Journey to Success Milestone Report: Celebrating an Advocacy Movement - Policy Milestones Achieved by Youth and Young Adults with Foster Care Experience

Journey to Success’ new report, “Celebrating an Advocacy Movement,” highlights 25 youth-driven foster care policy milestones over the last 25 years and uplifts the tireless advocates behind each significant policy win!

JTS prepared this Milestone Report to honor the 25th anniversary of the Chafee program — a key federal program for successful transitions to adulthood for youth in foster care. The passage of Chafee, like each policy victory in this report, was driven by young advocates who relentlessly pushed for positive change.

Join us in celebrating the many individuals and organizations behind these policy achievements and a thriving foster care advocacy movement!

Inside the Report

“CELEBRATING AN ADVOCACY MOVEMENT” HIGHLIGHTS:

• SEVEN KEY ISSUE AREAS where youth have persuasively advocated over the last 25 years and continue to advocate today.

• THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF FOUR KEY ALLIES TO THE MOVEMENT — showing the ways that philanthropy, research, media, and legislators have supported the movement, and also how youth are transforming these allies.

• 25 POLICY GAINS OVER THE LAST 25 YEARS that demonstrate the power of individual and collective youth voices to bring about meaningful policy change.

We created this Milestone Report to serve as a useful resource to emerging advocates interested in the legislative history of the movement and the powerful legacy of youth-driven advocacy they are joining! Our collective advocacy work is far from over, so we also hope this report will inspire and encourage advocates everywhere to build on these gains and drive much-needed progress for youth in and from foster care.

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Use the individual links below to easily navigate to each Issue Area, Key Ally, or Milestone!

THE 7 KEY ISSUES SHAPED BY THE YOUTH-DRIVEN ADVOCACY MOVEMENT:

1. Youth Engagement

2. Family Connections

3. Congregate Care

4. Education and Employment

5. Health and Mental Health

6. Housing and Income

7. Prevention

THE 4 KEY ALLIES IN THE YOUTH-DRIVEN ADVOCACY MOVEMENT:

1. Philanthropy

2. Research

3. Media

4. Legislators

THE 25 MILESTONES:

1. Chafee Program

2. Youth Advisory Boards

3. Education and Training Vouchers

4. Subsidized Guardianship

5. Fostering Connections Act

6. Seita Scholars

7. Extending Medicaid

8. National Youth in Transition Databases

9. Federal Oversight of Psychotropic Medications

10. Sibling Bill of Rights

11. “Normalcy” Legislation

12. Foster Youth Bill of Rights

13. Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act

14. Every Student Succeeds Act

15. Family First Prevention Services Act

16. Fair Futures Movement

17. Smartphone and Wireless Access

18. Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Act

19. #UpChafee Campaign

20. Extended Foster Care

21. Notification of Federal Benefits

22. Ombudsmans Offices

23. Indian Child Welfare Act

24. Kinship Caregiving

25. Soul Family

CHAFEE REFORM

Feeling inspired to keep pushing for positive change? Journey to Success is focused on Chafee reform as an enormous opportunity to support older youth experiencing and transitioning out of foster care, ensuring they have the tools they need to succeed in adulthood. The Chafee program, passed by Congress as a bipartisan commitment to youth in foster care, is due for program improvements and increased funding to better meet the needs of eligible youth. Currently, only half of eligible youth receive a Chafee-funded service during their time in foster care, despite tremendous need. Learn more about our call for Chafee reform and contact a member of the Journey to Success team to get involved!

Share Your Policy Wins!

The Milestone Report is only a snapshot of the amazing youth-driven movement happening across the country. If your advocacy has helped secure a policy victory for foster youth, we want to hear about it! Click the button below to share your win with us so we can spotlight your success and keep the momentum going!

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Keep the Conversation Going With Our Milestone Report Toolkit!

The Milestone Report Toolkit features key messages, hashtags, graphics, and suggested calls to action to help your team celebrate the legacy of youth-driven advocacy and continue reminding policymakers that real reform is powered by lived experience.

Consider using the Milestone Report slide deck within the toolkit to lead an advocacy discussion with partners in your network. Whether you’re looking back to learn the history of the movement or looking ahead to plan new advocacy strategies, the report offers key insights. Within this customizable presentation, we’ve included prompts and templates for you to make this presentation your own and uplift the lessons from the report that most resonate with your current advocacy work. 

Acknowledgments

Many individuals involved in the movement—including advocates with lived experience and allies—shaped this report by sharing their reflections and expertise with Journey to Success in interviews, small group discussions, and an online survey. We are grateful for their contributions, and we are grateful to our philanthropic partners, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, for their support of the Journey to Success campaign and this report.