Khi’Marria Marshall understands the foster care system not as a concept, but as a lived reality — one that shaped her childhood and continues to fuel her advocacy today.
A former Community Connections Youth Project (CCYP®) participant, Khi began speaking out as a teenager, using her voice to help others better understand the experiences of youth in care. She first shared her story publicly through youth panels at CMFCAA’s 2024 R.E.A.L. Conference, where she spoke candidly about instability, identity, and what it means to grow up navigating systems not built with youth voices at the center.
“When you’re in the foster system, it’s easy to feel like you’re an inconvenient problem rather than someone who deserves support and love,” Khi wrote in a 2025 Teen Vogue article examining the use of psychotropic medications in foster care.
Her willingness to speak honestly has carried far beyond CMFCAA’s service area. Even after moving away, Khi has remained deeply committed to advocacy, continuing to challenge policies and practices that affect children and youth in care. In her writing, she describes being moved frequently and placed in environments where medication was often used as a primary response to trauma. “I was shuffled between different homes and facilities where psychotropic drugs were the norm,” she wrote.
In April 2025, Teen Vogue published Khi’s essay, amplifying her perspective on foster care, mental health, and the importance of listening to young people with lived experience. The article marked a significant milestone, but it was far from her first. Her advocacy has also led to a role on Children’s Rights’ Client-Centered Lawyering Lived Experts Committee, where she helps inform legal practices through firsthand insight.
On Feb. 20, 2025, Khi was inducted into the Impact Fund’s Class Action Hall of Fame, recognizing her courage in sharing her story to drive systemic change. The honor highlights the growing influence of youth advocates whose experiences are too often overlooked.
Throughout her journey, Khi frequently acknowledges the adults who showed up consistently, including her CCYP Specialist, Ashley Whitehead. Her CASA worker also stood by her side during her time in foster care. She aged out at 19 after successfully petitioning the court and her team for early release, a decision that reflected both her independence and determination to shape her own future.
“I lost my innocence and my childhood to the foster system,” Khi wrote, “but I will not let this be the end of my story.”
Today, Khi continues to speak, write, and lead with purpose, using her experiences not to seek sympathy, but to push for a more just and responsive child welfare system. At CMFCAA, we are proud to have witnessed part of her journey, and even prouder to see how she continues to transform lived experience into lasting impact.
