NORTHAMPTON — When Sabrina Petrie thinks about Jane Lyons, she recalls fondly the woman who helped her navigate the beginnings of adulthood after a childhood spent in the foster care system.

“She’s more than just a mentor, she’s been a great friend,” she said of Lyons. “She’s asked me a lot to get a perspective of things, coming from a youth perspective or as someone who aged out of foster care.”

Petrie is just one of hundreds of former and current foster youth who have been assisted by Friends of Children, founded by Lyons in 1990 to advocate for children affected by the foster care and juvenile justice systems. Lyons, who has officially stepped down from the organization, was honored with a retirement ceremony last Thursday in Northampton’s Look Park.

“I was so startled by how kind people were and it was wonderful to see old colleagues and friends,” Lyons said in the days after the ceremony. “It was really a delicious send-off to retirement.”

Born in Tennessee at a time where the state was a hotbed of civil rights activism, Lyons knew she wanted to work with children even when she was still a child herself. Shortly after graduating from Clark University in Worcester, Lyons began work at the Massachusetts Office for Children, beginning her lifelong career in child advocacy.

“It’s clear that when it comes to advocacy for children, particularly those who are underserved and who become involved in our foster care system in the state, she is just an incomparable advocate,” said Joanne Vanin, who serves as vice president for Friends of Children’s board of directors and has been affiliated with the organization since 2003. “She is very committed to and passionate about the rights of these children and the need for us to do better by how we protect and serve these children’s needs.”

Debi Belkin, who serves as the director of programs at Friends of Children, said Lyons’ ability as an advocate comes from her willingness to take on the systems that vulnerable children are involved in to ensure the needs of those children are being met.

“These are children who have experienced trauma and abuse, who may have been in foster care or group homes, kids that have been removed from their families,” Belkin said. “She [Lyons] has done a terrific job in making sure that the child welfare agencies provide what is needed for these children.”

Lyons advocacy for foster care children doesn’t stop when they turn 18. With Friends of Children she developed the FOCUS programs, which helps those leaving the foster care system navigate the early phase of adulthood so they can develop the tools they need to be successful in their lives and careers.

“The big problem is after people get out of foster care, do they have the right resources to be able to help them succeed?” Petrie said. “You don’t get prepared very well for everything, and the cycle is that a lot of foster kids don’t go to college and have a hard time graduating high school.”

Though Lyons is stepping down from her role as executive director, she certainly isn’t finished with her advocacy work. She said she would continue to lobby for legislation that would provide greater oversight and accountability for state institutions, such as the Department of Children and Families, that deal with child welfare.

According to reports published by Friends of Children, the foster care system in Massachusetts lags behind that of other states, with children spending longer lengths of time in foster care compared to other states, with the length of time only increasing in recent years.

“Our child welfare system is terribly broken, and I’ve been concerned that it actually does more harm than good,” Lyons said. “In essence, it’s providing its own oversight. It really is not quality assurance. It’s foxes guarding the henhouse.”

Vanin said that Friends of Children is currently searching for a replacement for Lyons, and acknowledged that whoever succeeds her as executive director had big shoes to fill.

“It’s going to be a tough challenge to find someone to replace her and carry forward the legacy and the strong programs that we have,” Vanin said. “We are currently searching and it may be that we will have to make an interim appointment. Our goal is to find the right person and take the time that we need to do that.”

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.

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