Cities, counties and school districts can and should make a difference for emancipating foster youth. Local government and schools can work together to help shepard foster teens into successful adulthood. Doing this will be a service to foster youth and to society as a whole. Cities, counties and schools can work collectively and comprehensively to overcome the piecemeal nature of supports now available to emancipating youth.

Our Children: Emancipating Foster Youth, a Community Action Agenda is the result of a 2007 task force coordinated by the Cities Counties Schools Partnership. It represents the view from local government for how to best address the needs of foster youth who are aging out of the system. Glossary and resource guides are available at the end of this document, available here: Our Children: Emancipating Foster Youth Community Action Guide

In 2008, the Cities Counties Schools Partnership continued its work with its Conditions of Children Task Force continuing its focus on issues of foster care. The task force met four times in 2008 to learn from experts and discuss the role and responsibility of local governments in addressing the needs of foster youth. The task force heard from experts in prevention strategies, rural county issues, county systems, prenatal exposure to alcohol and drugs, and shared data systems. We Can Make a Difference demonstrates how city, county and school leadership can lead the way in developing programs that use collaboration to maximize the support available to struggling families and to foster youth. We Can Make a Difference