Fall 2012 YouthAction Community Leadership Course: Findings and Recommendations

Published December, 2012

CCC’s YouthAction Community Leadership Course (YCLC) students focused the Fall 2012 semester on New York City’s foster care system and then drafted findings and recommendations aimed at enhancing the system for youth in care.

The 25 high school students  in the Fall 2012 YCLC spent 10 weeks analyzing statistics, visiting service providers, and hearing from experts in the field. From this research they developed the Findings and Recommendations, which they presented to government officials, CCC Board and CCC staff.

The Findings and Recommendations highlight the need for more Family Court judges, attorneys, and caseworkers so that all foster care cases receive adequate attention. The students also focused on ensuring youth in care are placed in safe, welcoming living environments and have a high-quality, effective caseworker. The YCLC also recommends that more work be done to meet the needs of older foster youth,  such as increasing  opportunities for college and career readiness programs, providing more assistance with housing and financial planning, and ensuring youth have better access to therapeutic activities.

The YCLC was pleased to see the  efforts being made to keep more families together by providing comprehensive preventive services, and looks forward to seeing the expansion of these models in  both preventive services and foster care.