New Ways to Work

Meetings and Events

Independent Living Program Institute 2008

On April 22, 2008, 90 participants attended the following workshop session at the ILP Institute in Ontario, CA.:

Career Development, Quality Work-Based Learning and Preparing Youth for Successful Employment. Employment is central to making a successful transition to adulthood for current and former foster youth. The focus of this session was on preparing young people for employment by discussing the Career Development Continuum that guides the work of workforce development professionals and educators. The session also outlined and discussed quality work-based learning and the role that ILP can play in connecting foster youth to the many career development and employment opportunities available to them in their community. The session also reviewed the priority legislative and regulatory recommendations from the January 2008 Career Development and Employment Summit.

2008 ILP Institute Workshop Materials (PDF 1.7 mb)

2008 Foster Youth Career Development and Employment Summit

On January 8th and 9th, 2008, more than 300 foster youth, former foster youth, caretakers, community-based organizations, employers, and professionals from child welfare, workforce development, education, and probation from across California came together in Sacramento to address employment and career development issues and forge solutions for the nearly 85,000 young people in foster care in California. Sponsored by Casey Family Programs, New Ways to Work, and the Child and Family Policy Institute of California (CFPIC), the summit was the first statewide gathering of its kind.

48 counties were represented at the Summit which featured interactive strategic planning and priority setting sessions, cross-disciplinary county team sessions to develop local commitments and define next steps, and a panel of leaders from Child Welfare, Education, Workforce and Philanthropy who identified opportunities and shared the need for program alignment at the state and local levels.

The Summit culminated with a hearing at the State Capitol, where the sponsoring partners, local practitioners from around the state, and current and former foster youth shared priority actions with members and staff of the State Assembly and Senate.

Foster Youth Career Development and Employment Summit: Resource Materials
(PDF 6.7 mb)

Click here to see the summary of recommended priority actions: http://www.newwaystowork.org/documents/ytatdocuments/FYCDESummitSUMMARY.pdf
(PDF 56 kb)

Click here to download the Policy Framework for California's Foster Youth: http://www.newwaystowork.org/initiatives/ytat/events/FYCDESummitPolicyPaper.pdf
(PDF 4.8 mb)

Foster Youth Employment Forums – A Huge Success!

In the fall of 2006, with the generous support of Casey Family Programs, New Ways to Work partnered with the Child and Family Policy Institute of California to create cross-system awareness and improve local collaboration between county child welfare agencies and local workforce investment areas through a series of forums conducted across the state. The intent of the forums was to better connect these two systems and to highlight and promote cross-agency approaches to better serve foster youth throughout California. The Foster Youth Employment Forums provided an opportunity for participants to learn about quality local programs, to develop a working knowledge of both the WIA workforce and child welfare systems, and to meet potential new partners and colleagues to collaborate with in the future.

Throughout the state, over 450 county staff members and representatives from child welfare, workforce development, juvenile justice, education, state agencies and leadership, and other partners attended the forums to discuss and learn about programs in their region that have implemented effective strategies for improving employment opportunities for foster youth. In addition, about 50 youth (primarily current and former foster youth) attended the forums and participated as keynote speakers, panelists, and participants in conversations about their county’s services.

To learn more about the forums or to access some of the resources that came out of the Forums, see the following documents or links to information on our website.

The Foster Youth Employment Forums and Youth Transition Action Team Initiative are generously sponsored by

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YTAT Activities & Site Lead Meeting at the CWA Youth Conference

January 17-19, 2006 - Garden Grove, California

Topic: For the sixth year, New Ways co-sponsored the CWA Youth Conference 2006. For those who have not yet "lived" it, the Youth Conference draws on the work of organizations and people throughout the country, presenting new and better ways to help youth craft career and life paths with meaning and dignity. Conference participants are dedicated and passionate, eager to learn and full of life; youth and adults share and learn together as peers and colleagues.

At this year's Conference, New Ways hosted several special sessions for Youth Transition Action Team Site Leads and other team members, as well as other exciting opportunities to learn and build strategies for supporting comprehensive youth-transition systems. Highlights from the conference will be posted here as they become available.

Playback Dial-In Number: (877) 519-4471
Conference (Participant) Passcode: 44891017
Playback Pincode: 7617219
Playback Controls (During Playback):
"7" - Rewind (5 seconds)
"8" - Pause/resume playback
"9" - Fast forward (5 seconds)
Client Services: 760-744-1150 ext 1537 or 1554
email: clientservices@cccconfer.org
website: www.cccconfer.org

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Involving Youth as Leaders in Planning, Policy & Decision-Making Bodies
Content Conference Call - Tuesday, June 20, 2006
As a follow-up to discussions that began during the May Youth Transition Action Teams County Leadership Convening, New Ways to Work and the YTAT initiative hosted a content conference call on the topic of Involving Youth as Leaders in Planning, Policy, and Decision-Making Bodies.

This call featured presentations by panelists who shared their successes with engaging youth as leaders and partners on their Youth Transition Action Teams, Youth Councils, or other decision-making bodies. They discussed strategies for recruitment and retention as well as ways to create environments and structures that accommodate the needs of both adult and youth members.

