New Ways to Work

Meetings and Events

Pathways to Success
A forum for discussion and action to create better pathways to connect foster youth to career development and employment opportunities.
In October of 2009, New Ways to Work hosted two Foster Youth Regional Forums focused on increasing awareness and access of foster youth to career development opportunities and reflecting on the 2009 foster youth summer jobs experience. Both events allowed for the sharing of resources, networking, and partnership building among those advocating on the behalf of foster youth across the state. Participants made commitments to small tests of change that could have far-reaching impacts for foster youth preparing to transition. Below are links to materials and power point presentations from the forums.

Thank you to our co-sponsors:

Casey Family Programs
California Youth Connection
California Dept. of Education
Child and Family Policy Institute of California
Foster Youth Education and Career Network
Foster Youth Career Development and Employment Taskforce
California Career Resource Netowrk
California Workforce Association

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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.

Foster Youth Employment Forums Summary Report (PDF 436 kb)

Foster Youth Employment Forums Full Report (with appendixes) (PDF 820 kb)

Foster Youth Employment Forums PowerPoint Slide Show (PDF 1.2 mb)

Promising Practices Index (25 New Promising Practices)

For more information about the forums or the Youth Transition Action Team initiative, contact Lisa Elliott at lelliott@newwaytowork.org.

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.

For more information about upcoming YTAT events, or to be added to a mailing list to be notified about activities, please email Chandra at clarsen@newwaystowork.org.

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Content Conference Calls

Connecting Foster Youth to Career Development Programs in High School, November 5, 2008
The Youth Transition Action Team Initiative hosted an audio conference on the topic of Connecting Foster Youth to Career Development Programs in High School. This call will serve as an informational teleconference about how to connect foster youth to existing career development programs.

Speakers:

Gayle McLevich, Director Regional Occupational Programs for the Yolo County Office of Education
Art Cardoza, Director of the Workability and Transition Partnership Programs for Humboldt County
Deanna Hansen, California Director of the National Academy Foundation
Akili Moses Israel, Director of Education Initiatives for New Ways to Work

Notes from the call:
You will find highlights from this call in the January YTAT Newsletter (PDF 166KB)

Additional Materials:
PPTYTATCall110508 (PDF 2.10 MB)

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Engaging Youth in Case Planning, September 17, 2008
The Youth Transition Action Team Initiative hosted an audio conference on the topic of Engaging Youth in Case Planning. This call highlighted successful and innovative strategies for youth engagement in case planning involving both ILP and WIA programs.

Guest Speakers:

Bob Malmberg and Irene Briggs from Orange County, discussed their youth focused, youth driven emancipation planning conferences that involve the use of peer mentors and allow youth to identify who will be present at their transition planning conferences. They also talked about the TILP process that begins at age 15 ½. In addition, they shared information about the youth advisory board that is being formed, their ILP website that is youth driven as well as how youth advocates have been utilized successfully in the past.

Justin Pack from Ceres, CA in Stanislaus County, highlighted the successes of engaging youth in their WIA programming through the use of incentives, strong employer connections, and personal commitment. Their program focus is on transition and post secondary planning.

Heather Storer of Fostering the Future, shared their general youth development approach to preparing youth for adulthood and nurturing adolescence. Their program provides a menu of offerings to help youth move forward. They also discussed such strategies as the use of adult and self referral forms, youth advisory boards, and a weekly community hour.

Notes from the call
You will find highlights from this call in the January YTAT Newsletter (PDF 166KB)

Additional Materials:
EngagingYouthinCasePlanningPpt (PDF 736 KB)

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Connecting Youth to Employment in Rural Settings May 27, 2008
The Youth Transition Action Team Initiative hosted an audio conference on the topic of Connecting Youth to Employment in Rural Settings. This call highlighted how two rural counties have developed successful employment programs and strategies for preparing their youth despite the challenges rural communities face.
Guest Speakers

Humboldt County, presented the Step Up for Youth Jobs program which pairs youth with employers based on a youth’s skills, interest, and time commitment in order to create successful job placements for youth. This program also addressed the difficulty had by local businesses in finding youth that are ready to work.
Glenn County, presented the success of their Youth Employment Services (YES) program which streamlined many competing programs into one youth employment effort. Additionally, Glenn County presented their successful process for establishing regular WIA involvement in emancipation conferences.

