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Did you know that there is a Foster Youth Bill of Rights? These rights ensure that foster youth have the opportunity to get the healthcare they need and deserve— including sexual & reproductive services.

Tamar and Alexis of RHEP’s Youth Advisory Board sit down with Rebecca Gudeman, a lawyer and the Senior Director of Health at the National Center for Youth Law (NCYL), to highlight many of these rights for youth in California and to talk about what often gets in the way of youth in care being able to fully benefit from them.

Bottom line: you have the right to make decisions about your own body.

Content Advisory: The stories we are sharing sometimes touch on different kinds of trauma, please take care of yourself while you listen.

Host:

Tamar, Youth Advisory Board Member

Guests:

Rebecca Gudeman, Senior Director, Health, National Center for Youth Law

Alexis, Youth Advisory Board member, former foster youth

Resources:

Visit https://fosterreprohealth.org/resources/ for information on accessing care, finding a clinic near you, birth control methods, and more.

Foster Youth Bill of Rights for California lists the rights Rebecca spoke about as well as others.

About Self-Taught: Former Foster Youth on Sex, Health, and Life:

Self-Taught: Former Foster Youth on Sex, Health, and Life is a podcast from foster youth, for foster youth, with unfiltered conversations about puberty, relationships, sexual health, identity, and much more that we wish were part of our upbringing. It is hosted by the youth advisory board of the Reproductive Health Equity Project at the National Center for Youth Law.

Self-Taught: Former Foster Youth on Sex, Health, and Life is supported through a grant to the National Center for Youth Law from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. We are very grateful for their support. Contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Hilton Foundation.

Self-Taught: Former Foster Youth on Sex, Health, and Life is produced in California. Laws, policies and programs discussed in this episode may be specific to California.

Watch our episodes at https://rhep.info/self-taught.

Learn more about the podcast and the Reproductive Health Equity Project at www.fosterreprohealth.org

Email us with questions, comments, and feedback at email@fosterreprohealth.org.