Panelists The following panelists shared their successes and challenges with engaging and involving youth on decision-making bodies:

San Francisco Transition Aged Youth Task Force and Youth Transition Action Team
Marlo Simmons, Adolescent Health Coordinator, Department of Children, Youth and Their Families
Rachel Antrobus, San Francisco Youth Commission

Santa Ana Youth Council
Frances Cadenas, Youth Council Coordinator, Santa Ana Workforce Investment Board

San Luis Obispo Youth Transition Action Team Representatives
Joseph Castro, Community Liaison, San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services and EOC
Tracy Buckingham, Central Regional Manager

Materials
New Ways to Work
The following tools and materials are available online on the New Ways website in the Engaging Youth in Planning and Decision-Making section of the library: www.newwaystowork.org/librarycontentsthree.html:
Youth Involvement and Leadership on Youth Councils (PDF 168 kb)
Youth Involvement on Youth Councils - Strategies and Ideas (PDF 48 kb)
Involving Youth Self-Assessment
Involving Youth Workplan

Youth on Board
In 2004, Massachusetts-based Youth on Board partnered with New Ways to support Youth Council staff and members, youth service providers, and youth in developing strategies for bringing youth on their Boards of Directors and other decision-making bodies. More information about Youth on Board can be found at www.youthonboard.org.
14 Points for Successfully Involving Youth on Board - Overview (PDF 192 kb)
14 Points Organizational Assessment Checklist
(PDF 232 kb)
Youth on Board's Specific Ways to Involve Youth (PDF 132 kb)

YCideas on the Topic of Youth Involvement
Over the last several years, New Ways has collected promising practices from Youth Councils on a variety of topics, including youth involvement. See the full list of YCideas on the New Ways website at www.newwaystowork.org/initiatives/yci/ycideaselementsindex.html.

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Youth Friendly One-Stops
Content Conference Call - Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Youth One-Stops - environments where young people can connect to a variety of organizations and programs that can meet their needs - are being developed by various systems and organizations. In the workforce arena, WIA-funded One-Stops provide career development support and access to work-related opportunities as well as to other kinds of services. Other organizations are creating spaces with similar functions, but may be funded from other systems or receive foundation support. Both types of One-Stops can provide youth transitioning from foster care with much needed assistance as they transition into adulthood. In order for One-Stops to be effective, One-Stop operators and support staff need to be aware that serving youth - especially foster youth - requires awareness of their particular needs as well as of the services that are available to them.

Chandra Larsen, Initiatives Coordinator at New Ways, began the call with a brief overview of the types of One-Stops and strategies being used to make them youth friendly. Panelists then shared information about One-Stops that are serving youth successfully. Howard Knoll, Senior Director for ARBOR Employment and Training, spoke about the Achieving Independence Center in Philadelphia. Three staff members from the V.O.I.C.E.S. Center in Napa, California - Nikki Felten, youth Founder and Staff member; Amber McCurdy, youth Staff; and Jonna Justiniano, Operations Director - explained how the center was created and how youth are involved at all levels of the program. LaTonya Johnson, Youth Council Staff of the Riverside Workforce Investment Board, described her county’s seven Youth Opportunity Centers housed within local partner non-profit youth organizations. Participants also asked questions of the panelists.

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Educational Options for Foster Youth
Content Conference Call – Tuesday, April 18, 2006
This call featured an introduction of educational options available to all youth, especially options for career technical education and support. Among the options covered were Career Technical Education, Career Academies, Small Schools, Alternative Schools, and special services for foster youth. A facilitated conversation followed, with panelists discussing foster youth access to and representation in these various programs and connecting to schools, including support and advocacy to access and stay in school.

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Legal Issues Facing Foster Youth
Network Content Conference Call - Tuesday, March 21, 2006, 10 am – 11 am
Current and former foster youth rely upon state and federal laws to provide a workable framework of supports for their well being and successful transition into adulthood. Advocates - and foster youth themselves - have supported a variety of bills designed to address specific needs of youth in care/emancipated from care.

Workforce Development for Foster Youth
Network Content Conference Call - January 4 & 5, 2006 10 am -11 am (same content)
Youth aging out from the foster care system often have challenges finding work and little or no work experience prior to emancipation. This conference call addresses successful strategies and challenges related to workforce development for foster youth. The call features a facilitated conversation with several panelists who will discuss successful strategies for supporting opportunities for foster youth to have experiences within and upon entering the workforce. Specific strategies discussed include collaborative partnerships between schools, social service, and workforce development agencies; County agreements to share participant information between DSS and WIA agencies; and workforce academies for foster youth supported by WIA programs. In addition, participants are invited to share strategies and challenges in supporting foster youth as they navigate the world of work.

YTAT Site Leads Conference Call
November 22, 2005 2-3:30 pm PST
The Youth Transition Action Team Site Lead conference call was designed to discuss the focus of the YTAT initiative over the next year. On this call Site Leads met one another and heard a little bit about each county's activities and goals through two-minute reports on strategies being used in each county, focused under one of the All Youth - One System Elements framework. Site leads also provided input on this year's YTAT activities, specifically the upcoming YTAT Site Lead face-to-face meeting in January 2006, and next year's content calls and regional workshops.