What We Do
Working to Create a Brighter Future for America’s Foster Youth and Their Families
Leadership Development
In partnership with organizations, policymakers, and child welfare advocates across the country, NFYI is involved in a number of programs aimed at helping foster youth and their families, which include:
Leadership Corps
See how NFYI is training foster youth to become community leaders and helping them to develop life skills.
Job Shadowing & Internships
Learn about how NFYI is helping foster youth and alumni of foster care prepare for entering the workforce.
Shadow Day Program
Every year, foster youth travel to Washington, D.C. to shadow Members of Congress for a day on the Hill.
Civic Engagement
NFYI engages with elected officials and their staff to shape public policy on issues pertaining to foster youth and the child welfare system. Programs related to civic engagement that NFYI is involved in include:
Dinners with Congress
Every year, foster youth travel to Washington, D.C. to shadow Members of Congress for a day on the Hill.
Listening Tours
NFYI coordinates field visits to help policymakers learn more about foster care and child welfare firsthand.
To accomplish our mission of vastly improving outcomes for foster youth, our organization focuses on three main areas:
Working with Members of Congress to focus on federal policy
NFYI works closely with the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth to organize Members of Congress, and state and local officials, along with foster youth and families, foster care alumni, and child welfare experts to propose new policy ideas and identify best practices and challenges regarding the implementation of existing child welfare laws.
Mobilizing grassroots support for child welfare reform
With our growing nationwide network of foster youth, alumni of foster care, foster, adoptive, and birth parents, and child welfare reform advocates, we aim to have community leaders in each of the 435 Congressional districts across the U.S. that will partner with policymakers at all levels of government to articulate pressing issues and explore possible solutions through policy change.
EMPOWERING FOSTER YOUTH AND FAMILIES TO MAKE THEIR VOICES HEARD
Through online and inperson community organizing trainings, and participation in campaigns to implement existing laws and identify unmet needs, NFYI provides foster youth and families with the skills they need to become effective advocates for a brighter future.
Help us make a difference on the issues that affect foster youth
