“The Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative is a national foundation whose mission is to help youth in foster care make successful transitions to adulthood. Formed by two of the leading foundations focused exclusively on child and youth wellbeing – The Annie E. Casey Foundation and Casey Family Programs – the Initiative brings together the people and resources needed to help youth make the connections they need to education, employment, health care, housing, and supportive personal and community relationships. Our goals are to: – Expand access to opportunities in employment, education, housing, and health care for youth in foster care. – Expand significantly the capacity of private and public organizations and communities to support these young people. – Involve young people themselves in making important decisions required for a successful national effort. – Create opportunities for community engagement and encourage young people to help others. – Provide links to personal networks of caring adults and other young people. – Transform the way communities view their responsibility to youth in foster care. As a grant-making foundation, the Initiative supports successful community-based efforts that create opportunities and build assets for youth leaving foster care through grants, technical assistance, and coalition building with multiple stakeholders. It also supports youth engagement through the formation of local Youth Leadership Boards. The Initiative exerts national leadership on the issue of young people leaving care, creating a network that connects youth in foster care (or who were formerly in foster care) to resources and each other, and disseminates promising practices about youth transitioning out of foster care. Grants were made to qualified non-profit organizations or governmental agencies by invitation only.” – Publisher’s description
