​Goal and Community Assets. The aim of Fostering Youth Educational Success (“Fostering YES”) was to promote the educational success of foster youth in Cumberland County, North Carolina. The majority of foster youth experienced multiple placements, leading to changes in school assignments. The county and state had strong youth groups and child- and family-serving partnerships. The county agencies also had a strong tradition of using child and family team meetings to engage youth and their families and their involved services in joint planning. These assets made it possible to implement a strategy of developing youth leadership and system-of-care collaborations to stabilize educational placements and to plan for youth permanency.

Accomplishments. The 17-month project developed a planning infrastructure that included youth voices, formulated data-driven policies and procedures, and piloted and refined curricula for foster youth, caregivers, university students, and professionals. Structures were put in place to sustain the work in the county and expand outward across the state.

Partners. At North Carolina State University, the Center for Family and Community Engagement and the Department of Social Work worked with Cumberland County youth and family organizations, Social Services, Schools, Court, and Mental Health to carry out the project.

Funding. The project was made possible by Grant Number 90CO1075/01 from US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau though the Child Welfare—Education System Collaborations to Increase Education Stability. The contents of the project description and attached final report are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Final Report (Submitted June 2013)