Guardians

of Social Change Paid Internships in solution-based media production for current and former foster youth. Collaboration with BAYCAT and the California Youth Connection (CYC). Program Details Guardians of Social Change is a paid internship program created by Fostering Media Connections aimed at creating solution-based journalism that impels change to the foster care system, while simultaneously providing foster youth training in news media production. Current and/or former foster youth produce five stories about the foster care system over a 13-week period. With the help of BAYCAT, the Bayview Hunters Point Center for Arts and Technology, the interns will participate in digital filmmaking workshop on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:30-6:30 pm. During the workshops, the interns will learn filmmaking techniques and video storytelling. The FMC interns will work together to produce a news feature story about foster care, which they will develop during the class with the help of FMC and BAYCAT instructors. Depending on the interns previous expertise level, they will be placed in either the advanced or beginning course. One hour before each workshop, the FMC interns will meet with the FMC instructor at BAYCAT to discuss recent policy developments in child welfare, learn about current research related to foster care, develop reporting and writing competencies, and create print/multimedia stories about foster care based on both the research and their topics of interest. The interns will also meet with the FMC instructor on Tuesday afternoon from 4PM-6PM at BAYCAT. A particular emphasis of each weeks learning will be placed on the implementation of AB 12. To complete the remaining four hours needed for the 10 hour/week internship, interns will commit to four reporting hours outside of BAYCAT to be used to speak with sources and find information for their stories. Week by Week Breakdown February 11-13: Introduction Welcome, Introduction to internship, guidelines and regulations Learn journalism basics: nut graph, lede, quoting sources, how to interview, etc, through FMC instruction and writing practice stories Interns will create a practice story in class by interviewing each other and writing a basic news story to get a feel for the type of writing expected in the internship Learn video production skills from BAYCAT

 February 18-20: Education Interns read FMCs Action Guide to Better Educational Outcomes, along with the Foster Care Working Group on Education Fact Sheet on education Pitch news story ideas about foster care and education Learn video production skills from BAYCAT February 25-February 27: Education Interns finalize education story topic Begin finding sources and reporting individual education stories Learn video production skills from BAYCAT Begin to finalize topic for final group video March 4-6: Education Final education stories due Publish stories on FMC website and possibly other news outlets March 11-13: Employment Interns read research from the University of Chicago, Chapin Hall about foster youth and employment Pitch news story ideas about foster care and employment Attend production weekend, a two day period when BAYCAT will check out large video cameras to the group in order to capture footage for their final video project March 18-20: Employment Interns finalize employment story topic Begin finding sources and reporting individual employment stories Learn video post production skills from BAYCAT Begin to finalize topic for final group video March 25-27: Employment Final employment stories due Publish stories on FMC website and possibly other news outlets April 1-3: Mental Health Interns read the Northwest study on mental health and research from Casey Family Programs on mental health and foster youth Pitch news story ideas about foster care and mental health Learn video post production skills from BAYCAT April 8-10: Mental Health Interns finalize mental health story topic Begin finding sources and reporting individual mental health stories Learn video post production skills from BAYCAT

April 15-17: Mental Health Final mental health stories due Publish stories on FMC website and possibly other news outlets Learn video post production skills from BAYCAT April 22-24: Housing Interns read research from the University of Chicago, Chapin Hall about foster youth and homelessness, along with data from the John Burton Foundation and Larkin Street Youth Services Pitch news story ideas about foster care and housing Learn video post production from BAYCAT April 29- May 1: Housing Interns finalize housing story topic Begin finding sources and reporting individual housing stories Learn video post production skills from BAYCAT May 6-8: Housing/Wrap up Final mental health stories due Publish stories on FMC website and possibly other news outlets Showcase final video projects at the screening party May 2013: Video Screening Party Students will unveil their video project at BAYCAT Film Screening Timeline The internship will run from February 141to May 9th, ending with a viewing and showcase at BAYCAT. Throughout the workshop, guest speakers will engage interns in discussions about journalism, foster care, and video storytelling. Commitment Interns are required to commit to attending all workshops and taking full advantage of reporting time throughout the week. They will also need to be able to participate in the production weekend in March, the date of which will be determined by the schedules of the students and instructor. Because BAYCAT only has a limited amount of video cameras available, students of the course will need to go out into the field as a team working on one project in order to capture all the footage needed for their final project. The interns will work together this weekend to maximize the time with the camera by getting all interviews and scenes shot for their final project. The FMC instructor will accompany them throughout the weekend to assist as necessary.

 About Participating Organizations FMC: Fostering Media Connections harnesses the power of journalism and media to drive public and political will behind policy and practice that improve the well-being of children experiencing foster care. BAYCAT: BAYCAT is a non-profit community media producer that educates, empowers and employs underserved youth and adults in the digital media arts. By bridging the digital divide, BAYCAT inspires students to stay in school and become lifelong learners, and to use the power of digital media and design to shape their communities and tell their unique stories. BAYCAT believes that every persons story matters. They envision a world where media and technology facilitate the telling and the hearing of stories from the broadest possible range of experiences in a way that moves people to create positive change in their communities. CYC: California Youth Connection provides a vehicle for California foster youth to learn leadership and advocacy skills and to engage directly with policymakers to improve the foster care system. Founded on the model of youth empowerment, more than twenty years later CYC maintains a dual focus on policy and youth development.

Intern Commitment Contract

Must be sent along with application to be approved for the internship

I, __________________________, as an intern for Fostering Media Connections, will be fully committed to not only attending all workshops and taking full advantage of reporting time throughout the week, I will also be available to participate in the production weekend. I will devote all of my outside reporting hours to enhancing the stories I write. I agree to complete all assignments when due and produce work on par with the best of my abilities. I understand that if I fail to attend more than two classes without a valid excuse, dont complete all of the assignments, and dont contribute to the group project, I forfeit my internship salary. As an intern I will strive to create stories that align with Fostering Media Connections mission to create awareness about and improve the foster care system in the United States. Print Name ________________________________________________________________ Signature _________________________________________________________________ Date _______________________________________________________________________

 Guardians of Social Change Paid Internships in solution-based media production for current and former foster youth. Application Name: Age: Grade Level/College year: School: Email: Telephone Number: Have you participated in any media training course before? Circle: Yes No If yes, tell us briefly about what skills you learned: _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ List any extracurricular activities youre involved in: _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Why are you interested in this internship? _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Based on your experience with the foster care system, what two stories would you like to report on and why? _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ What other commitments (job, school, parenting, etc) outside of this internship will you have? _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Thank you for your interest in the internship. We look forward to reviewing your application!