CFSA’s Older Youth Empowerment (OYE) provides a host of programs and growth experiences for District teens and young adults in foster care. In partnership with social workers, foster caregivers, and the community, OYE’s goals are to teach, train, and guide these young people—and ultimately to help each one begin to recognize and develop his/her unique potential.
OYE Mission: Empower and educate young adults to think beyond today and to envision their tomorrow with vigor, focus, and a sustainable plan for their future.
Vision: Young adults will understand and develop the skills necessary to assist in making sound decisions in the areas of career planning, daily living, housing, money management, self-care, social relationships, and their work life as they journey toward independence.
Goals: Every child and youth will exit foster care to a well-supported family environment or lifelong connection as quickly as possible. CFSA staff will support families after permanence to ensure that family connections are stable and sustainable. Older youth will exit with the education and skills necessary to help them become successful, self-supporting adults.
Objectives:
1. Expand the delivery of life skills and educational and vocational support for youth from age 15 to their 21st birthday.
2. Be family-focused and engage youth and their families and support networks to push for permanence, and to maintain safety and well-being.
3. Ensure that a proper, safe, and sustainable permanency plan is expeditiously implemented.
Of the 2,000 children in District foster care, 59 percent are older youth and young adults, ages 12 to 21. CFSA has two critical obligations to young people in care.
- Everyone needs and deserves a family. The first responsibility is to secure permanent, nurturing homes for youth in care, whether through reunification with their birth families, legal guardianship (often with relatives), or adoption. At a minimum, every young person in care should have a relationship with a supportive adult dedicated to offering lifelong guidance and support. Rekindling family or forging new, lasting relationships for these young people is critical since agency support ends at age 21.
- While they are youth in care, CFSA is committed to preparing them for adulthood. Although a public agency cannot fully take on the role of an ideal parent, youth in foster care are navigating their formative years within the child welfare system. Along with the same developmental needs as all teens, young people in care face a host of special challenges through no fault of their own. They especially need and deserve quality nurturing, guidance, support, and all the opportunities good parents provide for their children.
Location:
Older Youth Empowerment
3350 9th Street, NE
Washington, DC 20017