At Child Advocates of Silicon Valley, we SHOW UP for youth in foster care by giving them resources and trusted adults to lean on, but our support doesn’t end there. Through our Essentials Life Skills Program, spearheaded by our Associate Program Director, Sabrina Martire, we are helping foster youth prepare for life after exiting the foster care system. This program serves to better equip Non-Minor Dependents (NMDs) — foster youth aged 18 to 21 who have chosen to remain in foster care to continue receiving services — with the skills necessary for a successful transition to adulthood.
In 2022, our team became committed to understanding why an overwhelming amount of our NMDs were prematurely leaving foster care, making them more likely to struggle with mental health issues, housing instability, and acclimate to life outside of the system. We wanted to combat these issues. So, with thorough research and by studying Roca’s cognitive behavioral theory of change, we found that our youth were being provided with resources and skills, but needed to be shown how to implement them in their everyday lives.
“Many of our NMDs are navigating so many complex layers of what’s happening in their lives and the system itself. So the program tries to address both the practical and emotional side of independence,” Sabrina explains.
During the program, NMDs meet weekly to attend classes that build practical skills such as: financial literacy through budget creation, employment readiness and interview practices, navigating housing and tenant rights, and discussing mental wellness and emotional regulation skills.
These classes are important as they teach NMDs how to make the most of the resources available to them, give them the opportunity to practice skills necessary for later in life, and give them a community of young adults who are navigating similar situations they can connect with.
“There’s a lot of things that I thought I wouldn’t need to learn that I did, and I had to learn them the hard way when I turned 18 … I feel like the skills that they teach are things that we can carry along with us, not only through transition age youth, but after that too,” shares NMD Tiana.
Recently, our first NMD cohort completed the program, and we’ve already seen increased confidence and better engagement with their Independent Living Program requirements. As a result, some participants have opened up bank accounts for the first time, applied for jobs, and report feeling pride in their newfound sense of independence and in regaining agency over their future.
“Turning 18 doesn’t mean that their trauma just disappears. It doesn’t mean that you suddenly have a support network or financial stability. Our job isn’t to fix our NMDs. It’s to help them figure out how to remove their own barriers, provide them with tools, and let them know that we believe in them as long as they can believe in themselves.” said Sabrina.
Because when someone believes in you, it changes everything.
To SHOW UP for youth like Tiana, we need you!
When you make a donation, you’re helping to provide our youth with the resources needed to thrive, like our Essential Life Skills Program and the support of a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA).
Together, we can SHOW UP for foster youth and prepare them for a bright, successful life after foster care.
To SHOW UP the way we do, we need you.