Casey Co-Sponsors Conference About Transitioning Issues
From the Winter 2004 issue of Voice, the quarterly publication of Casey Family Services. To view the entire issue, go to caseyfamilyservices.org.

Every year, nearly 20,000 youth "age out" of foster care in the United States, often-times lacking a connection to needed support services and caring adults, who can provide guidance as they move forward into an unknown future. While strides are being made in preparing transitioning youth, obstacles remain. One, in particular, directly involves child welfare agencies.

According to a study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a review of 30 state independent living programs reported that 37 percent of the eligible population never received important services related to their care. This was due, in part, to poor collaboration among agencies, states the 1999 report.

Over the past few years, Casey Family Services has been working diligently to turn those statistics around by partnering with fellow agencies to establish support networks that will be accessible long after the foster youth age out of the system. Additionally, collaborations enable the agency to assist youth from across the country. "Part of Casey's mission is to offer technical assistance to other agencies and states to try to help them improve on how they provide services to children in care," says Raymond Torres, executive director of Casey Family Services.

"By teaming up with public and private agencies, we are able to lend our experience and our expertise, so that not only the children in our care benefit but children throughout the country can benefit as well," says Torres.

One recent collaboration among nearly a dozen organizations proved a success, and yielded plans for a similar joint project later this year. In October, Casey joined with nine other organizations in co-sponsoring the It's My Life conference -- a national conference for professionals focusing on life skills and transitioning practices for foster youth.

The two-day program, held in Texas and led by Seattle-based Casey Family Programs, attracted more than 400 participants. Workshops covered many Ansell Casey Life Skills Assessment domains, such as relation-ships and community, health, identity, employment, life skills, education and housing.

"A conference like this reminds us of the value of collaboration," says David Johnston, senior program associate for life skills for Casey Family Services. "If youth are going to succeed in life, they'll need a network of supports to turn to within the community." Such assistance may involve turning to other agencies for educational or employment guidance.

Former foster youth Stephen Pemberton, who has served as vice president of strategy and development for Monster.com, an online employment search engine, provided words of encouragement to child welfare professionals.

"If I stand tall this morning, it's because of all the people who have touched my life," said the Casey Family Program alumni. "Don't ever underestimate what you do, because if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be standing here."

Today, as founder of Road to College, Pemberton, a graduate of Boston College, helps youth pursue their educational dreams. "Planning for the next conference has already begun. A leadership team is now forming and will include representatives from each of the Caseys, and perhaps other organizations who are interested in collaborating," said Chris Downs, senior manager of life skills research and development for Casey Family Programs.

It's My Life was an inspiration in establishing broader collaborations as well, Johnston explains, such as the joint initiative now under way between Casey Family Services and Connecticut's Department of Children and Families (DCF). The State will be com-paring its life skills program with Casey's and, together, the agencies will jointly develop a life skills framework to be used by all foster youth in the state. A similar life skills collaboration may soon be under way in Maine as well.