Judge Songhai Armstead Joins Board of Directors at National Foster Youth Institute

Brings Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Experience to the Role

LOS ANGELES, CA — Retired LA Superior Court Judge Songhai Armstead joins the Board of Directors at the National Foster Youth Institute (NFYI), bringing both lived and professional experience in the child welfare system to the organization. Widely recognized as an innovator and longtime advocate for the underserved, Armstead’s experience will inform a central tenet of the NFYI vision: dismantling the foster care-to-prison pipeline.

“Nearly half of NFYI members — young adults between 18 and 30 with lived experience in foster care — have shared with us that they have juvenile justice or criminal systems involvement,” said Rebecca Louve Yao, executive director of NFYI. “They’re not alone. Justice system involvement is disturbingly common among current and former foster youth. We cannot meet our mission of transforming foster care and improving outcomes for transition age youth without also addressing the biases and discrimination that are part of our criminal justice system. We are thrilled that Judge Armstead is joining us in creating brighter futures for current and former foster youth.”

Founded in 2012, by now-Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, NFYI is a youth development organization that empowers current and former foster youth to use their lived experience to transform the child welfare system and their own lives.

“Judge Armstead brings an important voice to NFYI, reflecting her lived experience in care, her work in the legal system, and the ambitions that we all share to make a critical difference in the systems that impact vulnerable youth,” said Dr. Wendy Smith Meyer, chair of the NFYI board of directors. “We look forward to working with her to turn these systems away from hurting those in their care and toward creating communities that more closely resemble the ‘beloved community’ described by Dr. Martin Luther King.”

Judge Armstead has over 20 years of experience in the largest and most complex justice system in the country. She serves as the director of LA County’s Justice, Care, and Opportunities department. Throughout her career, she has worked to address the root causes of youth involvement in the juvenile justice system, advocating for alternatives to incarceration, restorative justice systems, and investment in mental health services.

“I was introduced to NFYI at the inaugural LA Foster Youth Shadow Day,” said Armstead. “I attended a presentation on policy recommendations developed by NFYI’s youth members and was impressed and inspired by their personal stories and thoughtful ideas on addressing juvenile justice reform, housing, mental health care, and more for current and former foster youth. By the end of the presentation, I was ready to take action — that’s the power of foster youth voices.”placements in the foster care system and the now-closed MacLaren Hall Children’s Center.