The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors granted authority Tuesday to Philip L. Browning, Director of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), to enter a contract with Imagine LA for mentorship and support services to pregnant and parenting transition-aged youth (TAY) exiting the Los Angeles County foster care system.

The total amount of $202,000 for this contract is financed from the County’s “AB 2994” funds, administered by the Interagency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (ICAN), that are generated from birth certificate fees.  The contract is authorized for a two-year countywide pilot program with an option to renew for an additional year.  In addition, the pilot’s evaluation will be conducted by the USC School of Social Work and funded by the consortium Southern California Grantmakers (SCG).

Jill Govan Bauman, President and CEO of Imagine LA, says “Imagine LA is thrilled to have the Board of Supervisors, ICAN’s and the Southern California Grantmakers’ support of this innovative partnership with DCFS.  The pilot will utilize Imagine LA’s unique Family Mentorship Program to work with foster youth exiting the system who have children or are pregnant – to help them thrive.  Studies show:

* Among girls in foster care at age 17, more than 25% had given birth at least once during their teens.[1]

* Among girls with a first birth before age 18, more than one in three had a second teen birth. 1

* Over 50% of TAY experience homelessness within their first year of emancipation.[2]

* 44% of the young children of emancipated TAY return to foster care. 2”

[1] E. Putnam-Hornstein et al. (2013). California’s most vulnerable parents, A population based examination of maltreatment history among adolescent mothers. Los Angeles, CA: Children’s Data Network.

[1] Dennis P. Culhane, PhD et al. (2011). Young Adult Outcomes of Youth Exiting Dependent or Delinquent Care In Los Angeles County. Los Angeles, CA: Conrad N. Hilton Foundation funded study.

The pilot project will serve TAY families leaving Extended Foster Care (EFC) to participate in Imagine LA’s innovative two-year Family Mentoring Program.  The EFC allows TAY to remain under foster care until the age of 21.  The goal of this program is to help these young, extremely vulnerable families build relationship skills and connections that empower them to stay together, stay housed, thrive and break the cycle of abuse and neglect.

“I look forward to entering this contract with Imagine LA.  I believe their services will greatly help put our young parents and their children on the path to success,” says DCFS Director Philip L. Browning.

The Family Mentorship Program creates a professionally-guided and volunteer-infused support system around each family, giving them the foundation they need to succeed.  Imagine LA’s professional staff train and guide a volunteer mentor team and their matched family through a structured, step-by-step, one to two year program.  Volunteer mentor teams come from nearby organizations (e.g., companies, faith communities and schools) or a group of individuals.  An Imagine LA Family Team Manager helps 1) the families clarify their goals and access resources, and 2) trains and guides the mentor teams in providing weekly one-on-one mentoring to each family member to help them achieve their goals.  They focus on critical life skills, including: accessing benefits and other health, legal, and social services; tutoring; job readiness training and job placement services; budgeting and financial literacy; education; communication; stress management; crisis response; positive parenting; childcare; and nutrition.

Since launching their first Family Mentorship Team in 2008, Imagine LA has worked with 68 families and demonstrated the lasting impact of its mentorship model. Consistently, by program graduation:

* 100% of families maintained their housing

* 100% of children achieved ASQ (under 5 year developmental standards) or grade level school proficiency with the majority excelling

* 100% of high school-aged youth graduated and pursued higher education

* 100% of participants (adults and children) received annual medical and dental exams

* 75% of families increased their household earned income, on average an increase of 67%

Imagine LA’s program has been proven successful for families with similar experiences to those for which the pilot program has been designed.  Mary (not her real name), a recent graduate, was homeless at age 18 and had a baby.  She says, “My path was not easy, but with my Imagine LA team, I was able to secure a full-time job and buy my own car and my son is blossoming in day care.  I’m still discovering who I am, becoming a better parent and I’m so thankful that I have mentors who are willing to take this journey of discovery with me.”

“Families who work with Imagine LA get matched with a team of volunteer mentors who walk with them as they change their lives,” says Jill Bauman, “This mentorship team works with their Imagine LA Family Team Manager to make sure all the resources, skills and habits the family needs stick.  They are in it for the long haul. The young people in this program will get help with everything from finding and keeping employment, to learning how to budget, cook, parent, and utilize healthcare, to getting a ‘mom’ break when they need it most.  And the children will have other caring resourceful adults also nurturing their development.”

According to DCFS manager Harvey Kawasaki, “This is truly an innovative program that continues our investment in former foster youth who are now young adults with children of their own.  This unique approach provides trained volunteer family mentors, from all walks of life and with special skills and interests, to educate and support our young parents.  The program has the potential to be the ultimate community-based safety net for foster youth as they exit foster care as young adults.”

“Young people coming out of the foster system need help, and they need hope,” said Deanne Tilton, Executive Director of ICAN.  “We believe this pilot program with Imagine LA will give emancipated foster youth and their families the tools to break the cycle of poverty, abuse and neglect.  We want these young people to start their independent lives secure in the knowledge that someone cares about them and their children and wants them to succeed.  We hope that this pilot project will help us discover a new path for all young families exiting the foster system.”

Commissioner Patricia Curry, of the Los Angeles Commissioner for Children and Families, says, “The Imagine LA pilot program is so exciting because it provides us with the opportunity to build on the incredible success Imagine LA has had helping at-risk families and brings their mentoring and support program to a new population of young adults and their children who are transitioning from foster care.  I am hopeful that this public/ private partnership and the efforts of so many other organizations will continue to raise awareness of the needs of this truly vulnerable population.  We simply cannot ignore the key findings of the USC-led study and report, California’s Most Vulnerable Parents: When Maltreated Children have Children, prepared for and funded by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, that highlighted, among other issues, the multigenerational cycle of abuse and neglect.  We must start developing programs that PREVENT these cycles of abuse and neglect.  The Los Angeles County Commission for Children and Families is proud to be a part of this public and private partnership and thanks the Board of Supervisors for their support.”

The Imagine LA/DCFS pilot will also be monitored and evaluated by a third-party team at the USC School of Social Work, led by Associate Professor and Associate Dean Dorian Traube, Ph.D.  The evaluation will be funded by a consortium of private funders, who came together through SCG, a growing leadership network dedicated to advancing effective philanthropy where 250+ foundations, corporations, and government grantmakers come together to learn, connect, and take action.   Wendy Garen, chair of SCG, says, “Local funders recognize the critical unmet needs of children in the dependency system, and we are very pleased to invest in the evaluation of this important work.  We hope that our collective action signals to the entire community the importance of working together to improve outcomes for children.”