Areas of Focus
From neglect and abuse to challenges finding employment, many foster youth who lack the stability and support of family experience a special set of difficulties throughout life.
For many foster youth, resilience is a necessity, not a choice. Without stable family support, they face urgent challenges — barriers that perpetuate cycles of poverty and instability, threatening not only their futures but the nation’s economic viability. From securing housing to accessing education and employment, we believe steps to stability should not be an uphill climb foster youth.
To address this, NFYI has launched a three-year campaign, “Urgency to Act: Unlocking Foster Youth Wellbeing,” to address the six key issues below that contribute to children entering foster care and to ensure that current/former foster youth transition into adulthood with the resources, skills, and support they need to thrive. Through policy recommendations created by NFYI staff and youth, strategic storytelling, and grassroots mobilization, the campaign is building a national movement focused on brighter futures for foster youth and their families. While NFYI has worked on these issues since 2016, this campaign marks the first time the organization is employing a multi-pronged, intersectional, and holistic approach to tackle the foster youth homelessness crisis, preserve families, and create sustainable pathways to mental, physical, and socioeconomic well-being.
The Issues We Work On:
Secure Housing
We’re supporting former foster youth who are mobilizing in their communities to fight for the 20 percent of youth who will leave foster care and immediately become homeless.
Family Preservation
Keeping families together whenever safely possible leads to better outcomes for children and prevents unnecessary trauma.
Health & Wellness
A range of holistic supports and resources can help current/former foster youth who face complex health challenges stemming from early trauma.
Prevention of Prison Pipelines
Children who have been in foster care are disproportionately at risk of being incarcerated, a phenomenon often referred to as the “foster care-to-prison pipeline”.
Substance use Prevention
Substance use prevention is a critical component of ensuring healthier futures for foster youth and families.
Pathways to Social and Economic Mobility
By investing in foster youth education, employment, and financial well-being, we can break down systemic barriers and open doors to lasting social and economic mobility.
By creating leadership opportunities and training for former foster youth, we position them to inform important policy discussions on child welfare.
