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"#$%&'%& (#) *(+,- .+, /'*"+%%)"()/ -+0(#

MosL young adulLs experlence deLours as Lhey LranslLlon Lo adulLhood and economlc
lndependence, whlch lnclude perlods of unemploymenL and perlodlc lnLerrupLlons ln Lhelr
educaLlon. 1he ma[orlLy can rely on Lhelr neLworks--famllles, frlends, and communlLles--Lo
gulde and supporL Lhem when Lhey sLumble.

ln conLrasL, dlsconnecLed youLh - by deflnlLlon - have llmlLed supporL sysLems Lo help Lhem
Lhrough Lhe dlfflculL LranslLlon Lo adulLhood. Some dlsconnecLed youLh have beaLen Lhe odds.
1hey have graduaLed from college, secured sLeady [obs wlLh decenL pay and beneflLs, found
sLable houslng and sLeered clear of Lhe crlmlnal [usLlce sysLem. 1hey are Lhe excepLlons: 48 of
youLh leavlng Lhe chlld welfare sysLem does noL have a hlgh school dlploma, Lhe raLe aL whlch
college-quallfled youLh ln fosLer care aLLend posL-secondary educaLlon (lncludlng vocaLlonal
schools) ls 20 as compared wlLh 60 of Lhelr college quallfled peers. AddlLlonally, whlle 70
of youLh ln care say LhaL Lhey wanL Lo go Lo college, only 10 of Lhose enLer college and of
Lhose, fewer Lhan 3 graduaLe as compared wlLh 24 for Lhe general populaLlon.

1hese dlsmal ouLcomes cannoL be explalned solely by a lack of servlces: Lhe barrlers faclng
dlsconnecLed youLh are slgnlflcanL buL noL lnsurmounLable. 8aLher, Lhe dlfflculLles Lhey face are
compounded by Lhe llmlLed expecLaLlons for Lhelr success embedded ln Lhe pollcles and
pracLlces of Lhe sysLems LhaL conLrol Lhelr llves. 1hey have a profound effecL on Lhe way youLh
as well as adulLs behave. 1hey llmlL young people's educaLlonal asplraLlons and professlonal
amblLlons, and leave even Lhe mosL Lenaclous wlLh few lf any of Lhe supporLs Lhey need Lo
reach adulLhood successfully.

ln 2009, afLer Lhree years of LesLlng approaches and worklng wlLh chlld welfare admlnlsLraLors
around Lhe counLry, ledcap lnLroduced Changlng Lhe SLory, a mulLl-faceLed sLraLegy deslgned
Lo creaLe a college-golng culLure wlLhln youLh-servlng sysLems, and Lo make hlgher educaLlon
and economlc self- sufflclency an expllclL, lnLended ouLcome for Lhe youLh Lhey serve.
1o achleve Lhese goals on a meanlngful scale and ln a susLalnable manner, ledcap knew lL
would need Lo change Lhe lnsLlLuLlonal pollcles and pracLlces LhaL serve as barrlers Lo young
people's success. 1he adulLs around Lhem would have Lo embrace Lhelr role ln helplng youLh
succeed. AL Lhe same Llme, ledcap would need Lo creaLe LargeLed servlce lnLervenLlons focused
on hlgh school compleLlon, geLLlng lnLo and graduaLlng from college and achlevlng career
success. 1herefore, Changlng Lhe SLory for ulsconnecLed ?ouLh lncludes capaclLy "#$%&$'(
)*+,*'-'./ LhaL leverage, enhance and lnLegraLe Lhe resources of sysLems and lnsLlLuLlons
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servlng youLh as well as focus Lhelr pollcles and pracLlces on youLh achlevlng self-sufflclency,
and &$0-). $'.-01-'.$*'/ wlLh youLh, whlch are a serles of sequenced lnLervenLlons LhaL bulld
speclflc skllls and asseLs requlred for young people Lo make successful LranslLlons Lo adulLhood.

