Fostering Futures for Teens

Teen Advocacy & Mentoring

Each year in Essex County, 200 young people between the ages of 18 and 21 age out from the foster care system. Aging out of foster care without a life plan or preparation puts these vulnerable youth at great risk of homelessness, unemployment, substance abuse, criminal involvement and mental health issues. Thanks to a generous grant from the National CASA Association (NCASAA) and the Walmart Foundation, we have a chance to do something about this.

In March 2010, Essex County CASA was selected as one of 16 sites nationwide to help launch a new national program designed to address the unique challenges faced by youths as they leave foster care to become independent adults. This program, called Fostering Futures is based on a research model and study out of the University of Michigan called Possible Selves that helps young people achieve their full potential by promoting a positive self identity, setting goals for the future and making plans to achieve those goals. The Fostering Futures program engages CASA volunteers as advocates/mentors to teens in foster care between the ages of 14 to 21, with the goal of helping them develop specific plans for making a successful transition from foster child to independent adult.

Essex County CASA was selected to participate in this pilot initiative because of our strong commitment to working with youths as they transition out of foster care. As Michael Piraino, CEO of NCASA has said, we are "well-managed, have strong infrastructures and leadership, a good record of sustainability and the capacity to engage in a significant new project." We are excited to have been selected to participate in this program because we strongly believe that the Fostering Futures model will provide advocates with a valuable tool and structure for working with their teenage case child.

As of March 31, 2011, Essex County CASA has trained 72 volunteers as advocate/mentors for teens aging out of foster care. The willingness of volunteers to commit the time and energy to mentor teens who have no one else in their lives to take on this role is an amazing thing. Most of our advocate/mentors have families and children of their own, and yet they find the time to give so freely of themselves to a child in need of a safe and permanent home. For teens aging out of foster care, permanency is a unique concept. These young people are unlikely to leave foster care to live with an adult who accepts legal responsibility for them. They will leave for independent lives of their own and they need to be prepared to successfully care for themselves. Our advocate/mentors are volunteers who make a commitment to help a teen through that transition. In FY2012, Essex County CASA hopes to train an additional 40 CASA volunteers as advocate/mentors while continuing to support the work of our current group. We are grateful everyday for the commitment of our CASA volunteers. The lives of children hang in the balance.