In the news
Data breach impacting Minnesota Fosters
Read our statement
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St Paul, June 9, 2023
Today we discovered that 95,000 Fosters were needlessly put at risk through a large-scale cybersecurity attack. The recent data breach at the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) impacts 158 current students and 95,000 current and former students in our state’s foster care system. This breach may have the potential to impact Fosters and families as far back as 2013.
By virtue of entering foster care, Fosters are already among the most vulnerable young people in our state. Fosters are particularly at an increased risk of identity theft due to the number of people who have access to their private information. Additionally, counties and the Department of Human Services (DHS) lack accountability for providing care and protection for Fosters, further endangering an already vulnerable community.
Earlier this year, when a severe data breach occurred at Minneapolis Public Schools, Foster Advocates met with officials from MDE and DHS to preemptively address the vulnerability of potential identity theft within the Foster population. Despite our caution and recommendations, no additional security measures or protections were taken. There were no recovery tools provided to foster youth impacted by such a significant data breach of personal information.
Minnesota has monumentally failed to follow the identity protections created by the Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act and the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act. These laws require states to perform credit checks once yearly for children aged 14-21 in foster care. It also requires states to help impacted Fosters understand and fix any inaccuracies or issues found in their credit reports.
Foster Advocates has recommended that the legislature, DHS, and the counties take the following preventative measures to protect Fosters:
-Requiring counties and the State to provide evidence that these credit checks are happening and report this yearly to the legislature. There is no publicly available evidence these identity protections are being followed despite government agencies that serve foster youth being required to do so under federal law.
-Requiring that every child welfare agency (CWA) employee be made aware of the free services provided by the Identity Theft Resource Center and the Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft sites. We recommend that CWA’s are required to provide credit protection for youth whose identities have been compromised. This information needs to be relayed in verbal and written form in ways that are accessible to youth.
-Requiring that children in the state’s care have their credit frozen until they turn 18 or until they decide to unfreeze it.
-Requiring that social security numbers cannot be shared digitally outside of an information security program.
It is devastating when any young person is harmed. However, it is irrefutably negligent for preventable harm to go unaddressed by the very systems designed to provide protection. When families are not providing safety for their children, the government intervenes. But what resources are available to impacted Fosters when the government is the one causing the harm? Last year, the legislature passed an Office of the Ombudsperson for Foster Youth-creating an independent government official meant to mitigate harm through enforcing existing protections and monitoring potential issues that could endanger foster youth. Despite being signed into law by the Governor nearly a year ago, the office has yet to be implemented. It is unacceptable that Fosters continue to be failed by our state with no measure of accountability, restorative steps or cautionary actions taken. We will continue to hold these systems accountable to their commitment and responsibility to Fosters. Fosters are our children, and as our children, we owe Fosters a duty of care. We can and must do better.
For additional media inquiries, contact chelsea@fosteradvocates.org
Foster Advocates has a new Executive Director!
Read the press release
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Hoang Murphy to step down; Nikki Beasley named Executive Director of Foster Advocates, effective June 30, 2023
MINNEAPOLIS, May 24, 2023 –Foster Advocates announced that Founder, Hoang Murphy, will transition out of the Executive Director role effective June 30, 2023. Former Board member Nikki Beasley will succeed Murphy as Executive Director. To support the transition Murphy and Beasley will co-lead the organization until Murphy’s departure.
“On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Hoang for his invaluable contributions over the last five years,” said Board Chair, Barbara (Ms. Bob-e) Simpson Epps. “As we welcome Nikki and embrace the success that Foster Advocates has accomplished, we do so knowing that none of this would have been possible without the vision, leadership and passion of Hoang. We are delighted that he has coordinated such a thorough and intentional transition period prior to his departure. It has been a true blessing to witness a leader make such a critical decision with so much care and integrity. While we are sad to see Hoang go, we are eternally grateful for his impact and are looking forward to the ways in which Nikki’s experience will build upon this incredible legacy as we continue to lead systems change alongside Fosters in Minnesota.”
Murphy, who founded the organization in 2018, led the passage of revolutionary legislation that has impacted the child welfare landscape of Minnesota and beyond. Murphy was the architect of Keeping Fosters in School Act, Fostering Independence Grants, Maya’s Law and the Ombuds Office for Fosters. This recent legislative session saw Foster Advocates secure funding to expand their Foster Success programs. This past fall, with the passing of the Fostering Independence Grants (FIG), Minnesota saw the first wave of Foster’s utilizing grants to seek an education that was otherwise unattainable to them prior to the existence of this legislation. In the first year of FIG, nearly 500 Fosters have pursued higher education, making it the most comprehensive Foster education bill in the country.
