You Gotta Believe

You Gotta Believe! (YGB) is is one of a few organizations in the United States and the only organization in New York City that limits its practice to finding permanent parents and families for young adults, teens, and pre-teens in the foster care system. YGB seeks to put forth permanency solutions as the primary strategies used to meet the needs and secure the futures of foster youth facing the terrifying and deeply lonely prospect of "aging out" of care. YGB’s core services include: a) Recruiting, training, and certifying foster/adoptive parents; b) Connecting and placing foster youth with permanent parents/families; c) Providing ongoing support services pre- and post-placement; d) Training for partner organizations to improve recruitment and permanency outcomes; e) Regional/national advocacy to position teen permanency as a proven solution for foster youth facing the prospect of aging out; and f) Public education efforts through media and videos. ‘Aging Out’ is now in the national lexicon. Yet almost universally, the discussion around aging out is focused on providing young people housing, education, and jobs – i.e., services for youth we are admitting we have failed. The conversation is almost never about how to prevent aging out in the first place. Research indicates that youth who age out of foster care alone are more likely to experience homelessness, unemployment, unplanned pregnancy, legal system involvement, substance abuse, and lack even the basic health care services. They are also less likely to have a high school diploma, earn enough to support themselves, or participate in post-secondary education or training. Nearly 25,000 youth age out of care in the US each year, with more than $7 billion in costs to society beginning to accrue each year. We have a moral and fiscal imperative to ensure that every child leaves care with a permanent family.