Regina Rivera: Hello, good morning. My name is Regina Rivera. It is an honor to be invited to this event, and to be speaking here not just for myself, but on behalf of other young people like myself. I am a former foster youth through the Children's Aid Society, and I aged out at the age of 21.
It was not easy with my education journey navigating the foster care system. Thanks to a lovely woman that came into my life, name of [Ms. Anna Matthews], my foster mom, a.k.a. Mamas. She helped me see what I could be, not just the label of a foster youth. I became her daughter, and that makes me proud. Also, she helped me realize to take advantage of all the opportunities ACS has to offer.
So, from there, I joined many services and many supports, one such as Fair Futures, where I have a youth success coach, Fair Futures coach named Natalie Jimenez, and she is very awesome. She helped me navigate to get through all my goals and all my dreams. One goal was to achieve getting my GED, which I did.
And then, keep on and looking into college, which I am on that path now. Thanks to the help of College Choice, I am able to say that I am a college student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, pursuing my bachelor's and my master's in public policy and administration, which is business, and my hopes and goals and dreams is to work in a nonprofit or be an auditor and also to be a mentor to former foster youth like me.
Thanks to the college success program, I was able to find the right college, navigate college of all the mazes and loops they put you through, from applications to walking in the hallways, and also the financial aspect. And without that, I wouldn't be here standing here today telling you my testimony.
So, I would like to say thank you on the behalf of Mayor Eric Adams and Commissioner Dannhauser [for] believing in us. Not just a person like myself, but other youth, current and former foster youth so that they could continue with the initiative they're taking to give us college choice.
But also, coming soon, I heard it’s in the making, a career choice, which I wish it was a little, you know, back in the day for me. But, I'm glad that other youth, like myself, could have the opportunity either to go to college or a trade school or certificate program and pursue their dreams. Because at one point, I thought college was out of reach for me. And I am here as a living being, living body in the flesh, doing it and I'm still doing it, and I appreciate it.
And I give a very great thank you to the city and to continue to believe in us and to continue giving us the resources where we could dream and dream big and be successful. So with that, I want to thank you for your time. Thank you for, once again, being in this shared space with me. And I would like to turn it over to Mayor Eric Adams.
Mayor Eric Adams: Good stuff. You know, this is land to sea. We're really happy to see Senator Jackson also is here and the stuff that he's doing up in Albany to make these programs work. It's unimaginable to age out of the system at 18 or 21 years old and you don't have the support that you need. Many of you know I still talk about the relationship I had with my mom, who was always there. Not only did I need her at 21, I needed her at 31, I needed her at 41, I needed her at 51. You never stop.
And it's not only the physical support that's present, but it's also the emotional support. It is easier to walk across a tightrope of life if there's a net under it. You know, it plays on your psyche and your mind. And, you know, to hear you, you know, as articulate as you are and laying out a pathway of not only how these programs have assisted you, but how you're going to reach back and have it assist others.
And just, you know, thank you, man. You and your team over at ACS. People don't wake up in the morning and say, “Let's thank the ACS employees for the lives that they saved. Let's thank them for taking the child out of the household before they were abused. Let's thank them for making the smart decision of keeping a family together.”
No one thanks ACS, but they, out of the thousands and thousands of cases that they deal with, let one go wrong. And we automatically want to traumatize the entire unit, an entire team, in spite of all that they do year after year after year. Doing home visits, knocking on doors, making that judgment call, sitting there wanting the best for the children and the families.
And we just don't appreciate them enough. But this mayor appreciated them. And I appreciate what ACS has done. And the entire team, you know, Suzanne, what your team is doing throughout the whole process is so important.
And so, this is a great story. And this is, you know, we're getting ready to hand off the baton. We're running our mile, we ran our mile. Bill de Blasio handed me the baton of dealing with these issues, and I'm going to hand the baton over to Zohran. Our transition team met with his team yesterday, and we're turning over a wealth of information so they can make the decisions and the calls. Do they want to take this baton and continue it and expand it and watch it grow?
We were abandoning foster care children. We were just basically saying, “We're going to hold on to you until you get to the age of aging out, and then we're just going to drop you out. And just pretend as though it was no issue.” 600 to 700 were aging out every year, 600 to 700. We knew they were going to deal with homelessness, mental health issues, victims of crime, participating in crime, not getting their high school diplomas. We knew that at the beginning of the year that 600 to 700 were going to slip through the cracks.
And we did not go and have an upstream model. We can't continue to allow our young people to fall in the river and we pull them out downstream. We need to go upstream and stop them from falling in in the first place, and that's what we're doing.
And so, today we're proud to announce that we are expanding key programs aimed at helping our youth in foster care connect to college and future career opportunities more easily. And you at John Jay, that's my alma mater. I thought you were going to say your goal was to become mayor, and I was going to say don't do it.
So, the programs we're announcing today is, first, we're expanding ACS Fair Futures programs. Who's here from Fair Futures? We go way back from my days in Borough Hall. I just love Fair Futures. This is such a win, and it's such a smart investment. We invest now, we give support for the future, and we allow our foster care young people to get a fair future.
This innovative program provides one-on-one coaching and tutoring as well as academic career development and housing for young people in foster care or in the juvenile system. The program is expanding from serving approximately 4,000 youth to approximately 6,000 youth. That's a 50 percent increase that we're going to touch these young people. We're just really, really proud of this program.
