former YLAT members will inspire other youth in care to get involved. Check out our calendar to find a meeting near you to get involved today!

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If you have a creative piece that you would like to contribute, please email your poem, video, or other art to: MaineYLAT@gmail.com

Youth Leadership Advisory Team (YLAT)

Youth Leadership Advisory Team logo, click to navigate to the home page.

YLAT is a joint project between Maine’s Youth in Foster Care, The Maine Department of Health and Human Services, and the Catherine Cutler Institute at University of Southern Maine. YLAT is committed to improving the short-term and long-term outcomes for youth who are or have been in foster care.

YLAT
MEETING CALENDAR

  • Visit the MaineYLAT Facebook page
Visit the YLAT YouTube channel. opens in a new tab.

The Catherine Cutler Institute at the University of Southern Maine is committed to making our websites and digital content accessible to all users. We are actively working to improve the accessibility and usability of our websites and to align with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA.


Accessibility is an ongoing process. We regularly review our websites using automated tools and manual checks, and we continue to make improvements as issues are identified. If you encounter a barrier to accessing information on this website or need content in an alternative format, please contact us.

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When reaching out, please include:
-The web page or URL where you encountered the issue
-A brief description of the problem
-Your contact information (if you would like a response)
Contact us: maineylat@gmail.com

YLAT, Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine, PO Box 9300,

Portland, ME 04104-9300, phone: 207-780-5861

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