NEWS IN DEPTH
Working Wonders for Foster Youth Winner of 2018 Innovations in American Government Award builds bridges to careers and opportunity
Heather Hudson, then-executive director of Rhode Island Governor’s Workforce Board (left), and Lisa Guillette, executive director of Foster Forward, present Works Wonders to the Innovations in American Government Award National Selection Committee last September
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the United States, nearly 23,000 young people age out of the foster care system every year without having been reunited with their families or placed in permanent homes. Approximately 20 percent of those who leave foster care without a permanent home after turning 18 join the growing ranks of the homeless in cities and towns large and small across the country, according to the National Foster Youth Initiative. Only half will find gainful employment by the time they turn 24. Lisa Guillette, the executive director of Foster Forward, a Rhode Island nonprofit dedicated to foster youth and families, spoke about the millions of young people in the United States who lack connections to either school or work, and painted an even more challenging picture for America’s foster care population: “With our nation’s 400,000 foster youth, most [are] in danger of falling behind.” Guillette was at the Rhode Island State House in Providence this winter, along with Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo, to accept the Ash Center’s 2018 Innovations in American Government Award on behalf of the Works Wonders program, one of the country’s most successful efforts at filling the education, peer support, and job training gap for those who have aged out of—or are about to age out of—foster care. The Innovations in American Government Award is
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the nation’s preeminent recognition for excellence and creativity in the public sector. Launched in 2012, Works Wonders is a partnership between Foster Forward and key state agencies to provide a holistic support system for foster youth that addresses both hard and soft skills. Participants have access to education, peer support, counseling, experiential learning opportunities, and, ultimately, paid jobs, vocational programs, and continued educational opportunities. “Works Wonders is an outstanding program that helps foster kids in Rhode Island reach their full potential,” said Governor Raimondo at the Award ceremony. “Rhode Island is meeting a crucial need for a population that is too often underserved.” Works Wonders’ focus on foster youth sets it apart from other career development programs, as it fills a gap between traditional workforce development programs, which are aimed at adults, and typical youth-centric programs, which assume a level of parental engagement. The program is further differentiated by the unique publicprivate partnership it embodies. “We knew that the biggest predictor of future employment is past experience,” observed Guillette. Works Wonders partners with the Governor’s Workforce Board to give participants access to opportunities with local employers. Participating em-
