Register Now: Elevating Youth Engagement
Strengthening Foster Care Partnerships

On June 3, the Annie E. Casey Foundation will host the Elevating Youth Engagement Webinar, an introduction to the training curriculum Elevating Youth Engagement (EYE). Its best practices and approaches will help child welfare system leaders, organizations, communities and young adults with foster care experience authentically partner on efforts to improve child welfare policies and practices.
EYE draws on lessons from the Foundation’s Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative® and its partner Cetera. The curriculum was informed and co-developed by young leaders, including Jim Casey Fellows, who play a key role in developing the Initiative’s strategies for improving child welfare systems.
Learn more about the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative
The EYE training curriculum will be available — for free — on the Foundation’s website in May. Eight interactive sessions offer strategies and tools for meaningful youth engagement and leadership within systems and communities. They address:
- strengthening youth-adult partnerships through a coaching approach and shared decision-making;
- supporting young leaders’ wellness, self-care and know-how as they advocate for system improvements;
- applying adolescent brain development science to help adults understand how foster care affects young people and why leadership opportunities are crucial; and
- developing a youth engagement action plan tailored to a community or organization’s needs.
During the webinar, presenters will cover:
- an overview of EYE’s three tracks for adult supporters, young leaders and both audiences;
- the process of developing the curriculum content in collaboration with young leaders who have been in foster care;
- examples of how Jim Casey Initiative site partners use the approaches covered in EYE; and
- what’s included in the curriculum materials to help facilitators effectively deliver sessions.
“We know that when young people who have experienced foster care are authentically engaged as partners, we and our work benefits from their expertise and energy,” said Catherine Lester, associate director of the Foundation’s Family Well-Being Strategy Group. “We also know that it takes preparation and a support network to ensure that young people are treated as equal partners and have the chance to thrive in their leadership roles.”
Details
Date: June 3, 2025
Time: 3–4 p.m. ET
Presenters:
- Catherine Lester, associate director, Family Well-Being Strategy Group;
- Amandalyn Stallings, Jim Casey Fellow;
- Jamie Bennett, executive director and co-founder, Cetera;
- Antoinette Rucker, Jim Casey Fellow, associate youth engagement consultant, Cetera;
- Sam Garman, senior youth engagement consultant, Cetera;
- Kathleen Holt-Whyte, senior youth engagement consultant, Cetera; and
- Meghan Arrigo, senior youth engagement consultant, Cetera.