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Research and Policy Translator:

Influences of my Foster Care Journey

National Foster Youth Institute

Shadow Week

Angelique Day, PhD, MSW, Professor

University of Washington

School of Social Work

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The Journey to Social Work & Academia

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1^st exposure to social work: Via Child Welfare system

1^st investigation occurred before my birth
2^nd age 6
^3rd age 7
^4th (and removed) age 11 from my mother
ICWA: Michigan has policy that allows decedents to be serviced under the law (not federally required to serve children not eligible for enrollment)
Foster parents (Betty & Neal Moore) Neal was Mohawk/Cherokee, Betty was white
Reunified age 13 with my father

Neal was quiet man of few words, automechanic

Betty was a pseudo social worker, was a commodity distributer in the community (she was known to us as she had delivered USDA commodities for our home before removal happened. She did not have a degree beyond a HS diploma

Neal lived an assimilated life, foster parents were Jehovah’s witness; religious practices were forced on all foster children living in the home

Extended family didn’t live close by (Either in WI or lower MI) so extended family placements were not considered (or at least that is what was documented in the child welfare case file)

Many tribes who have their own child welfare programs don’t have the capacity to serve children who are not eligible for enrollment

I do believe ICWA is a gold standard in child welfare practice, I was placed in care in the early 90’s, before the state adopted any absent parent protocols, and I don’t believe I would have experienced reunification with out it. My mother would never had been in a position to experience a successful reunification

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Academic Inspirations Lead to social work path

Health Occupations Students of America- class provided opportunity for paid internship with local community mental health authority
Provide respite services for children living with SED (Group and individual client settings)

Served tribal & nontribal families across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
Tribal families were over-represented in terms of agency caseload (made of 8% of all individuals in the county, but close 50% caseload; mix voluntary and court ordered)

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Social Work Training

FAME- Fostering Academics, Mentoring Excellence Program (2007)

Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Program

At CMU the director of the social work program was a member of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan, the tribes’ traditional lands in which the University stood on. I was really drawn to apply to CMU when I saw that the mission of the school of social work was focused on both rural and tribal social work practice. At graduation, I obtained a job working with the Saginaw Chippewa tribe as a youth program coordinator to run a youth mentoring program (which was a partnership between the tribe and the local big brothers big sisters program). A cool feature of this program was the requirement of mentors (whom were largely CMU students) to come to the reservation to do mentoring instead of taking the children off reservation. This policy forced the mentors to learn the values and strengths of the community in which they regularly engaged.

A year after I took this job, my mentor and director of the CMU social work program was recruited to work at MSU. I didn’t think about grad school until she mailed me a partially completed graduate school application with a letter of recommendation that she wrote which was attached. She said to me since the process was already started that I should finish it. She said she had negotiated a GRA position as part of her hire and that I could work for her if I was admitted. Through this GRA I worked with my faculty mentor on an American Indian grandparents as parents study.

Also at MSU, I met another faculty member, one that had a foster care background as well, and he taught me not to run away from my past, but that my past could actually help me in my career. He is the one that pushed me to think abut child welfare. At MSU, I built the FAME program, a college access and retention program for foster youth who were interested in pursuing their post-secondary education goals.

I didn’t really think about a degree beyond my MSW. It was my mentor, when we would present the findings from the grandparent study, she would say at the end, and Angelique is ready for a PhD program. Audience members after the talks were over would come ask me what PhD program I was in, and after that happened a few times, I thought I better enroll in one so I don’t disappoint her or all these other people that were asking me about it. I found a program with a military reserve type schedule at Western Michigan University that was built for the working student, and offered classes 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks in the summer, with the remaining time online.

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Post-MSW Career Experience

Child Protective Services Worker (MDHHS)

Work & Welfare Subcommittee

Michigan Indian Family Preservation Act

Subsidized Guardianship Act

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Research to Policy Translator: Journey at WSU(2011-2016)

TIP Wayne State

H.R.6669: Fostering Success in Higher Education Act (Davis) (last introduced in Sept 23)
H.R. 1446: The Foster Youth and Driving Act (Davis) (signed into law via the Supporting Foster Youth and Families through the Pandemic Act (Expired))

NRC FAHE (National consortium of researchers, lived experts & campus support professionals)
Study on health care outcomes of foster youth: Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation

H.R.1794: Foster Youth Dental Act of 2021 (Bass) (reintroduced by Moore)
Administrative Policy Change Michigan on dental visit requirements

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Research to Policy Translator: UW (2018-Present)

NTDC (Salt River Pima Maricopa Tribe)

Program built in response to the FFPSA requirement quality foster parent recruitment & retention
1^st publicly available foster parent training program adapted for tribal use) (formerly a private enterprise)
Now used in 35 states & 25 tribal nations across the United States

WA State Kinship Navigator (Port Gamble S’ Klallam; Makah; Lummi Nation; Samish Indian Nation)

Being replicated in WY, MT, VT, ME, NM, VA
Tribal adaptation being replicated in the tribal consortium in MN
HR 9076 Supporting America’s Children and Families Act (permanently funds kinship navigation and includes tribal set aside)

Healthy Transitions (Yakama Nation)- 1^st tribally adapted independent living program for foster youth

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Research to Policy Translation: Sabbatical(2024-Present)

Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Commissioner, Administration for Children, Youth & Families

Senior Policy Advisor, Tribal Health Research Office, National Institute of Health

Volunteer (2022-Present)

Legislative Director, Congressional Research Institute for Social Work Policy, Social Work Caucus, U.S. House of Representatives (Garcia)

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Feb. 2020