Transition Age Youth Conference 2019

Three Pillars of Success:
Balancing Physical, Mental,
and Social Well-Being

The 2019 TAY Conference was held on February 26, 2019 at the Doubletree Hotel in Sacramento.The conference brought together a diverse group of transition age foster youth and state, county, and community partners for a day of learning, sharing and collaborating.

CDSS Child and Family Services Division Director, Greg Rose, offered opening remarks providing inspiration for the day to come.Keynote speaker, Sixto Cancel, a former foster youth and founder of tech company, Think of Us, which advocates for improvements in the child welfare system through technology, spoke to youth and other audience members about overcoming adversity and ways to become their best self.This was followed by a youth panel with seven current and former foster youth talking about their experiences in foster care.The panel was facilitated by former foster youth, Doneisha Thomas.

After lunch, Christina Parker of California Youth Connection introduced a CYC video on placement stability that illustrated the stimulus for CYC’s new platform, Fostering Stability. Youth speaker, Vaneshia Reed, capped off the lunch hour with an inspiring speech about her journey through the child welfare system and how she triumphed through an impressive series of educational achievements and her current efforts to improve the system through her work with a Los Angeles County school district.

Three break-out sessions were held through-out the day focusing on different aspects of the conference’s theme of promoting physical, mental and social wellbeing.  Workshops were held on topics involving mental health, housing, education, tax preparation, and many more.  A career fair, with a wide variety of employment sectors represented, was held for youth and others to gain information on different career paths.

For a copy of the available workshop PowerPoints or handouts, please email your request to TAYPolicy@dss.ca.gov.

Learning Session A
A1: Increasing Access to Higher Education: California Community College Foster Youth Support    Programs
A2: Brain XP
A3: Youth Engagement Project – Incorporating Youth Voice on a Child Welfare/Probation County Level and Statewide Level
What YEP Can Do For You
County Youth Engagement Project Application
A4: NMD 101:An AB-12 Orientation for Youth and Their Support Team
A5: Transitional Housing for TAY – Sex Trafficking Survivors
A6: Managing Your Health – What You Need to Know
A7: Knowing Myself: How My Talents and Strengths Empower Me!
      Strengths and Talents

Learning Session B
B1: Black in Foster Care
B2 :Permanent Employment for Foster Youth
B3 :NMD 101:An AB-12 Orientation for Youth and Their Support Team
B4: Trauma Informed Services for Youth Experiencing Homelessness
B5: Mind Matters:Overcoming Adversity and Building Resilience

Learning Session C
C2: Ensuring the Continuum of Care for Older Youth
C3: Using Foster Youth Rights to Increase Youth Empowerment & Placement Stability
C4: Keeping Families Together for Parenting Foster Youth
C5: What Every First-Time Tax Return Filer Should Know
C6: Growing Youth, Growing Gardens:How Gardening is Being Utilized with TAY Populations in an Urban Public Behavioral Health Setting