National Policy Council

The National Foster Care Youth & Alumni Policy Council provides relevant and timely information on policies and practices that affect children and families throughout the country.

The Council helps ensure that policies and practices are informed by the collective viewpoint of youth and alumni who have experienced the child welfare system first-hand. It is a partnership between Foster Care Alumni of America and FosterClub, with generous support from Casey Family Programs.

Started in 2012, the Council advises by:

• Commenting on legislation and policies that impact youth in foster care
• Proposing recommendations to improve the lives of youth
• Monitoring and measuring the effectiveness of programs and policies

The Council makes recommendations and advocates for improvements in foster care at the national level and then brings recommendations back to their states and regions to advocate at the local level.

They have developed recommendations on:

• Aging out
  
• Crossover Youth
• Homelessness Prevention
• Mental health
• Normalcy
• Vulnerability
• Well Being

Advisory organizations to the Council include the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, Foster Care to Success, Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, National Foster Youth Action Network, Young Adult Training and T/A Network (a project of the National Resource Center for Youth Development), and Youth Communications.

You can learn more about the National Foster Care Youth & Alumni Policy Council by visiting their website at nationalpolicycouncil.org.