Youth Advocacy

A Voice for Kids in Care

We believes it is important for young people to have a voice, particularly as it relates to their own futures. To that end, we encourage the development of youth-led groups in our programs to act as a collective voice to advocate for their needs. For example, CV’s Strictly Business group is comprised of youth in residential care; the Youth Advisory Board is for youth in our adoption and foster care programs; and our Street Outreach Program employs youth advocates who provide peer-to-peer outreach and guidance to street-involved youth. In many of our programs, we employ credible messengers, people who have been in care and can approach our work from the teens’ point of view.

Externally, we have supported Bravehearts, an advocacy group of former and current foster youth, since its inception. This group holds weekly meetings and support groups in our Yonkers office to discuss ways to better the foster care and juvenile justice systems for kids who are coming after them.