CASA’s Youth Transitioning from Care (YTC) Project provides specialized training, resources, and support for volunteers who serve as advocates and mentors for young people aging out of the foster care system from the time of case appointment up until age 26. CASA volunteers serve as mentors, confidants, and tireless advocates during this crucial period in a young person’s life.

Pregnant youth and young parents who are in foster care or have aged out of care face significant challenges. These challenges stem from a lack of stable support networks, financial instability, and histories of trauma and neglect. Their children are at extremely high risk of next-generation foster care placement. CASA-NYC trains a cohort of volunteers to specialize in supporting, mentoring and advocating for young parents with the ultimate goal of ensuring they provide their children with safe, stable and nurturing homes where they will thrive. CASA-NYC also runs a support group for young parents to give them the information, resources and support they need to care for and nurture their children.

CASA-NYC's Youth Advisory Board (YAB) was established in 2018 (formerly the Youth Leadership Council.) The YAB is made up of extraordinary young adults with lived experience in the NYC child welfare system. These individuals lend their voices and expertise to helping CASA-NYC strengthen its services and support for the young people we serve. YAB members serve as advisors to CASA-NYC on policy and program issues and advocate for improved child welfare services on the local, state, and national levels.

The Youth Speaker’s Bureau (YSB) provides comprehensive training in trauma-informed storytelling for young people with lived experience in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. The goal of this initiative is to empower young people to speak out about their experiences without being re-traumatized or otherwise harmed in the process. The YSB curriculum was co-designed and is facilitated by former CASA-NYC Youth Fellow Brie Hayes, who grew up in foster care and has been serving on CASA-NYC Youth Advisory Board since 2018. YSB members provide training to all CASA-NYC volunteer advocates on engaging and supporting youth in foster care. 

Our Youth Fellowship is a one-year, paid fellowship for a young person  with lived experience in the child welfare system. This program was started in 2022 and funded by Brooklyn.org. The Youth Fellow works closely with the Director of Youth Services, co-facilitates our Youth Advisory Board, represents CASA on external committees, and participates in several internal committees, including all hiring committees. The Youth Fellow also serves as an advisor to the executive director and senior management on matters related to older youth.

Through our new Foster Care to Prison Pipeline Diversion Project (“Pipeline” Project) CASA-NYC is scaling our support for  “crossover youth,” who are involved in both the child welfare and juvenile or adult criminal-legal systems.