Internships for Former Foster Youth
Roots and Seeds: The Foundations of Change
NFYI’s Internship program is dedicated to strengthening grassroots organizing at its deepest level — by investing in the professional growth of our interns who are current and former foster youth between 18 and 30. We nurture the next generation of changemakers, empowering them to uplift their communities through networking, mobilization, and leadership. This cycle of growth not only benefits our interns but also strengthens NFYI’s foundation for long-term impact.
Interns work at NFYI for six months, providing essential support to the organization while bringing their lived experiences to the work. Our paid internships ensure foster youth voices are woven into our work at every level, provide peer mentoring that draws more young people into our community, and help prepare our interns for future jobs. Just half of former foster youth are employed at 24, resulting in higher rates of poverty and homelessness. We’re developing the next generation of leaders who are prepared for the workforce and to earn family-supporting wages, while simultaneously having a transformational impact on the foster care system.
Young adults in foster care and TAY may encounter challenges beyond the scope of traditional internships. NFYI staff are experienced in bringing a trauma-informed approach to supervising the program, and are adept at identifying and addressing issues that can sometimes derail a former foster youth’s participation in internships such as housing instability, health care, and juggling multiple commitments like school, work, and childcare.
Organizing Interns
NFYI Organizing Internships are typically based in Los Angeles and focus on uplifting foster youth voices in a region with the largest population of foster youth in the country.
The LA Organizing Internship program hires two to five current/former foster youth for a six month paid internship in which they seek to engage and mobilize transition age youth across the county.
Interns participate in intensive training programs designed by NFYI to develop community organizing, professional development, and advocacy skills. They also create and participate in policy and civic engagement activities.
Previously, our youth leaders have played an integral role in the hiring process of LA County’s Department of Children and Family Services director and they meet with him regularly. They’ve organized “Speak Out” and open mic events to educate the community and lend their voices to critical issues. They’ve mobilized voters around ballot initiatives by phone banking and distributing literature. And they helped pass Proposition HHH and Measure H, which are focusing resources on unhoused Angelenos.
Policy internships
NFYI’s policy interns play a critical role in guiding the strategy and work that is done at the organization.
Tasked with supporting the staff in developing meaningful ways to drive transformational change within the child welfare system, interns help plan and facilitate Congressional Town Halls and coordinate with local chapter members to develop innovative outreach campaigns at the local level. Policy interns take a deep dive in learning about how policy and legislation impacts the child welfare system on a national, state, and local level.
Sign up for our email list to find out when we’re hiring our next policy intern.
TAY Americorps Interns
NFYI also partners with iFoster to host TAY Americorps interns from all over the country.
This virtual professional development opportunity has enabled transition age youth in communities all over the country to join NFYI’s national network of foster care activists. Interns receive mentoring, peer support, and professional development skills while building their networks and soft skills by doing outreach to other TAY and potential community partners.