Darren Walker

Children's Defense Fund staff work every day to bring real change to the lives of children and young people in America. A great example of that is what Children’s Defense Fund-New York is doing as a member of the YouthNPower: Transforming Care collective. The collective, which also includes the The Graduate Center, City University of New York’s Public Science Project, the Center for the Study of Social Policy, and New Yorkers For Children, created a pilot program to provide young people ages 18 to 25, who have aged out of the foster care system in New York City, an unconditional payment of $1,000 per month. “It’s that collective model, thinking about unconditional cash and working with young people who have been directly impacted by the system to create the first direct cash transfer project that’s created by young people for young people,” said Children’s Defense Fund-New York Youth Justice & Child Welfare Director Julia Davis. “There’s a lot of work going on in this space, but that’s one piece that really makes it unique.” Davis discussed the program as a participant in a Center for the Study of Social Policy led panel in April. She said the effort, which is now in its tenth month, is really nested inside the experience of transition for its young participants. “That means everything that we do, all of our participatory action research, all of our organizing is looking at the relationships of cash, but also all the other things that young people who are transitioning out of care are facing: housing, economic supports, employment, school, parenting, and the experience around well-being and mental health,” she said. “And so, when we designed the direct cash transfer, we were considering all those things.” If you would like to learn more about YouthNPower: Transforming Care, head to the collective’s website here: https://youthnpower.org/ https://lnkd.in/ebdtX9Zz

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