Rescue The Fosters w/ Special Guest: Foster Care Survivor & Child Advocate - Lakieva Johnson

Lakievia “Lucky” Johnson is a Foster Care Alumni, Non-Custodial Parent, and Trafficking Survivor. Born in Augusta, Georgia, Lakievia initially entered the foster care system at the age of 11. After being returned to family for a brief period of time, she would end up back in the foster care system at the age of 14 and would remain there until she aged out at the age of 18. While in a foster home, at the age of 16, Lakievia was sold for sex by the foster parent she was living with at the time. Because of safety issues, Lakievia did not report the assault until after she turned 18 years old. Even then, however, her police reports were swept under the rug, she was shamed, the benefits she received as a Foster Care Alumni and college student in the State of Georgia were stripped from her, and after reporting the assault to a judge during a post-divorce custody dispute, in 2019, custody of her children was taken from her, given to a third party, and, she was banned from seeing and speaking to her two daughters.

In 2024, after years of alienation from her children, Lakievia went back to court for her youngest daughter because she was contacted by her oldest daughter days after she turned 18. Once again, Lakievia was retaliated against and humiliated by the judge on her case, but this time, Lakievia was knowledgeable about her rights to file a Motion for Reconsideration and appeal, and she filed both on her own. Having had a total of four attorneys and being forced to represent herself because of a lack of support over the years, Lakievia is representing herself again as a Pro Se Appellant, and she is awaiting a judgment from the Georgia Court of Appeals.

Also, as a doctoral student at the backend of her program, Lakievia has presented research on the foster care system. She is also an advocate for Foster Children and Foster Care Alumni and an Anti-Human Trafficking Activist. Furthermore, Lakievia is a certified Project Management Professional who uses her project management skills and training to advance the anti-trafficking missions of organizations like Rahab’s Daughters and Rescue the Fosters.