“Founding and leading Foster Advocates has been the honor of my lifetime. I’m proud of what we’ve built. I’ve always said this movement is never about a single person, it’s about Fosters. Centering us, listening to us and creating opportunities for us to lead in ways that are empowering. Which is why it was important to me as I sought a replacement, that this work is continued to be led by a Foster. As a Foster herself and a board member for the last two years, Nikki has an intimate understanding of the foster care system and of our work. I have full confidence in her values and her leadership and I join the board and our amazing staff in welcoming her and supporting her in this new role.”
“What has always made this work so meaningful is the community of Fosters we’ve developed along the way,” Murphy continued. “ As we work together over the next month on this transition, our commitment to our purpose, our mission and our values remains. Our work has always been and will continue to be led by Fosters.”
Since joining the board in 2021 Beasley has played a significant role in fundraising, organizational events and policy consultation. With over 20 years of experience in the non-profit sector, focused primarily on housing and advocacy –Beasley is poised to continue the success of Foster Advocates as the organization expands to focus on more direct service in the near future.
“As a Foster myself, I understand the trauma and uncertainty that the future holds when you are a young person in care, struggling to just survive,” said Beasley. “There were times I experienced loss, fear and anxiety about what would be next in life for me. Overcoming the many barriers I faced being a child in foster care, motivates me to carry on this work to ensure that Fosters in Minnesota can achieve their full potential. I am thrilled for the opportunity to lead this work alongside a dedicated team of professionals who share my passion for Foster rights and I look forward to leading this work together.”
For additional media inquiries, contact chelsea@fosteradvocates.org
Check out these local and national articles featuring expert voices from our staff and Fosters leaders in our network, as well as Minnesota Foster op-ed and commentary pieces!
Featured Article:
(11/26/22) Star Tribune: Minnesota Counties Take Millions in Federal Benefits Meant for Children in Foster Care
Featured Article:
(11/28/22) WCCO: Are Minnesota Counties Stealing Social Security Payments from Foster Kids?
(11/18/22) Imprint Youth Voice: Lending my Voice to Legislative Change for Minnesota Foster Youth
(11/17/22) Imprint Youth Voice: Autism in the Foster System
(11/16/22) Imprint Youth Voice: Segregation of LGBTQ+ Youth
(11/15/22) Imprint Youth Voice: Broken System Leads to Broken Families
(11/14/22): Imprint Youth Voice: The Intersection of Generational Trauma and Foster Care
(8/27/22) Star Tribune New Voices: Being LGBTQ in foster care is to encounter discrimination, ambiguity
(8/15/22) Imprint: Under a New Law, These Minnesota Foster Youth are College-Bound, Tuition-Free
(7/14/22) Youth Voice: I Was Treated as a Problem in Foster Care Because of my Autism
(6/28/22): Star Tribune: St. Paul Bush Fellow Hoang Murphy wants to help children in foster care find deeper connections
(6/13/22) The Imprint: Minnesota Foster Youth, Advocates Celebrate Creation of Ombuds Office
(06/12/22) Fox9: College grant giving Minnesota students raised in foster system a life-changing chance
(6/09/22) MPR News: Past & current Bush fellows reflect on changes needed to foster care in MN
(5/18/22) Youth Voice: Look Further Than the Surface
(05/17/22) The Imprint: Proposed Laws Limit Practice of Seizing Federal Benefits from Fosters
(05/16/22) Youth Voice Writing Contest 2022 — First Place, Poetry: Safe Me
(02/24/22) Youth Voice: Positive Self-Talk As a Way to Handle Tough Moments
(02/01/22) Youth Voice: How Coping Skills Can Help to Manage Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(01/03/22) Youth Voice: Group Homes Have a Legacy of Causing Harm to Foster Youth
(11/09/21) The Imprint: Snapshots From the Life in the Foster Care System
(9/28/21) WCCO: Foster Youths Affected By Pandemic Eligible For Financial Assistance
(9/22/21) WCCO: Foster Youths Affected By Pandemic Eligible For Financial Assistance
(9/20/21) Racial Reckoning: New State Program Provides Free Tuition For Students In Foster Care
(9/9/21) The Imprint: As Deadline for Federal Pandemic Relief Looms, Fosters Are Being Failed Yet Again
(7/31/2021) Star Tribune: New state grant program will cover college costs..
(7/13/21) MN Reformer: Teens in foster care will go to college for free, under new state program
(6/3/21) The Imprint: Minnesota Bill Would Remove Financial Burden of College for State’s Foster Youth
(5/27/21) The imprint: MN Foster Children are no Less Safe in Kinship Homes, and Benefits Abound
(5/25/21) The Imprint: One Year Later: Youth Voice Writers Reflect on the Police Murder of George Floyd
(3/18/21) Star Tribune: Lifeline for Foster Youth hit by Pandemic
(9/24/20) The Imprint: Survey Finds Black and Native Foster Youth Bearing the Brunt of Coronavirus in MN
(9/11/20) The Imprint: New School Year Brings More Uncertainty for Minnesota Foster Youth
(9/7/20) The Imprint: Suicide Looms Large in Minds of Many Foster Youth
