The Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative is working with others to raise awareness, identify policy needs, suggest promising practices, and address systemic issues that impact young people transitioning from foster care to adulthood.
The Jim Casey Initiative's policy agenda is shaped by its understanding of the transition needs of young people—informed by data—and its partnerships with young people, communities, and public agencies.
We believe that the “the finish line isn’t 18 anymore.” Society’s responsibility to young people leaving foster care should not end on their 18th birthdays. Instead, our overarching framework seeks to ensure that young people are “connected by 25.”
In order to make a successful transition to adulthood, all young people should have:
- A permanent family
- Race equity
- A stable education
- Opportunities to achieve economic success
- A place to live
- Access to health and mental health care
- Opportunities to be engaged and shape their own future
View the Jim Casey Initiative's complete list of Policy and Practice Goals.
View examples of Youth Leadership Board advocacy documents.