Notes from the call:
To view notes from this call, please see:
YTAT52708callsummary.pdf (PDF 40 KB)

Additional Materials:
AudioCall52708.ppt (PPT 3.44 MB)

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Cross-System Collaboration & Partnerships
New Ways to Work partnered with the California Institute of Mental Health (CIMH) on March 27th, 2007 to host a content conference call on the topic of Cross-System Collaboration and Partnerships. The call was part of the CIMH Transition Age Youth Collaborative and the Youth Transition Action Team Initiative at New Ways to Work. Using the nationally-recognized framework, Elements of a Comprehensive Youth-Serving System, New Ways to Work discussed how organizations and communities across the country have used this framework and other tools to guide their cross-system collaborative work and to support partnerships. Also featured was a facilitated discussion with practitioners from the following counties who shared information about their successful partnerships and the programs or products they created as a result.

Orange County Partnership between Workforce & Mental Health
Los Angeles Cross-System City & County Partnerships
Shasta County Cross-System Partnerships & Youth Resource Fair

Highlights from the Call:
To view the highlights from this conversation please see: crosssystemcollaboration307.pdf (PDF 52KB)

Materials for the Content Conference Call:
Frameworks for Successful Cross-System Collaboration & Partnerships Slide Show (Powerpoint doc 1.32MB)
Frameworks for Successful Cross-System Collaboration & Partnerships Slide Show (PDF 687 KB)
All Youth-One System: Elements of a Comprehensive Youth-Serving System (PDF 308 KB)
Youth Transition Action Teams Core Functions (PDF 248 KB)
Service Referral Form -County of Orange One-Stop System/Youth Program (Word doc 40 KB)
Collaborative Work and Partnerships in Shasta County Slide Show (Powerpoint doc 455 KB)
Shasta County Interagency Services-WRAPAROUND (PDF 31 KB)

Engaging City Governments in Supporting Foster Youth Transition Issues
Content conference Call - Thursday, July 27, 2006
The National League of Cities (NLC), through its Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF Institute), recently conducted a case study of cities whose governments are committed to strong foster youth transition services. On the call, Andrew Moore, Senior Consultant for NLC, led a discussion on the history and characteristics of successful partnerships with city government with three panelists who are directly involved in managing support programs. Eric Steiner, employment Manager for Casey Family Programs, also participated.

Guest Speakers

Howard Knoll, Senior Director for ARBOR Employment and Training, speaking about the Achieving Independence Center in Philadelphia and about New York City
Lara Cantu, City of Los Angeles Community
Development Department, Los Angeles Youth Transition Action
Maggie Donohue, San Francisco Human Services Agency
Eric Steiner, Employment Manager, Casey Family Programs

Notes from the call
The highlights from the call summarize the panelists’ answers to questions raised by Andrew Moore and by participants.

Additional Materials:
ARBOR Employment and Training Website
Powerpoint presentation - Achieving Independence Center

Audio Transcript
The audio transcript of the call is available until October 1, 2006. It can be accessed by phone. To play the transcript, follow these directions:

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.

The following links are related to topics discussed on the call: Achieving Independence Center in PhiladelphiaRiverside County Youth Opportunity Centers are Youth Friendly The Job Hut of Northern Virginia Improving Transition Services for Foster Youth through One-Stops in Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Sutter, and Yuba Counties Mini One-Stop Centers in Kings County Schools
Using High Schools and One-Stops to Create Education and Workforce Partnerships in Santa Barbara County

The following materials are related to online One-Stops:
Overview of abilities4fosteryouth PowerPoint
abilities4fosteryouth TCE Grant Application (PDF 134 kb)
Sample Youth Transition Action Teams–abilities4fosteryouth grant application (PDF 27 kb)

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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.

Panelists
Panelists included Jennifer Rodriguez, Legislative and Policy Coordinator, California Youth Connections ; Corene Kendrick, Staff Attorney, Youth Law Center; Jo McGreevy, Foster/Homeless Youth Services Coordinator, Tehama County Office of Education ; and Michelle Lustig, Foster Youth Services Coordinator, San Diego County Office of Education.

