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Resilience in Foster Youth:  A Peer Mentorship Program That Promotes Academic and Life Long Success

Resilience in Foster Youth:  A Peer Mentorship Program That Promotes Academic and Life Long Success. A GRANT PROPOSAL Presented to the School of Social Work California State University, Long Beach Remberto Nunez Master of Social Work May 2012. Introduction.

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Resilience in Foster Youth:  A Peer Mentorship Program That Promotes Academic and Life Long Success

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  1. Resilience in Foster Youth:  A Peer Mentorship Program That Promotes Academic and Life Long Success A GRANT PROPOSAL Presented to the School of Social Work California State University, Long Beach Remberto Nunez Master of Social Work May 2012

  2. Introduction One out of three foster youth leaves the system with no General Education Degree (GED) or high school diploma (Krinsky, 2007). Due to the damaging nature of physical abuse, scars may be present physically and emotionally, the latter leading to deviant behavior (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2007). There are many benefits to promoting and supporting post-secondary education for foster youth (Cochrane & Szabo-Kubitz, 2009). Understanding how to develop and nurture resilience in foster youth is critical for social workers and service providers alike because it can make them less venerable to the gamut of psychological and emotional adversity (Capuzzi & Gross, 2008). The overarching goal of this project is to fund a program for the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) that will hire academically resilient foster youth to be peer mentors to younger foster youth.

  3. Social Work Relevance The National Association of Social Work Code of Ethics (NASW; 2008) has as one of its ethical principles the importance of human relationships. Encourages social workers to engage people and create collaborations amongst them that will strengthen their relationships and promote, restore, maintain, and enhance their well-being. The peer mentor program hires youth who have had exposure to the foster care system while valuing their experience and ability to guide younger foster youth and essentially holding them to be the true experts.

  4. Cross-Cultural Relevance Longitudinal studies have shown that there is a disproportionate amount of minority youth in foster care (Magruder & Shaw, 2008). The program aims to empower the large numbers of minority youth who are currently in the Los Angeles foster care system. Furthermore, because the target agency, DCFS, serves a cross section of the diverse population of Los Angeles County, there is a need for an equally diverse group of peer mentors that have successfully navigated through the foster care system to teach others.

  5. Methods The target population for this grant is current foster youth between the ages of 14 and 17 who are served through the South County Office of DCFS. The grant will fund a peer mentor program that will work with current foster youth in Los Angeles County. The peer-to-peer program will allow for a unique opportunity to support emancipated youth financially by providing them an employment opportunity. • Dwight Stuart Fund: The five core values of the foundation are courage, integrity, respect, innovation, and responsiveness. Their four areas of funding are education enrichment, mentoring, leadership, and school readiness. • An extensive Internet search was used based on the proposed population and geographic specificity of the program.

  6. Methods • Budget • Salaries and wages for: • Program Coordinator • Peer Mentors (4) Total Wages and Salaries: $325,000 Other Operating Expenses: $3,500 In-Kind Donations: $11,000 Total Requested from funding source: $332,000

  7. Grant Proposal • The Connection is a peer mentor support group for and by foster youth. • Current foster youth from Lakewood CA. will be served by the peer mentor group. • A combination of federal, state, local, and private funding sources must be explored to sustain future funding for program.

  8. Grant Proposal Goals • To provide current foster youth with new resources • To provide foster youth with a mentoring relationship • Help program participant create realistic educational goals Evaluation • Feedback forms and focus groups

  9. Lessons learned • The grant writer was able to combine passion for foster youth with knowledge and skills acquired through academic and professional experience. • Research on resilience in foster youth was conducted and there was a wealth of literature on factors that contribute to resilience in foster youth. • Social workers must continue to strive to find new ways of promoting resilience in foster youth.

  10. References Capuzzi, D., & Gross, D.R. (2008). Youth at risk: A prevention resource for counselors, teachers, and parents (5th ed.). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association. Cochrane, D., & Szabo-Kubitz, L. (2009). Hopes and hurdles: California foster youth and college financial aid. Retrieved from ERIC database.(ED509352) Krinsky, M. (2007). A case for reform of the child welfare system. Family Court Review, 45(4), 541-547 Magruder, J., & Shaw, T.V. (2008). Children ever in care: An examination of cumulative disproportionality. Child Welfare, 87(2), 169-188. Zastrow, C. & Kirst-Ashman, K. (2007). Understanding human behavior and social environment. Belmont, CA: Thompson Brooks/Cole.

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