Leaders Changing the System
Partnerships for Permanence (P4P) collaborative program: Leaders Changing the System (LCS) Advisory Network
Leaders Changing the System (LCS) Network Advisory Group is made up of dedicated, passionate, "proximate leaders" with personal and professional experience in child welfare. Amplifying the voices of Black/African Americans with lived experience is an essential ingredient for child welfare reform that addresses the disparities that Black families currently experience within the child welfare system.
LCS Advisory Network is a unique culturally-specific lived experience professional resource network for child welfare decision-makers and stakeholders to partner and collaborate for system reform and policy changes.
Our collaborative partners include representatives from: African American Babies Coalition & Projects (AABC), Metro State Social Work Department Multicultural Title IV-E Child Welfare Program, Urban League Twin Cities, Ramsey County Social Services, and Casey Family Programs.
LCS Network's mission and vision is to:
Build a collaborative approach to developing a collective message that raises awareness and recognition of Black professionals/young leaders with lived experience transforming the child welfare system in Minnesota.
Tell a more impactful story of youth and adult professionals with lived experience that invokes awareness, support, and advocacy within the child welfare system.
Expand Leaders Changing the System (LCS) network of mentors and coaches serving as a "relational permanency" adult resource/support to the next generation of young leaders transforming the child welfare system.
Become a Sponsor or Donor for LCS Summit
Join Us for Leaders Changing the System (LCS) Network “Growing Together Youth and Adult Summit” (#GTYAS 24) in August 2024. Stay tuned for more information.
Youth and Adult Summit Theme and Description
“Improving outcomes for youth and adults with foster care and adoption lived experience.”
LCS Network Advisors envision a transformational gathering for youth and adult partners to develop a circle of support, teach life skills and future planning, and share meaningful resources to heal from the past and grow together stronger.
This leadership summit seeks to motivate and elevate young leaders and seasoned professionals with lived experiences impacted by foster care and adoption in order to effect change within the system.
An opportunity for youth and adults with lived experience to share with each other their common experiences as a powerful tool to inform future system change.
Engage young adults, parents, and professionals using a reflective approach to identify limitations and challenges that hold people back, including barriers to success and future planning.
LCS Leadership Training and Mentoring Program
Leaders Changing the System (LCS) Leadership Training and Mentoring Program was created by Partnerships for Permanence (P4P). We train and recruit current or former foster and adoptive youth and adults to our organization as executive team members or youth consultants, who share in our organization’s mission and want to see it succeed.
As the executive team and our team of youth consultants are an integral part of raising awareness and actively trying to improve the child welfare system. We view LCS as a unique opportunity to enable emerging leaders to share and use their stories to help make the child welfare system better.
LCS participants will build widely applicable professional skills through comprehensive trainings from experts in the areas of: communication, public speaking, identity formation, storytelling, child welfare, and legislation advocacy.
After completion of the program, emerging leaders will be presented with the opportunity to join P4P’s wider team and be paired with a volunteer mentor to help them continue on their journey to success.
After further training, youth will later lead workshops for current or future foster and adoptive parents and industry professionals in the child welfare system.
Objectives
To give LCS participants an opportunity to become familiar with our organization and get connected with team members who have shared similar experiences.
To assist and empower LCS participants to take charge of their lives, by training them in professional skills through comprehensive trainings delivered by expert trainers.
To build positive relationships between LCS participants and volunteer mentors who are partnered together through our program.
To give current or former foster and adoptive youth an opportunity to join our fast-paced and ever-growing organization in roles centered around building leadership skills.
Eligibility
The recruitment requirements for LCS participants are simple:
You must be 18 years of age or older;
You must have received a high school diploma or GED;
You must be interested in child welfare or foster care/adoption system;
You must have professional or life experience with the foster care and/or adoption;
Life experience is preferred.
You must have reliable transportation
You must be able to devote time and a consistent level of commitment to completing tasks, projects, and participating in ongoing skills development training.
Young adults who meet these requirements and are interested in being enrolled in P4P’s LCS Program should begin by filling out the LCS Participant Application.
I am interested in…
HOW DO WE CREATE CHANGE?
Our approach to creating change happens in three unique ways:
1) Our Leaders Changing the System (LCS) program
We teach aspiring youth leaders life and leadership skills, identity formation, communication skills, plus provide resources to career and educational opportunities, and one-on-one mentorship to support our youth’s successful transition into adulthood.
“I have been with Partnerships for Permanence (P4P) for almost two years now. I graduated this year from Hamline University with my Bachelor’s in Public Health. I continue to stay in P4P because I want to continue to advocate for young people involved in child welfare. I love the teamwork and support P4P provides”. - Lisa, LCS Program Graduate.
2) Our Foster Alumni and Adoptee Support Network
We provide an online support network for foster and adoptive young people to form lasting supportive relationships and build meaningful connections with other P4P members who have similar life experiences.
We offer ongoing support to program participants through mentoring trainings, book club calls, peer support groups, social and networking events, and summer and holiday gatherings.
3) Our Child Welfare Trainings
We teach child welfare professionals and foster and adoptive families how to advocate for young people through skills-building workshops. and how to better care for children of color (racial and cultural needs).
We also partner with other agencies to raise community awareness and understanding of how to support foster and adoptive youth so they can grow into adults that live positive, peaceful, and prosperous lives.
“The interpersonal communication skills I learned at P4P have been very effective in my life. I've learned about who I am and my identity. I’ve learned how to present myself in a professional manner and how to keep striving regardless of obstacles you're facing” - Salia, LCS Program Graduate
GETTING RESULTS (GIVING BACK)
Our donors contribute to systems change. P4P’s programs are dedicated to being a change agent in the foster care/adoption system and shifting the narrative of young people who age out of the child welfare system.
Through P4P’s LCS leadership training and mentoring programs:
80% of young people served by P4P have attended college/earned a college degree.
100% are gainfully employed.
70% are currently receiving mental health services with P4P referrals.
100% have maintained stable housing for more than 2 years.
90% have completed tests and have earned their driver’s license.
Through P4P’s support network for foster alumni and adoptees:
80% have been involved in a private online group for more than 10 years.
70% participate in monthly mentoring training and book club calls since 2019.
90% attend holiday gatherings since 2010 hosted by P4P twice a year.
80% attend summer gatherings and leadership networking events hosted by P4P four times a year.
Through P4P’s child welfare training and in partnership with P4P youth consultants and agency partners:
developed 15 customized training curricula in partnership with P4P youth consultants.
training audiences average about 90-150 families per month.
received an average 9.25 out of 10 rating on training evaluations from P4P training audience participants.
trained over 3500 child welfare professionals since 2015.
hired and trained over 45 young leaders as training consultants and peer mentors since 2017.
