Youth aging out of foster care need love, resources, and reassurance. Forestdale has created this program to prevent our youth from following nationwide statistics that show about 50% end up homeless or in jail within three years. In addition, 66% of young women in foster care will give birth between their 18th and 22nd birthdays. Former foster children with no college degree earn less than $14,000 annually.

Forestdale’s Strong Futures Program (SF) supports youth in middle and high school and college to ease the transition out of foster care and into successful adulthood. Forestdale provides group workshops, referral services, career development, and events throughout the year that help young people develop independent life skills and healthy habits. Examples include financial literacy courses, workshops on healthy relationships, trips to cultural events, and educational pre-college and college support.

Forestdale knows that education is the pathway to a successful life. Forestdale Scholars (FS) provides academic support for youth in foster care (grades 5-12+) to ensure that our adolescents see high school (H.S.) graduation as a top priority and college graduation as an attainable goal.

Our dedicated specialists provide direct educational and college enrichment services to prepare youth for critical transition periods, such as high-school admissions and the college-application process. Individually customized assistance for more than 100 youth encompasses:

Educational group workshops, including SAT & ACT prep

Counseling
One-on-one tutoring helps students improve their grades in Math, English, ESL (English as a second language), Sciences, Economics, History, and Social Studies, as well as their scores for the NYS Regents.
Brand new, fully stocked backpacks for more than 750 elementary, middle, and H.S. students annually.
College tours both in-state and out-of-state at no charge for H.S. juniors & seniors.
College counseling for H.S. seniors, including assistance with college applications and financial aid.
Financial/material assistance for college students, including books, laptops, meal plans, and more.

We also continue to provide our Scholars with several levels of ancillary support, including workshops, recreational activities & cultural trips, one-on-one guidance, and referral to additional Forestdale programs (i.e., Life Coaching, Strong Futures Internship(SFI), Strong Futures Pregnancy Prevention, Evidence-based Mental Health interventions, Career Counseling, and Medical & Dental care), and Entitlement assistance, to ensure a robust, holistic, and worthwhile program experience.

Strong Futures Internship (SFI) This mentored internship program aids Foster Care and other youth participating in Forestdale’s programs and eligible youth in the community. These young adults are not in school, attend an alternative school, have struggled with employment, or are not already employed.

In F.Y. 2023, 18 adolescents and young adults will participate in 3-6 months long paid internships with placements available in Administration, Culinary Arts, Information Technology (I.T.), Maintenance (Commercial), and Project-Based Learning activities. Graduates indicated an increase in self-confidence and job skills. In addition, supervisors reported that participants improved their capacity to perform job tasks and augmented communication skills with supervisors and co-workers. After completing SFI, our participants transition to industry-based training, unsubsidized employment, or back to full-time education.

Forestdale’s Life Coaching program is for young people ages 14-26. One-on-one guidance helps these young people improve skills in areas necessary to transition into adulthood. The program focuses on connecting young adults to positive influences while diverting them from negative ones. Youth and young adults choose short- and long-term goals and then work with trained coaches to design a realistic plan that advances their life goals. They are on their paths to healthy, vibrant, prosperous, and happy lives.

Forestdale ensures that young people are financially empowered by providing individually tailored approaches to assess job readiness, sharpen interview skills, and find career-track employment.

For more information, contact Danielle Brown Fuller at dfuller@forestdaleinc.org.

Forestdale is committed to successful futures for young people

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Forestdale, Inc.