Annie E. Casey Foundation

A lot of us did some questionable things as teenagers, like drinking alcohol, doing drugs, and shoplifting. We’re likely not proud of these moments, but they happened, and we moved on. For some of us though, this normal adolescent boundary-testing can lead to involvement in the juvenile justice system, which is ripe with racial disparities and poor results. Nathaniel Balis, Director of the Juvenile Justice Strategy Group at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, talks with host Maya Rupert about reframing how we think about youth crime, the need for effective solutions that actually promote community safety, and how much young people need adults in their corner. Listen to this episodes of Good Things from Lemonada Media here:https://lnkd.in/gRiGD27u This episode was made possible with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, an organization that develops solutions to build a brighter future for children, youth, families and communities. Learn more at aecf.org.

“The child is sitting on their lap while they're in class — until they need food, until they need to be changed, until they need to get down." One in 4 Texas students is raising kids while working toward their college degree. But while student parents get better grades than their classmates, they are also less likely to finish school.

Becoming a financially stable adult is challenging — and it’s especially hard for youth in foster care who don’t have a caregiver to help them manage their money or learn to budget. The Foundation’s Opportunity Passport® helps young people build financial stability by teaching the basics of personal finance, banking and goal setting. In 2023, 3,600 young people in the program used their savings and matched funds to invest more than $2.23 million in their futures.

“Every student, disabled or not, needs assistance in career planning and services… It’s just that disabled students might have additional needs because of inaccessibility in our society. Our system generally is not accessible for people with disabilities to enter the workforce.”

Each year, more than 1.6 million young people experience homelessness, foster care or incarceration while earning their K-12 education. Though their numbers exceed the population of New Hampshire, they are often overlooked in discussions about education.

Join us in congratulating Lisa Lawson of the Annie E. Casey Foundation on being appointed to Chair of the Richmond Fed Boards of Directors! Learn more about our boards here: https://bit.ly/3Z5PI6q

Tune in to our latest podcast episode to hear Artis Stevens, president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, discuss the power of mentorship. Men­tor­ship pro­vides young peo­ple with a sense of belong­ing, emo­tion­al sup­port and the con­fi­dence to make pos­i­tive decisions — yet 10 mil­lion young peo­ple across the coun­try do not have access to a mentor. Listen to the podcast to learn what's needed to create a com­pre­hen­sive ecosys­tem that empow­ers young peo­ple to thrive in adulthood: https://lnkd.in/ecJDvdfn

"Foster youth are already living in a state of ambiguity — we don’t know what’s going to happen next, and this could exacerbate and heighten fears. With PTSD, which is a common diagnosis for children in foster care, they could regress, and there could be a new onset of PTSD symptoms even if they’ve been somewhat stable and they’re receiving the proper mental health care."

Youth apprenticeships are an important tool for building a qualified and talented workforce. They enable young adults to gain credentials and earn income at the same time, while helping employers build a pipeline of skilled workers.

Last week, Casey staff braved the chilly waters of the Chesapeake Bay for the Special Olympics Maryland Polar Bear Plunge. Teams participating in the Corporate Plunge collectively raised more than $500,000 to fund sports and leadership programs for Special Olympics athletes across the state.