Foster Care & Extended Foster Care, Juvenile Justice

YLC Honors Unsung Heroes on December 7, 2015

Each year the Youth Law Center recognizes people who have made a difference in the lives of our clients during the past year at its Loren Warboys Unsung Heroes Reception.  This year’s honorees have helped improve the lives of children and youth involved in the nation’s foster care and justice systems.  It is our pleasure to honor:

• Trudy Petkovich and her daughter Deborah. Trudy Petkovich, the director of the Florida Foster Parent Association has fostered hundreds of children, including Deborah and her sister. Under Trudy’s leadership the Association has become a champion and driving force for quality foster parenting and YLC’s Quality Parenting Initiative. Currently, Deborah has dedicated a year out of her busy life to organize a creative statewide effort to recruit more families for teens, so every youth may have the loving, nurturing parenting she has received.
• Teri Kook. Teri Kook recently retired from the Stuart Foundation after 12 years, most recently serving as the Senior Director of Child Welfare. Her vision of a child welfare system where children and youth receive the supports to realize their full potential and willingness to invest in innovative work, drove child welfare policy and practice across the nation towards major improvements. Over the years, Teri’s support allowed YLC to seed and grow our core advocacy to align child welfare and juvenile justice practice and policy with developmental and brain science research, to ensure high quality parenting for every child and youth, and to ensure system involved youth have the education support necessary to thrive.
• Sue Burrell.  During Sue Burrell’s career at the Youth Law Center, her incredible advocacy has transformed the juvenile justice system and impacted the lives of tens of thousands of vulnerable youth. Sue has been a relentless advocate for systems to treat youth with dignity and humanity, to provide conditions and services that support their healthy development and likelihood of successful outcomes, and to ensure they have the representation they deserve. Sue’s vision, advocacy and accomplishments have built the foundation for change in the juvenile justice system and for YLC’s work in the future.

Please join us in honoring this year’s Unsung Heroes on December 7, 2015 by registering for this event by clicking here.   In keeping with the spirit of the event, admission is free.  To offset the cost of the event, we welcome donations.