Materials and Links
AB2489 Fact Sheet (PDF 199 kb)
Warehousing Foster Care Students in Continuation High Schools Would Violate State Law
(PDF 28 kb)
Education Fact Sheets Listing (PDF 36 kb)
Annotated Resources from the Youth Law Center (PDF 52 kb)
San Diego County Office of Education Link to Education Fact Sheets
California Department of Education Foster Youth Services
Children’s Law Center Resources on Education Law and Foster Youth

Public High School and Post-Secondary Planning for All California Students: A Guide for Foster Youth Services Providers—Available on the New Ways website soon

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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.

The call featured a facilitated conversation with panelists who discussed current state laws and strategies to implement them, plans to promote new legislation at the state level, and efforts to make changes at the federal level. One strategy that was discussed was extending juvenile court jurisdiction over youth to age 21 in order to provide support services longer.

Panelists included Miriam Aroni Krinsky, Executive Director, The Children’s Law Center of Los Angeles, Kathy Dresslar, Staff to California Assemblyman Mark Leno (D – San Francisco), and Jennifer Troia, Equal Justice Works Fellow, Youth Law Center.

The following materials are related to topics discussed on the call:
Overview of Key Foster Care Legislation from 1982-2005 (PDF 101 kb)
Child Welfare Services Legislation Implementation Update, 2001-2005 (PDF 41 kb)
Assemblywoman Bass' Press Release on the 2006 proposed foster care legislation (PDF 83 kb)
2006 Proposed California Foster Care Bills (PDF 132 kb)
Foster Youth Legal Issues and Legislation (PDF 196KB)

The following links are related to topics discussed on the call:
Children’s Law Center of Los Angeles Foster Care Education Law
Children’s Law Center of Los Angeles Foster Care State Law
Children’s Law Center of Los Angeles Federal Law
Youth Law Center Publications

The following email address is a resource for the educational rights/responsibilities card discussed on the call:

Alicia Carner acarner@casey.org

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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.

Panelists included Mercedes Julian, Youth Council Staff and Youth Programs Manager Orange County WIB; Bob Malmberg, Program Manager Orange County Emancipation Services/ILP and Foster Care Investigations Program; Joe Davey, Operations Manager and Steve Hughes, Program Coordinator for the Employment and Training at the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services; Margie Rosas, Youth Programs Manager, San Diego Workforce Partnership; and Dan Radojevic, Employment Services Coordinator, San Pasqual Academy, San Diego WIB.

The following materials are related to topics discussed on the call:
Miscellaneous Court Order to Allow Cross-Agency Share of Information
(PDF 667 kb)
Service Referral Form - County of Orange One-Stop System/Youth Program
Orange County WIB WIA Youth Providers
California Department of Social Services Regulations (Division 30 & 31 related to the Workforce Investment Act)
California Independent Living Program Regulations - Full Text
Youth Transition Action Team Initiative Website
Youth Transition Action Teams Factsheet (PDF 55 kb)
San Pasqual Academy Website

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Evaluation and Data Collection September & October Content Conference Calls
Evaluation and data collection are critical parts of measuring and building a successful comprehensive youth-serving system that serves the needs of all transitioning and emancipated foster youth.

These content conference calls covered some of the challenges and successful strategies for designing evaluation systems and collecting data. The guest panelists were Dr. Mikala Rahn, President, Public Works, Inc.; Ms. Donna DeWeerd, Private Consultant and Program Evaluator, Improving Transition Outcomes for Youth with Disabilities Project (ITOP); and Professor Amy D'Andrade, Assistant Professor School of Social Work, San Jose State University. The calls were facilitated by Steve Trippe, President and Executive Director of New Ways to Work.

Evaluation and Data Collection Content Conference Call (PDF 80 kb)

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Site Lead Conference Calls

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.

YTAT Site Leads Conference Call Notes (PDF 110 kb)
YTAT Site Leads Directory (PDF 96kb)
YTAT Site Profiles (PDF 104kb)