Pandemic Relief for Foster Youth Expired September 30, 2021

• Watch the National Town Hall on how to help foster youth who abruptly aged out
• Review the COVID-19 MicroCash Grant Data project overview on the needs of current and former foster youth during the pandemic
• Explore data for your state or local area in the COVID-19 MicroCash Grant Data Tableau 
• Read the COVID-19 MicroCash Data Briefing
• Read Sixto Cancel’s Op Ed in the New York Times about why and how we must transform foster care
• Read the Call to Action For Transition-Aged Foster Youth During the Pandemic 
• Review the Recommendations At A Glance
• Learn more about how you can Center Lived Experience

• Contact your local Chamber of Commerce to educate them about the expired supports and that foster youth in your community need employment. Ask them to inform their businesses about the issue.
• Contact your local and state policymakers about expanding state-level supports to foster youth to mitigate the effects of the abrupt end in federal pandemic relief.
• Raise awareness about the apps that connect people to surplus food in your neighborhood, such as Olie and Order Ahead .
• Ask local restaurants to organize a “foster youth night” to have discounts for youth who have aged out.
• Educate nonprofits in your area that serve young children about this issue and that there may be surges in needs from foster youth who are parents.

• Implement the recommendations within the Call to Action For Transition-Aged Foster Youth During the Pandemic in your area of practice. 
• Work to center lived experience in every element of practice.

Jobs

• Create a partnership with businesses in your area and ask them to commit to hiring foster youth.
• Make an announcement at community, religious, or professional gatherings that foster youth are looking for jobs. 

Support maintaining jobs 

• Organize ride shares and carpools to help young people get to interviews and the first two weeks of work.
• Set aside funds to help young people get shoes or other work clothes.
• Make a list of community closets where youth can get affordable work clothes.
• Partner with local and regional businesses to provide gift cards to purchase shoes and clothes for work.
• Activate support for getting youth access to basic hygiene items like deodorant, shampoo, and laundry detergent. 

Food 

• Organize a grocery drive or prepare food baskets for young people through a local youth-serving organization.
• Expand “double up” for SNAP and WIC programs at stores in your area.
• Purchase bus passes for youth who live in food deserts to access full-service grocery stores.

Housing Support 

• Host office hours to help young people search and select a list of apartments to view.
• Host a home goods drive to get access to basic home furnishings like beds, cookware, and kitchenware. 
• Raise a small fund dedicated to covering youth’s rental deposits. Many housing voucher programs do not cover deposits.

Transportation Support

• Work with your city and nonprofits to purchase bus passes for foster youth who need them.
• Build partnerships with local auto repair companies and dealerships to provide services like free oil changes. 

Childcare supplies for babies and toddlers

• Direct foster youth to local nonprofits that serve young kids or provide diapers and other essentials.

Money management 

• Host office hours to talk to young people about how to navigate survival financial decisions and creating a budget. 
• Ask financial planners in your area to donate their time.

Help applying for services 

• Support youth in completing applications such as housing applications, childcare benefits, unemployment, and SNAP.

Direct financial assistance 

• Create a fund to help youth pay for co-pays for mental and physical health appointments
• Work with your community networks to commit to raising $10,000 to then provide gap financial coverage to foster youth who need it
• Tap into existing Mutual Aid groups in your area and make sure they know about the needs of foster youth