BRIDGES COACHES
Bridges Coaches start mentoring foster teenagers at age 13 and work beside them as long as they are in care, which could be up to age 21.
When you open a teenager’s eyes to their own possibilities -
horizons expand. Dreams coalesce into tangible goals. Once teenagers believe in themselves and have long-term goals,
Bridges Coaches guide them in building the tools and making the connections they need to achieve them.
Bridges Coaches show older kids in care how to build bridges to the other side of the world. The side they thought was out of reach.
The Program: Bridges to Success for Older Youth in Foster Care
The Bridges to Success program partners with older youth, aged 13 and up, through relationship building, problem solving, capacity building,
and persistence to help them develop a comprehensive, holistic, and measurable plan to guide and support their transition to self-sufficiency and
living an independent and interdependent life.
Primary Goals
Assist older youth with educational planning, career planning, daily living skills, money management, and self-care.
Assist youth in establishing significant, positive adult connections, advocate for services, and ensure linkage to all other community
resources available.
Help youth improve their overall academic success.
Help youth achieve greater stability in their placements.
Engage youth effectively so they can play a central role in all service planning and decision making.
Services Provided
Maintain regular contact with youth.
Assist youth with educational planning, career planning, daily living skills, money management, and self-care.
Assist youth in establishing significant, positive adult connections, advocating for services and ensuring youth are linked to all other
community resources available.
Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with key members of the case management team to expand opportunities and support successful
outcomes- including but not limited to the Departments of Social Services, Piedmont CASA, schools, foster care providers, and community partners.
Conduct Independent Living Assessments annually for the duration of the case and utilize them as the basis for strength-based conversations
that actively engage youth in the process of developing goals.
Develop transition plans which should build upon earlier efforts.
Provide an active resource for CASA Supervisors and assigned Volunteers.
Attend court hearings, home visits, treatment team meetings and family partnership meetings, and other case related meetings as needed.
Contribute relevant information to Court reports.
Facilitate focused groups/activities with other youth who are participants of the Bridges program.
Change a youth's story
Piedmont CASA
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