Family and Youth Initiative Inc

Many of us take family for granted. But what if we couldn’t? Children in foster care who are unable to return to their birth families wait for an adoptive family. Until they find that adoptive family, they remain in foster care limbo.

In the U.S. foster care system over 100,000 children are waiting to be adopted. Oldest children wait the longest and are the least likely to be adopted.

Waiting is particularly difficult for older children, because time is running out. If they don’t find a family before they “age out” of foster care, they’ll have to face adulthood on their own, without anyone to help them finish school, find and keep employment, manage finances, cheer them on when things go well, pick them up when they don’t, walk them down the aisle, be a grandparent to their children, welcome them home for holidays (or anytime). All the things many of us take for granted.

Being a teenager is hard enough. Imagine being a teenager who doesn’t have even one caring adult you trust in your life. Imagine trying to find and trust new parents when adults have let you down in the past.

That’s where we come in.

Family and Youth Initiative provides opportunities for teens in foster care and caring adults to get to know each other and form relationships. With support, these relationships can grow and result in matches for host parenting, mentoring, or adoption.

Think family reunion: happy to see people we care about and catch up on the latest news, while welcoming new family members. That's what our events are like. We try new activities; we have fun; we laugh; we eat. Everyone feels comfortable so it’s easy to get to know each other.

We work hard behind the scenes to find, train and support an incredible group of adults. With them, we provide support to amazing young people as they prepare for their futures and try to create a new definition of family.

The reward comes when we see young people change their perspective, gain self-confidence and hope, and discover that some adults can be trusted. Nothing compares to seeing a young person connect with adults who will be in his or her life for the long term, whether a mentor, host parent or adoptive parent.