Webinar
First Place For Youth
Aug 30, 2021
Held: Monday, August 30th, 202 1:00pm PST
Missed the webinar or want an encore? View the recording below.
2021 marks a decade since the extension of foster care to age 21 in California. The recently signed state budget for 2021-2022 also commits critical new funds to this population across housing, education and other service supports. And while research demonstrates positive outcomes for youth well-being through extended foster care measures, the data also reveal that there is much further to go in realizing the ultimate vision of extended care: to prepare transition age foster youth for life-long self-sufficiency and independence.
Over those ten years, First Place for Youth has become one of the largest providers of transitional housing and extended foster care services for foster youth in the state. And as an organization dedicated to data-informed service delivery and policy advocacy, First Place for Youth marked the 10-year anniversary by cultivating evidence-building partnerships to better understand “what really works” and releasing a research brief about the findings entitled Raising the Bar: Building system- and provider-level evidence to drive equitable education and employment outcomes for youth in extended foster care.
This Webinar will discuss key findings of that brief with implications for practice and policy reform. Jane Schroeder, Chief Policy Officer for First Place for Youth, will join an esteemed panel of experts to discuss how foster care organizations can leverage data and evidence to help inform policy recommendations and service interventions to better serve foster youth when they turn 18.
Mark’s fields of special interest are child welfare policy and services, the connection between child welfare services and other institutions serving families living in poverty, the transition to adulthood for marginalized populations, and the professionalization of social work. He is Principal Investigator of the California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study (CalYOUTH).
Amy’s areas of special interest are child welfare policy and services, affordable housing, the special needs of transition-age youth, public benefits and youth homelessness. Amy co-founded and served as the Executive Director of First Place for Youth, a nationally-recognized nonprofit organization providing affordable housing and supportive services to current and former foster youth. In her role at John Burton Advocates for Youth, she has led the organization’s policy advocacy, resulting in the passage of key reforms, including extending foster care to age 21, increasing financial aid for foster youth and improved access to affordable housing.
Jane Schroeder is the Chief Policy Officer at First Place for Youth, where she leads the organization’s policy advocacy and systems change initiatives at the federal, state, and local level–advancing policies that remove barriers for foster youth transitioning into independence, and helping to create a policy environment where nonprofits can thrive. Prior to joining First Place in 2016, Jane worked in Government Relations for the California Nurses Association/NNU. Jane earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Washington School of Law, and her bachelor’s degree from McGill University in Montréal, Québec.
Erika Van Buren oversees our Evaluation and Learning Department and is responsible for leading the design, utilization, and maintenance of our performance management system. She crafts and implements the internal evaluation agenda for the agency, and works closely with program leadership to identify and roll-out best and evidence-supported strategies to improve practice and our impact on the youth we serve.
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