Fostering Futures Training

Being a teenager is tough in today’s world, and it’s even more challenging for older teens living in foster care.  Teens in foster care may not know if they are returning home, where they are going to be living in a year, or how they are going to support themselves once they turn 18.  In response to the needs of these youth, Fairfax CASA presented the Fostering Futures training on Saturday, January, 25th, to 46 CASA volunteers.  The day long training, which is based on a curriculum created by National CASA, includes information on teen brain development, available resources, the challenges faced by older youth in foster care, and strategies for engaging older youth in planning for young adulthood. The training group also had the benefit of hearing from a young woman who was in foster care herself as a youth; she shared some of the successes and challenges of the experience, as well as her role as a peer mentor for teens in foster care in Fairfax County. 

In the afternoon, CASA volunteers role played in order to practice the skills they had learned.   And, at the end of the day, the entire class of volunteers shared their ideas for how they would use the training to better advocate for older youth in foster care.   Early feedback indicates that The Fostering Futures training was a valuable experience for our CASA volunteers, offering them new skills and ideas for supporting youth as they move toward independence.

Interested in being a volunteer? Our next volunteer session is February 22nd  at the Kings Park Library in Burke, VA from 11:00 am- 12:00 pm. RSVP: volunteer@casafairfax.org