Life and Career Skills
Peace4Kids: Peace4Kids is a family as community organization in the South Los Angeles area. Volunteers and mentors work with youth currently in the foster care system in order to help them make a successful transition to adulthood.
Alliance for Children’s Rights: The Alliance provides free legal services and advocacy to transition aged foster youth, ages 14 to 24. They also created the “Know Before You Go” smartphone app. The app connects you to a lifeline of resources, tools, supports and advocates in Los Angeles County.
Rightway Foundation: They work with youth on interview skills, financial literacy, motivation and counseling. Check out the video that The Storyboard Project produced for them.
Scholarships
United Friends lists scholarships designed for Foster Youth.
FAFSA: This is federal student aid that will help you pay for college.
Chafee: If you are or were in foster care and have financial need, you may qualify for up to $5,000 a year for career and technical training or college. You don’t have to pay this money back. You may also be able to use your grant to help pay for child care, transportation and rent while in school.
Housing
Los Angeles Youth Network (LAYN): Offers support services, housing, tutoring and mentoring services
Los Angeles County Independent Living Program: Provides comprehensive services and resources to assist transition age youth (TAY) successfully transition from dependency to self sufficiency.
Educational Opportunities
My Life My Rights: Lists educational opportunities
Guardian Scholars Program: This video describes the program that is available to you at many community colleges and public universities.
Aging Out and Other Resources
Think of Us: Founded by Sixto Cancel, Think of Us is a systems change firm focused on transforming child welfare by leveraging lived experience and system proximity to drive systems change.
Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative: The mission of the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative is to ensure that young people—primarily those between ages 14 and 25—make successful transitions from foster care to adulthood.
Aging Out Institute: Supports foster youth who are approaching life on their own, or who have already aged out.
Foster Youth Help: Site that provides information on everything from knowing your rights to getting health care information.
Foster Care Counts: Foster Care Counts partners with care and advocacy organizations to address the gaps in service and impediments to success for foster and former foster youth.