The Nashville Career Advancement Center (NCAC) receives funding from the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, a national foundation whose mission is to help youth in foster care make successful transitions to adulthood.  A vital piece in this transition includes securing employment.  NCAC is committed to enhancing services to both young people who have aged out of foster care and local employers.  By increasing the number of community employers partnering in this project, called Fostering Success, everyone wins.  Employers receive committed workers pre-screened by NCAC and youth take one more step towards successful independence.   

The Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative has a local entity that operates through the Vanderbilt Child and Family Policy Center (VIPPS) and is a collaborative partnership between VIPPS, the Nashville Career Advancement Center, United Way of Metro Nashville, Monroe Harding, OASIS Center, and Tennessee Department of Children's Services.

All members of the program work together to support foster youth in their transition out of the system.  While NCAC primarily functions as the workforce entity of the initiative, OASIS Center houses the Tennessee Youth Advisory Council that has established a youth board.  The board has been instrumental in policy change and it has worked with employers in the Nashville area to obtain employment for youth in care.

Visit www.FosteringSuccess.org or Contact us for more information.

The City Paper of Nashville printed a story on this issue in its December 27^th edition.  Click here to read the article: Fostering Career Growth for Former Foster Kids.