Opening Doors for Former Foster Youth
A Better Way is launching a bold new program to help former foster youth build careers in the helping professions.
From Foster Care to Future Leaders
“Each year, more than 4,000 youth in California age out of foster care. Too many face homelessness, joblessness, or mental health struggles—not because of who they are, but because our systems haven’t given them the support they need.”
At A Better Way, we already support young adults in foster care through our Mental Health and Transitional Housing programs. We provide safe housing, trauma-informed therapy, independent living skills, financial training, and stipends. We see every day how these services can change lives and prepare young people for an uncertain future.
But we’ve also listened. Many foster youth tell us they want to see more people with lived experience on treatment teams; people who truly understand what they’ve been through. And those without that background say they would benefit from training alongside former foster youth to deepen their skills and empathy.
That’s why we’re launching the Transitional Opportunities Project (TOP), a pilot program designed to open career doors, provide hands-on training, and create a path for foster youth to become the next generation of advocates, counselors, and leaders.
Turning Lived Experience into Leadership
TOP is an 8-month workforce development program for current and former foster youth (ages 18–26). It provides the tools, mentorship, and opportunities they need to step into careers as mental health professionals, advocates, and changemakers.
What TOP Offers
✅ Mental Health First Aid Certification
✅ Lay Counselor Academy Training
✅ “My Story Matters” Resilience Curriculum, led by people with lived expertise
✅ Peer Mentorship from foster alumni now serving as providers, leaders, and even board members at A Better Way
✅ Connection to California Youth Connection
✅ $500 monthly stipend + a brand-new laptop
“This is more than training. It’s a bridge from survival to stability, from client to professional, from lived experience to leadership. TOP is part of a movement to lift up foster youth as healers, advocates, and leaders.”
We know this works. A Better Way has already built career pathways for parents who navigated Child Welfare. With the right support, they’ve turned their experiences into powerful tools for change. TOP will do the same for foster youth, creating opportunity, building community, and transforming systems.
We aim to launch the pilot in 2026 with 24 participants.
Stay tuned for updates, and if you’d like to help make this vision a reality, you can make a donation here.