What's New
The Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative All-Site Convening Highlights
By Martha Shirk
Multimedia
• See multimedia from this event >>St. Louis – During a whirlwind schedule of inspirational presentations, data-packed speeches, wacky skits, and hands-on workshops, more than 75 site representatives and Initiative staff members celebrated their accomplishments, swapped tips, and mapped strategies for the future at the annual all-site convening here from July 23 to 25.
Executive Director Gary Stangler announced at the convening that Indianapolis had recently joined the Initiative as a co-investment site, bringing the number of demonstration, expansion or co-investment sites to 11. In addition, he said, discussions are under way with other potential co-investment sites. Meanwhile, five sites that started out in limited areas are now well on their way to serving youth in foster care throughout their states.
"We welcome Indianapolis," he said. "We welcome Nebraska. I know in the years ahead there will be others coming into this movement. It is a movement, and it's going to changes the lives of many young people in this country."
In other news, Stangler reported that Opportunity Passport™ participants have gone well over the $1 million mark for asset purchases. Since the Initiative's launch six years ago, 2,454 youth have deposited a total of $2,115,947 in their Opportunity Passport™ accounts ($785,080 in the past year alone) and withdrawn $1,472,649 for asset purchases (more than $600,000 in the past year). The totals include the match money provided as an incentive to save.
Stangler noted that the Initiative's insistence on data collection is clearly paying off by providing compelling evidence of the soundness of its asset-building strategy and the ripple effect it has on youths' lives. Data from the May 2008 Cross-Site Analysis have provided evidence that youth with Opportunity Passports™ were increasingly likely to be employed, to be graduating from high school or earning GEDs, and to be living in safe, stable and affordable housing, he said.
"Where we go from here is all about continuing to collect the data, engaging more young people, and building out from our sites," Stangler said. "At the end of the day, what matters is that we are making a difference in young people's life outcomes. All the things we do have to contribute to that."
Among the highlights of the convening:
- In his presentation on the findings from the May 2008 Cross-Site Analysis, Stangler reported a 13 percent increase in Opportunity Passport™ participants who have received high school diplomas or GEDs since the first survey, and an almost 30 percent increase in high school Opportunity Passport™ holders who have part-time jobs or internships. "This is very important, because from what we know, young people who have connections with the workforce before 18 are more likely to be employed when they're 24," Stangler said.
- In addition, Opportunity Passport™ participants who reported having a permanent relationship with an adult were more likely to have graduated from high school and have safe, stable and affordable housing and less likely to have lost health insurance coverage than youth without permanent connections. And Opportunity Passport™ participants who have purchased an asset were also much more likely than those who haven't to be in safe, stable and affordable housing.
- Jaiya John, Ph.D, a poet and motivational speaker, electrified the audience with his spiritual and research-based insights into the emotional consequences of foster care. John was placed in foster care as a newborn and eventually adopted. "Hearing Jaiya speak was so moving, but the best part was being able to see his words resonate deep within the hearts of our youth," said Natasha Leavitt, a former foster youth who is the youth opportunities coordinator for the Rhode Island site. "His message about self-exploration and inner peace just barely touches on the actual inner 'work' that we foster youth have to work on continuously."
- In a small group workshop, representatives from the Rhode Island and Tampa sites shared their successes in changing policy. Leavitt told how the Rhode Island site harnessed the energy and passion of foster youth in 2007 to persuade the Legislature to pare back an attempt by the governor to stop paying for foster care for all youth after they turned 18. "The youth brought mattresses and tents to the lawn of the State House to give legislators the idea of what it would be like for them to be homeless," Leavitt reported. Several also provided highly emotional testimony, she said. In the end, some support was preserved for 18-21-year-olds in foster care.
- Sarah Romano, coordinator of education and employment for Connected by 25, the Tampa co-investment site, talked about how the site improved educational outcomes for older youth in foster care by obtaining a grant to hire a dedicated guidance counselor to work with them, demonstrating that it made a positive difference in the youths' academic performance – and then getting the school district to assume the responsibility for the position. "The lesson we learned was to be creative and innovative," Romano said. "The position has been built into the school district budget since 2006. My advice is that even if someone says no at first, do it another way and go back and ask again."
- A panel of speakers discussed the disproportionate representation of youth of color in foster care and distributed data that each site can use to address the problem in their areas. The data indicate that minority youth are overrepresented in foster care in each of the jurisdictions in which the Initiative operates. "You are in a unique position to understand youths' needs and come to an understanding of why African-American children are disproportionally represented," Rita Powell, an Initiative consultant who is active in the Alliance for National Equity, told the group. "That's what we want you to think about: Why are these children in the system?"
Representatives of many of the sites said they planned to return home and talk with their public foster care agencies about what investigative or intake practices might be causing the disparity. Panelist Richard Coleman, child protection manager in Ramsey County, Minnesota, said they could make a big difference just by bringing attention to the issue. "Even though this is a massive and pervasive issue, there is hope, and systems do have the capacity to change," he said. "I have the privilege of working in a system that has taken it on. We have been able to reduce disproportionality by 5 percent for African-American kids and 1 percent for others."
Many participants said the convening energized them and gave them lots of new ideas to take home and share with their community and youth boards. "I think for professional staff, it is great to hear how other sites are interpreting and implementing on the ground, lessons learned and innovations that have lead either to efficacy, increased outcomes or partnerships," said Kippi Clausen, program director for the Denver site. "Our community partnership board member was very interested in examples of legislation from other states. Our youth always enjoy the connections with other youth and the opportunity to roll up their sleeves and work and also have fun."
Corey Wood, an Opportunity Passport™ participant from Providence, said: "I gathered a lot of useful insight as to what we can do for our future to keep our efforts going strong. The most memorable experience was meeting all the youth from the other sites and hearing their stories. Just being able to relate and understand their struggles helped me to understand myself a little better."
