What's New
Youth Leadership Institute Graduates Are New Jim Casey Interns
Back, left to right: William Bradford, Rob Hilla, Cory
Wood Front: Amanda Johnson, Candy Morales,
Lisetta Mewborn, Rodeline 'Ronnie' Saint Felix,
Arlene Wilson, Linda Lee, Shawn Semelsberger
(co-facilitator). Not pictured: Jeremy Long.
The Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative is getting some additional help this year from ten new interns, all graduates of the 2008 Youth Leadership Institute, who will spend the year speaking on behalf of the Initiative and advocating for policy reforms to benefit youth aging out of foster care.
"Youth are by far the best spokespeople for raising awareness of the issues faced by youth transitioning from foster care," said Liz Squibb, associate director of the Initiative. "We wanted a group of Opportunity Passport™ participants who could deepen their understanding of those issues and in turn advocate on behalf of their peers." Squibb helped plan the Youth Leadership Institute and will manage the interns' work this year.
Ten Opportunity Passport™ participants from sites around the country met for four days in December in St. Louis, Missouri. The 2009 Jim Casey interns are:
William Bradford – Bristol, Maine; Rob Hilla – Bay City, Mich.; Amanda Johnson – Savannah, Ga.; Linda Lee – Tampa, Fla.; Jeremy Long –Denver; Lisetta Mewborn – San Diego, Calif.; Candy Morales – Chula Vista, Calif.; Rodeline (Ronnie) Saint Felix – Providence, R.I.; Arlene Wilson – Murfreesboro, Tenn.; and Cory Wood – Providence, R.I..
Jeremy Long
At the Institute, the youth practiced public speaking skills during mock interviews and learned to share their stories effectively. In workshops, participants proposed their own strategies, following the Initiative's vision, for improving outcomes for youth transitioning from care – an exercise that deepened their understanding of the Initiative's activities. William Bradford from Maine, for example, proposed creating housing where young people transitioning from foster care could go when college dorms close over holiday breaks.
"We wanted to make sure that the interns walked away from the Institute as a team of well-trained advocates who were reflective of their peers still in care as well as those leaving care," said Squibb. "After all, they are the ones plugged into the most important issues older youth in care face."
All interns will participate in monthly conference calls to discuss what they have been working on and to prepare for upcoming events. In addition to speaking engagements, the new interns will review documents and provide feedback for specific projects in which youth input is vital, such as the new National Youth Transition Database (NYTD) and the Initiative's own surveys about youth outcomes, savings and asset purchases.
"We want to continue to build our capacity to engage youth in national efforts and to help people understand the Initiative's important work," said Squibb. "The interns are perfectly positioned to help do that."
Among the upcoming speaking engagements in early April, the interns will do a panel presentation at the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Among Youth in Foster Care: State Teams Roundtable and a meeting of the NYTD National Advisory Committee formed by the American Public Human Services Association, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago and the Center for State Foster Care and Adoption Data. The Initiative is supporting that committee, which is identifying the best ways to collect and analyze data about youth who age out of care as required by NYTD.
