Youth Partners

Youth Partner Resources

Youth Engagement Project (YEP)

The Youth Engagement Project (YEP) is a partnership between CFPIC and the California Department of Social Services to improve child welfare policies, programs and practices by building capacity for youth engagement at the state and local level.

YEP provides funding and support to counties to engage current or former foster youth on local projects designed to strengthen child welfare systems. These youth, called YEP Ambassadors, can engage with county coordinators in a variety of ways.

California Youth Connection (CYC)

The mission of California Youth Connection (CYC), a youth-led organization, is to develop leaders who empower each other and their communities to transform the foster care system through legislative, policy, and practice change. CYC’s vision is that all foster youth will be equal partners in contributing to all policies and decisions made in their lives. All youth in foster care will have their needs met and the support to grow into healthy and vibrant adults.

Office of Administration for Children and Families: Peer Support Services Recommendations for Improving Permanency and Well-Being

The Administration for Children and Families and the Children’s Bureau values the input of youth who have lived experience in the foster care system. The ACF Youth Engagement Team was developed in 2020 in order to gather expertise from former foster youth in identifying key recommendations for the ALL-IN Foster Adoption Challenge and state and federal efforts toward achieving permanency for all waiting children and youth. This team of young adults provided specific recommendations on how agencies and courts could improve permanency outcomes by supporting connections with kin, securing relational permanency for youth, and achieving successful adoptions for older youth.

Reflections: Stories of Foster Care

Personal storytelling is a powerful way to connect real-life scenarios to important practice issues and raise awareness to demonstrate how the foster care system can support youth and families. Feature these stories in your State and local campaigns as a quick and easy way to enhance your message. Or use them as tools for training new child welfare professionals and recruiting and training foster parents. These stories also highlight the continuum of strategies that professionals can use to engage youth, amplify youth voice, and help build meaningful connections for all involved in foster care.