Empowering Foster Youth Across California
The Youth Empowerment Strategies for Success—Independent Living Program (YESS–ILP) recently recognized 14 outstanding foster youth students from across seven California community colleges through the Foster Youth Recognition Awards.
Selected by campus program staff from a pool of more than 2,000 students statewide, the recipients were honored for exceptional achievements in academics, leadership, community involvement, and personal growth, highlighting qualities such as resilience, initiative, positivity, and educational success.
Beyond these individual achievements, YESS-ILP is creating meaningful impact for foster youth across California. Last fall, the program partnered with 18 colleges and served 978 students statewide. Collectively, campus and community partners delivered more than 300 hours of workshops focused on key life-readiness areas, including financial literacy, daily life skills, employment preparation, education pathways, and housing stability.
YESS-ILP is a comprehensive and integrated program that unites community partners and academic leaders to empower current and former foster youth to successfully transition into independent living. With a focus on higher education and career training, YESS-ILP provides youth with life skills and access to supportive campus connections to increase their ability to succeed.
In addition to academic and life-skills support, we help students overcome technology barriers through our Foster Youth Technology Access Program, which provides reliable devices to students to ensure they have the tools they need to learn, connect, and succeed. This program is supported by the Walter S. Johnson Foundation and the CA Pathways Alliance. To support foster youth students, please consider making a gift to our laptop donation program.
Grant funding for YESS-ILP is provided through the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) in partnership with FoundationCCC. Together, we are advancing statewide efforts to increase youth participation in mentoring, life-skills training, and transition services that open doors to long-term success.
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