Caring Adults 'R' Everywhere (CARE): A Natural Mentoring Intervention for Older Youth in Foster Care

Product Description Caring Adults R Everywhere (C.A.R.E.) is a research-informed, social justice-oriented social support intervention for older youth in foster care that utilizes the power of connection to caring adults through natural mentoring. The goal of this manual is to provide child welfare organizations with the vision and practical tools needed to facilitate and support the development of growth-fostering relationships between older youth in care and caring adults. C.A.R.E. advances a new paradigm in child welfare practice: one that acknowledges that all youth require independent living skills and life-long connections to caring adults. This manual is made up of four sections. Section 1 contains Module 1.1, which trains the interventionist in how to assess youth s permanent connections, and Module 1.2, which provides guidelines for identifying, screening, and conducting background checks of potential natural mentors. The eight modules in Section 2 provide training for the natural mentors delivered by the interventionist. Section 3 consists of the program activities that the interventionist facilitates for the youth in care and their natural mentors. These activities are designed to support the development of growth-fostering relationships between the youth and their natural mentors. Section 3 is made up of nine modules that are typically delivered over 12 weeks of weekly sessions. Section 4 outlines aftercare and booster sessions offered after the conclusion of the 12-week program. Review In this workbook, Johanna Greeson, a leading scholar and expert in child welfare, provides a detailed blueprint for connecting older youth in care to mentors and other non-parent adults who can help them thrive. C.A.R.E. is a treasure trove of research, a practical workbook, and clearly- and intelligently-written argument for helping youth gain the skills they need to recruit the help they need. --Jean Rhodes, Ph.D., Frank L. Boyden Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring, University of Massachusetts Boston and author of Stand by Me: The Risks and Rewards of Mentoring Today s YouthThe C.A.R.E. program over-turns conventional wisdom about how to prepare youth aging out of foster care for adult life. Professor Greeson has created an intervention grounded in life-span developmental theory that puts social connections front and center. C.A.R.E. recognizes that young people learn how to live independently and achieve their potential when they can rely on a caring adult to provide help and support. Such relationships, rather than formal instruction in independent living, help young people weather the inevitable ups and downs that accompany the transition to adulthood. Professor Greeson s most important contribution is reminding us that caring adults may already be present in the lives of vulnerable young people. This book is a must-read for child welfare professionals who want to build on the resources that are already available within communities and to nurture the relationships that exist between youth aging out of foster care and caring adults who are willing to help them succeed. --Sara Jaffee, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of PennsylvaniaC.A.R.E. is a first-of-its-kind roadmap for launching the provision of potentially transformative natural mentors in young people s lives. Dr. Greeson has taken an empirically-supported finding and developed the guide to translate research into practice; practice of providing and supporting growth-fostering relationships for youth in care. The manual discusses up-to-date theoretical frameworks that move beyond asking if an intervention works to uncovering how it works, alongside intervention activities such as eco-mapping and behavioral rehearsal. Written concisely and with great care, C.A.R.E. stands to transform the field for scores of young people in care. --Michelle R. Munson, L.M.S.W., Ph.D., Professor of Social Work, New York Un