Helping Foster Care Youth Become Successful Adults
Introduction
Every year approximately 50 teens living in foster care reach adulthood in Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto counties, the Twelfth Judicial Circuit of Florida. At age 18, whether or not they are still in high school, often they must leave their foster homes and strike out on their own, frequently with little or no support system in place to help them. Facing complex issues like locating safe affordable housing, navigating public transportation and finding a way to support oneself, it is no wonder that many of these young adults leave foster care unprepared and unable to care for themselves. The foster care system, designed to keep children safe, is not equipped to provide the amount of assistance that may be needed to help a teen meet the challenges necessary to become self sufficient. Often the 18 year old teen, who may not have ever made one important decision before and who is now completely in charge of making all of their own decisions, is unprepared and ill-equipped to make adult decisions with significant consequences. As a result, some of these former foster children end up homeless, or without a permanent place to live or even go back to the unsafe conditions that brought them into foster care in the first place. Manatee County is often the landing spot for foster care youth aging out in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit because affordable housing and educational and work opportunities are more available.
Mission Statement
Bringing together professionals acting collaboratively to support youth aging out of foster care by providing an individualized, tangible connection to community resources, information and advice designed to encourage and assist foster care youth in achieving self-sufficiency.
Our Purpose
Next Step is an all volunteer organization established to create a safety net for aging out foster care youth by creating a collaborative trio of mental health, legal, financial professionals, education professionals and/or business people to become mentors and partners starting in the final year before the foster teen becomes an adult and continuing for one year into adulthood, to help the teen develop a sound life plan. In addition to the mentors, Next Step has created an ongoing resource list, called the Kids Aging Out Network. The KAO Network includes people in the community that want to help the transitioning youth by donating goods or services.
Next Step is a permanent committee of the Family Court Professional Collaborative (FCPC) and in partnership with the Twelfth Judicial Circuit Family Law Advisory Group (FLAG). Next Step is supported by members of both organizations who volunteer their time as mentors, trainers and advisors. The local juvenile court judges reinforce mentees’ involvement in the program by setting additional review hearings as needed to further motivate and encourage the Next Step mentees.
MAP-Mentors and Professionals
Our mentors are trained to work as a group, usually a group of three, to partner with a foster care youth beginning his or her last year of foster care. The trio agrees to make a two-year commitment to their foster care teen partner and becomes an advocate to help their mentee develop and work on their life plan. Mentors can help mentees develop an educational plan, review a lease and explain tenant’s rights and responsibilities, or help with a tax return. These professional mentors are available to offer professional advice and to help the youth to develop sound life goals. Mentors develop a professional relationship with their mentee partner and become part of the youth’s safety net.
The Kids-Aging-Out Network
The Kids-Aging-Out Network (KAO Network) includes businesses and business and professional people in our community who are available to provide tangible assistance to aging out foster care youth. Whether it is a moving company donating furniture, a business that can offer a job, or a store providing clothing, the Network members are committed to give what they can to support our local foster care youth. When a KAO Network partner calls offering a resource for an aging out teen, Next Step connects them to a local foster teen or teens in need.
The Facts About Foster Care Youth in Sarasota, Manatee and Desoto Counties
Children who have aged out of foster care have a higher rate of homelessness, incarceration and unemployment than the population at large. Many teens who have aged out of foster care do not graduate from high school and only about 1% attends college. It is estimated that 10% of the homeless in Florida are former foster children, approximately 47 people in Manatee County and 66 people in Sarasota County in the 2008 reporting year.
Contact Us
If you would like to become a volunteer or have questions about Next Step, additional information can be downloaded at: http://www.jud12.flcourts.org or call Magistrate Susan Maulucci at 941-749-3648 or email NextStepMentors@gmail.com .
Tax deductible contributions can be made to Next Step through the YMCA. Checks should be made payable to the YMCA Foundation of Sarasota, Inc. Next Step should be listed on the memo line of the check and mailed to the YMCA Foundation of Sarasota, Inc., 1 South School Avenue, Suite 302, Sarasota, Florida 34237.