Ary and other LifeSet participants shared their COVID-19 experiences with congressional representatives to advocate for targeted relief for older foster youth during the crisis and its recovery.
Foster Care Articles

Youth Villages endorses bipartisan bill to bring COVID-19 relief to young people in foster care, calls on allies to support it
Youth Villages is endorsing a bipartisan bill introduced today in the U.S. House of Representatives to provide immediate, targeted relief to children, youth and families significantly impacted by the COVID-19 emergency.

Four jurisdictions launch new programs for transition-age youth in foster care
New programs are launching in four jurisdictions across the country to provide comprehensive support to young people turning 18 in foster care – one of the groups hit hardest by the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.
How Kentucky Is Helping Youth Transition Out of Foster Care
The nonprofit organization Youth Villages is partnering with the state of Kentucky to start offering a new program called LifeSet. The goal is to work with young people between the ages of 17 and 22 who are transitioning out of foster care in Kentucky.

How does it feel to “age out” of foster care?
Every year, approximately 20,000 young people turn 18 in child welfare systems without ever being reunited with their biological family. Ary, a young woman receiving help in Youth Villages Oklahoma’s LifeSet program experienced the ups and downs of that big birthday.

Kentucky launches new program for young people transitioning from foster care
The Kentucky Department for Community Based Services (DCBS), an agency of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), is launching a new program this month to help young people who reach adulthood in foster care, one of the groups the most impacted by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.

Youth Villages addressing the growing need for foster families amid the coronavirus pandemic
“We are still being innovative and creative…” said Portia Williams, foster parent trainer with Youth Villages. WREG Channel 3 spoke with Williams and the Hatten family about the need for foster care now more than ever.

Foster Care Awareness Activities in Middle Tennessee
May is National Foster Care Awareness Month. In Tennessee, approximately 8,000 children are in foster care at any given time. With fewer than 4,000 foster families, the need is ever-present; even during COVID-19. National statistics show that a new child is placed into care every two minutes.

Youth Villages needs help with foster homes
Lakeisha Gomes, foster care regional manager, spoke with Local24 about Foster Care Awareness month and Youth Villages’ efforts to find our homes for our youth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mission to place kids in foster care continues despite pandemic
Foster care recruiter LaTava Chandler spoke with WREG3 in Memphis about the continuous need for foster parents, even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more about how to become a foster parent.