We are proud to celebrate Alicia Bissonette, one of MCA's 2026 Champions for Children Giraffe Award Winners, and to honor a remarkable youth who has truly “stuck their neck out” for Maine’s children and families.

At just 20 years old, Alicia turned a deeply personal experience in foster care into a powerful catalyst for change. After being given the opportunity to testify in court about the impact of psychiatric medications on their life, including the experience of taking the medications, coming off them, and living with their lasting effects Alicia used their voice to raise awareness about the risks and concerns surrounding overmedication of young people in foster care.

Their testimony contributed to significant policy changes within the Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS). The resulting reforms strengthened the rights and protections of young people aged 14 and older, ensuring that youth are included in decisions about their medications and that a caseworker is present at medical and medication management appointments. Additional changes established training requirements for Resource Parents and Caseworkers, the right to seek a second medical opinion, and a direct process for young people to file grievances when they believe their medication-related rights have not been respected.

Rather than stopping when the policy changed, Alicia continued to turn advocacy into action. Working alongside the OCFS Medical Director, Dr. Carmack, they helped develop training to educate young people about their rights and have spoken nationally about medication practices affecting youth in foster care. Most recently, Alicia helped redesign the  Making a Choice Guide  to give young people in foster care clearer, more accessible information about medication. The guide was developed in partnership with the Youth Leadership Advisory Team, ensuring that young people's perspectives remain at the center of the work.

Alicia also brings their lived expertise to a committee through Children's Rights, where they help develop trauma-informed practice guidance for attorneys working with young people.

At the heart of Alicia's advocacy is a simple but powerful goal: to ensure that no young person feels as unheard or powerless as they once did. Their work reminds youth that their experiences matter, their voices deserve to be heard, and they have the right to participate in decisions that affect their lives. Through courageous storytelling, policy advocacy, education, and youth-centered leadership, Alicia is helping create a foster care system where young people are not simply spoken about, but are listened to, respected, and empowered to speak for themselves.