Hastings Participates in Foster Youth Shadow Day

Press Release

Today, Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-Miramar) participated in the first-ever Shadow Day on Capitol Hill for foster youth. Hastings was shadowed by Breon Callins from Broward County, Florida and Goldie Brown from Washington, D.C.

"I genuinely enjoyed having Breon and Goldie spend the day with me," said Congressman Hastings. "These two young men are shining examples of the great advocates that former foster youth can be for issues facing the child welfare system. Having experienced the foster care system first-hand, they bring much needed awareness to policymakers like myself on what works and does not work in the system. I hope they learned as much from this experience as I learned from them as we continue to work to strengthen the foster care system."

"It has been fun and interesting learning about the different things Members do," said Breon Callins about this experience. "It is nice to know that we have good people taking care of all the people. I think it is great that they are getting more people involved in the process."

"This was a powerful experience," Goldie Brown remarked. "It is great to learn that the Congressman is concerned about different issues, both domestically and internationally, and especially his interest in foster youth and education."

Hosted by the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, the Shadow Day on Capitol Hill allowed current and former foster youth from across the nation to spend the day accompanying Members of Congress in an effort to help them understand the inner workings of the House of Representatives, learn about the legislative initiatives related to foster care, and share their stories with policymakers.

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