I have worked in child welfare for 25 years and want you to know what a wonderful program this is; these youth are surviors all they need is a network of support your program is evidence of what a small commitment can do to change lives. I would like tot introduce you to a simuliar program that would boast your efforts. This is also a civic engagment iniative and is about building lasitng relationships.
Open Table provides a model to engage individuals in an enduring relationship and a network of support for youth leaving foster care. Founded on the principles of civic engagement the model provides the great potential to create social change and transform the lives of youth leaving the foster care system. Successful civic engagement models combine the intellectual capital of sector experts and the social capital of the community. This demonstration project is not for foster youth aging out of care, but instead creates an opportunity for youth aging into a community by creating a sustainable network of supports and opportunities for youth to develop to their fullest potential. The cornerstone to our approach is mobilizing the intellectual capital of a committed group of individuals in the field of child welfare, psychology, research, and academia and government entities to form the social capital to support members of the faith community to use their intellectual capital to rally around youth leaving foster care.

Open Table is a fairly new initiative that has incredible potential to change the fate of the approximate 29,000 youth aging out of foster care, who based on recent studies, will likely find themselves in poverty with little to no supports. By engaging the faith community in long-term individual transformation; this civic engagement model has the potential to invite the 20,000 congregations in Texas alone. The Open Table Model shares the core values of High-Fidelity Wraparound and intertwines them with a new innovative approach that is rooted in sustainable relationships.

This civic engagement model integrates new social service “technologies” that empower foster decision making and self-determination rather than seeking to control it. They include a strengths based psychological assessment process for education/career guidance; a pre-community phase in which a strengths- based platform to enter the community is built; and a long-term phase that draws sector expertise and will benefit from the evidence-based practice of 25 years of experience and research of high fidelity wraparound.

If you would like more information about starting the iniative in DC just shot me an email; I know the funder of the program well.