!"#"!$%& ()$*+$,- "!%$.$%$/0 are deslgned Lo change publlc pollcles and change pracLlce of
soclal workers, case managers, menLors, fosLer parenLs, hlgh-school and college admlnlsLraLors.
1hey lnclude:

123456 ,784942:9 ;:< (=;4:4:> 1=2?25239. ledcap developed a pollcy revlew process and
accompanylng check llsL for chlld welfare and [uvenlle [usLlce agencles LhaL make golng Lo
college and acqulrlng self-sufflclency an expllclL ouLcome for all youLh and young adulLs served.
ledcap also makes recommendaLlons for modlflcaLlons Lo performance-based conLacLs, case
managers' and soclal workers' [ob descrlpLlons, Lralnlng and supervlslon, Lhe Lralnlng of fosLer
parenLs, and parLnershlp agreemenLs wlLh colleges.

,7@=;A4:> ?B7 ,237 2@ C7:?2=9. ledcap developed new menLorlng guldellnes for conLracLed
agencles LhaL expand menLors' role beyond LradlLlonal funcLlons l.e. frlendshlp, supporL, fun
acLlvlLles and values clarlflcaLlon. under Lhe ledcap model, menLors are Lralned Lo lnsplre and
asslsL youLh ln flnlshlng hlgh school and bulldlng paLhways Lo college. 1he adulLs also ldenLlfy
and connecL youLh wlLh coaches who can provlde Lhem wlLh speclflc lnslghLs or experLlse.

C+$9 D4?B "2337>79 ;:< 0:487=94?479E MosL colleges are unaware of Lhe speclal hurdles faced
by Lhelr sLudenLs who have been ln fosLer care. ledcap developed model memoranda of
undersLandlng beLween colleges and youLh-servlng agencles LhaL deflne how each agency wlll
help Lo reLaln and graduaLe Lhese sLudenLs.

+$1/!% 0/1.$!/ $,%/1./,%$2,0E Changlng 1he SLory also lncludes dlrecL lnLervenLlons LhaL
help young people develop Lhe skllls needed Lo be self-sufflclenL. 1hese acLlvlLles are offered Lo
all parLlclpanLs ln ledcap's school and communlLy-based programs.

&7? ,7;<6FG ls an lnLeracLlve, web based currlculum LhaL comblnes educaLlonal, skllls
developmenL and self-esLeem bulldlng experlences and glves parLlclpanLs Lhe crlLlcal,
foundaLlonal skllls needed Lo succeed ln college and employmenL envlronmenLs. SLudenLs
engage ln self-gulded and faclllLaLed acLlvlLles on-llne and off- llne over 60 fun-fllled hours. ln
addlLlon Lo resume bulldlng,

(B7 *?7H I6 *?7H &J4<7 @2= &7??4:> ?2 "2337>7 ;:< &=;<J;?4:>K creaLed by college graduaLes
who were ln fosLer care, helps youLh creaLe Lhelr own paLhway Lo college. ?ouLh can use Lhe
gulde Lo bulld Lhelr resume Lo college Lhrough lnvolvemenL ln clvlc opporLunlLles, advlce and
ldeas abouL chooslng, vlslLlng and applylng for college admlsslons and flnanclal ald. 1he gulde ls
avallable on-llne.

%7?D2=L4:> I6 /794>:GE ln Lhe course of Lhelr parLlclpaLlon ln CeL 8eady!` youLh learn Lhe
fundamenLals of neLworklng and develop Lhelr own 30 second elevaLor plLch. neLworklng by
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ueslgn helps youLh pracLlce newly acqulred neLworklng skllls wlLh successful professlonals aL
regular evenLs modeled afLer speed daLlng sesslons.

"2::75?M";=77=9G provldes opporLunlLles for youLh Lo explore career opLlons and pracLlce
Lhelr lnformaLlonal lnLervlewlng wlLh buslness and career represenLaLlves on a quarLerly basls.
?ouLh prepare for Lhese sesslons as parL of CeL 8eady!, preparlng resumes and buslness cards
and learnlng Lhe baslcs ln lnformaLlonal lnLervlewlng.

