Mentoring and Job Training for Older Foster Youth
The Imprint is highlighting each of the policy recommendations made this year by the participants of the Foster Youth Internship Program, a group of eight former foster youth who have completed congressional internships.
The annual program is overseen by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that raises awareness about the needs of children without families. Each of the participants crafted a policy recommendation during their time in Washington, D.C.
Today we highlight the recommendation from Erick Alvarez, a senior at the University of Nebraska.
The Proposal
Alvarez advocates for greater federal investment in mentoring and other social support for youth who are transitioning into adulthood after foster care. He urges the passage of three recently introduced bills focused on mentoring and workforce readiness programs, and argues that Congress should allow federal funds to support “SOUL Family” arrangements, a new approach to extended foster care. SOUL Family is a concept developed by former foster youth that enables transition-age youth to identify different adults who will play a meaningful role in their lives as they enter adulthood; Kansas recently became the first state to officially incorporate SOUL Family into its official options for permanency.
The Argument
Even with the extension of foster care to 21 in many states, the process of transitioning to adulthood from the system is “full of unknowns,” Alvarez writes. High rates of foster youth have no employment experience or a high school diploma at 21, making it critical to provide “structured mentoring that focuses on impactful outcomes.”
In Their Own Words
“My mentors, Miah, Curtis and Ashley, along with the support of my sister, provided coaching for sustainable self-sufficiency; they significantly changed my life. They became, and remain, my support system when I aged out of foster care, serving as the role models and informal support I needed.”
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