Mentors Build Meaningful Connections With Youth in Washington, D.C. The Washington, D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services runs the Credible Messenger Initiative, a program that pairs every youth under its supervision with specially trained adult mentors from the community. These paid mentors — called credible messengers — have lived through similar experiences and understand the support and services that youth in justice systems need. Read More
What Is Youth Navigation? This post explains youth navigation services, why they're important and how they can help young people thrive. Read more. Read More
Rate of Uninsured Kids Held Steady Nationwide and Improved in 17 States in 2022 From 2019 to 2021, children across America grew more likely to have health insurance. Read how health insurance helps kids. Read More
Foster Care Alums Weigh In: Building a Better Exit Plan The Casey Foundation’s Lisa Hamilton recently spoke to Samanthya Amann and Brittany Hunter about their personal paths out of foster care. Both women talked about the barriers they faced, what strategies and supports they used, and what a smoother exit from the system could look like. Read More
Youth Detention Use Reaches Highest Level in 19 Months The use of juvenile detention reached a 19-month high on Oct. 1, 2021. Despite this development, the youth detention population is still 22% smaller than it was on March 1, 2020, before the pandemic began. Read More
Infants and Teens More Likely to Experience Foster Care Reentry Children who have exited foster care are more likely to return to care if they are infants, in their early teen years or have experienced a group placement before reuniting with their families, according to a new study conducted by the Center for State Child Welfare Data and funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Read More
Youth Justice Community Collaborative Launches in Albuquerque The Albuquerque Justice for Youth Community Collaborative — supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation — will engage local stakeholders and youth advocates in shaping promising futures for young people who have been affected by the juvenile justice system. Read More
Florida Requires Child Welfare System to Teach Youth in Foster Care Their Rights A Florida law requires child welfare professionals to teach young people in foster care about the laws that protect their rights. Read more. Read More
New Leadership Video: Achieving High Action and High Alignment The latest in a new series of video tools for results-based leadership describes how leaders can get to High Action and High Alignment — a key concept of results-based leadership development. A simple grid helps leaders identify where they or others fall. Read More
Workforce Development Programs That Work for Youth With Justice-System Experience This post reviews research that identifies common features of quality community-based workforce development programs serving youth and young adults with criminal or juvenile records. Read More