N25;?42:;3 (=;4:4:> ;:< )AH326A7:? ledcap's workforce developmenL efforLs lnclude
evaluaLlon, educaLlon, vocaLlonal and skllls Lralnlng, career counsellng, [ob placemenL, and
posL-employmenL supporL. We provlde sLaLe-cerLlfled Lralnlng Lhrough our naLlonally
recognlzed Career ueslgn School ln 10 career Lracks lncludlng cullnary arLs, securlLy and publlc
safeLy, and home healLhcare. Lmploylng a dual cusLomer approach, we work ln parLnershlp
wlLh buslnesses, undersLandlng Lhelr employmenL needs and Lallorlng our workforce
developmenL efforLs Lo maLch Lhose needs.

#4>B 'AH;5? ':?7=:9B4H9E 1o be compeLlLlve ln Lhe [ob markeL, young people need meanlngful
work experlences and Lhe resulLlng personal connecLlons LhaL come from hlgh-lmpacL
lnLernshlps. lor youLh ln care who have few lf any flnanclal supporLs, pald lnLernshlps are a
necesslLy. ledcap developed Lools Lo educaLe Lhe buslness communlLy abouL Lhe beneflLs of
(and necesslLy for) engaglng Lhese youLh ln hlgh lmpacL pald lnLernshlps and markeLlng
sLraLegles Lo bulld local plpellnes LhaL connecL young people wlLh supporLlve employers.

/"1*& $,+$!"%210 23 0)!!/00. ledcap has already begun Lo change Lhe sLory for hundreds of
dlsconnecLed youLh. ln uecember 2011, we launched WashlngLonlans for Chlldren (WlC), Lo
help youLh ln fosLer care compleLe hlgh school and college. WlC ls currenLly servlng 70 of Lhe
103 youLh who are ln care or have LranslLloned from Lhe uC chlld welfare sysLem and are
enrolled ln college. ln 2012 ledcap was awarded conLracLs by Lhe sLaLe of new Pampshlre Lo
enhance Lhe capaclLy of Lhe chlld welfare and [uvenlle [usLlce sysLems Lo move youLh ln care
Lhrough hlgh school, lnLo college and self-sufflclency. 1hese efforLs provlded ledcap wlLh Lhe
flrsL opporLunlLy Lo lmplemenL and lnLegraLe lLs work wlLh pollcy makers and colleges wlLh
dlrecL lnLervenLlons.

As a resulL of our lnLervenLlons:
1he ulsLrlcL of Columbla and Lhe sLaLe of new Pampshlre have modlfled Lhelr conLracLs
wlLh menLorlng and fosLer care agencles and now requlre a documenLed focus on
college graduaLlon and self-sufflclency.
8oLh sysLems have revlsed Lhelr programs and Lralnlng proLocols Lo requlre soclal
workers and probaLlon offlcers Lo documenL how Lhey have asslsLed youLh on Lhelr
caseloads achleve college readlness, college admlsslon and graduaLlon.
8oLh sysLems have LargeLed speclflc resources Lo lmplemenL a self-sufflclency plaLform.
Memoranda of AgreemenL have been esLabllshed wlLh Lhree colleges ln uC LhaL 33 of
youLh who aged ouL of Lhe lLs fosLer care sysLem aLLend, and wlLh Lhe enLlre communlLy
college sysLem ln new Pampshlre. 1he MoA have resulLed ln lnformaLlon sharlng and
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Lhe developmenL of concreLe supporLs for youLh ln college who have aged ouL" of chlld
welfare and [uvenlle [usLlce sysLems.

Moreover, of Lhe 1,100 served across all ledcap programs lasL year:
33 graduaLed from hlgh school or acqulred Lhelr CLu, (compared Lo a 48 naLlonwlde
average for youLh ln care)
20 enrolled ln college (compared Lo a 10 naLlonal average of youLh ln care)
27 were sLlll ln college aL Lhe end of sophomore year (as compared Lo Lhe naLlonal
97 drop-ouL raLe for youLh enLerlng college from care)
66 of Lhose who aLLended ledcap's Career ueslgn School were placed ln parL-Llme [obs
Lo supporL Lhem ln college and wlLh ledcap supporL, 43 reLalned Lhelr employmenL for
aL leasL 12 monLhs
17 are ln hlgh lmpacL lnLernshlps