We are all working toward the same goal – to help young people in foster care transition to adulthood successfully, so let’s help each other be more effective and efficient! The AOI Community is an online platform for organizations and individuals that support youth aging out of foster care. This community will enable us to break down geographic barriers in order to collaboratively build and share best practices – ultimately to improve outcomes for these young people. Below are some of the elements of the community.
Networking
Many AOI Community members have expressed appreciation for being able to talk with other organizations across the United States that are providing support services to youth aging out of foster care. They have expanded their networks and use those connections to bounce ideas off one another, share resources, invite each other to participate in events, celebrate success, and more. Organization leaders don’t feel as siloed and alone as they did before.
Group Discussions
There are different discussion groups available to all participants, including (but not limited to) Education, Employment, Housing, Relationships, Measuring Success, Wellness, etc. Participants can join whichever groups they find interesting and relevant to their own organization’s services.
Resource Sharing
The AOI Community will enable organizations to share documents, links to resources, tools, etc. We already have a collection of checklists, worksheets, forms, guides, reports, and more. There is no need to recreate the wheel! Organizations share these documents for other members to utilize.
Community Chats
AOI sets up optional meetings that members can attend to discuss topics of interest. We hold approximately two each month. We also offer members the opportunity to request targeted Chats so that they can pose questions or challenges to other members, who then brainstorm solutions and refer to resources that can help resolve the issue.
Individual: $99/year
Small Organization/Program: $199/year
1-10 FT & PT employees
Mid-size Organization/Program: $299/year
11-40 FT & PT employees
Large Organization/Program: $399/year
41+ FT & PT employees
Please note that those interested in signing up for the AOI Community would determine the appropriate level based on the number of employees who work to support youth aging out of foster care.
Organization: If the mission of the entire organization focuses on youth aging out of care, then you would count the total number of employees in the organization.
Program: If the staff who works with youth aging out of care work for a program within an organization (such as a program within a university that supports these youth), then you would count the total number of employees within that program – not the entire organization.
Individuals: Individuals who are not employed by a nonprofit organization or program that supports youth aging out of care may gain access at the individual level.