You can say whatever you want, and Senator Jackson often talks about it. Listen, folks, if you don't educate, you will incarcerate. That's the only common denominator you see in our correctional facilities across the country, the lack of education, and dealing with those children who are not getting the support that they deserve. So the choice is ours. Educate or incarcerate?
We choose to educate and not incarcerate. And Fair Futures, we are helping to break the cycle. And additionally, we're expanding the College Choice program to serve over 500 young people. It's a program that our administration launched in 2022 to provide college students in foster care with greater support systems, including financial aid, by covering their tuition, as well as the room and board costs of a two-year or four-year college, in addition to providing young people with a daily stipend.
Help them in school, get them housing, pay their tuition, their rent, and giving them a stipend. That's some good stuff, man. That's some good stuff. Because all young people deserve the support to move forward.
And finally, we are creating a new program, Career Choice to provide financial assistance and a stipend to our young people in foster care who are enrolled in a vocation, trade, or workforce development program because every child is not going to go to college, but every child should be gainfully employed to make the decisions that they want. And that's what we're doing. We want them to succeed.
This is part of a $163-million investment we announced to reach 8,000 total participants across five popular ACS programs that serve youth in foster care and those involved in the criminal justice system. So, we don't want the revolving door of our young people going through the criminal justice system. We want to give them support so they don't have to believe that they have a lifetime to crime and a lifetime to being incarcerated, but their lifetime to opportunity.
So, promises made, promises kept, and I want to just thank the entire team for coming together. In fiscal year 2024, our coaches, working in partnership with New York City Public Schools, helped a majority of ninth graders in foster care enroll in high school with above average graduation rates. They also helped 116 high school youth, who dropped out of school, successfully re-engage and re-enroll in a best-fit academic setting.
And while the numbers are important here, they don't tell a full story. You told the full story. A real story of how we come together as a village so we can raise the children and families of the city and each young person who has successfully graduated, enrolled in college, or is pursuing a trade where before they might not have had the means to persevere. And that is the mission.
That's the mission that we set out to do, and that's the mission that we accomplished because the future must be fair. It cannot be unfair, and their future is our future. So really, I want to just thank Jess and your entire team over at ACS and all of our partners who are here for just a job well done and changing the lives of young people every day. So I want to turn it over to my man, Jess. Good job, man.
Commissioner Jess Dannhauser, Administration for Children's Services: So, I just want to start with a personal note. I think it was 2018 or 2019, we had our first Fair Futures rally. And you won't be surprised that it was at Brooklyn Borough Hall. And this mayor is willing to say no and have fiscal discipline, but he never said no to young people.
In fact, one of the first calls I got when I became commissioner was from OMB, who said, “I know he loves this program. What are we going to do about it?” And I said, “We're going to spend about $20 million more on these young people.” So from the bottom of my heart, thank you for standing for our young people, standing up for the people of ACS. You've been extraordinary to our agency.
Thank you Children's Village for hosting us. We are in this building because it's connected to the Eliza. And the Eliza is a housing development that the young people in foster care right now are telling us they want more of. This is the dignity they deserve, the opportunity to have stable housing and high quality housing. So thank you to Children's Village for all you do and for hosting us.
Most importantly, Regina, Abel, Joshua, we're here for you guys. I thank you for being with us, for investing in your success. It is really, really inspiring. And I always feel like I tell people that young people in foster care are the most generous people I've ever met. Sometimes too generous because they help people out when it hurts them.
But they make sure that they advocate not just for themselves, but as you heard from Regina, for those coming behind her. Even if those coming behind her have a step up that she didn't get, she wants to make sure that they have exactly what they need.
And so, we are grateful because none of this happens without the voices of youth in foster care who for seven years have pushed us to make sure we're delivering for them. So can I get a huge round of applause for all the young people?
In this administration, New York City became the first in the nation to serve young people in foster care through the age of 26. We know about brain development. It was also old enough that they thought, “Alright, you'll be with me forever.” With a coach, and we expanded that to those in the juvenile justice system. Thanks to 450 plus coaches across New York City right now, over 4,000 young people in foster care are overcoming barriers related to education, housing, independent living, and more.
And we're seeing positive results. Attendance is up. Graduation rates are up. More and more young people are achieving their goals and gaining the confidence that comes along with this. Today's announcement means thousands more young people will be served by this invaluable set of programs.
In addition to Fair Futures, in 2022, Mayor Adams and ACS launched the College Choice program. Since then, the number of young people in foster care attending college has doubled. We sat there, City College, 190 young people enrolled in college. Today, Ina, I think the latest report is 463? 463 young people, way over double the number of young people.
Building off the success of College Choice, a number of amazing folks at Fair Futures, led by our Deputy Commissioner Ina Mendez and Tracy Jenkins, thought up this idea of Career Choice. Along with New Yorkers for Children, Alan Yu, where we are going to provide the same stipend and support to young people who are pursuing a technical education. We want to make sure it is the best technical education, because as the mayor said, they deserve a living wage, and they deserve to have a really successful life.
The Fair Futures investment supports young people involved in the justice system as well. We're expanding a program called Girls Just Us, which is a highly successful gender-responsive juvenile justice diversion program. And we're expanding ACES citywide, which helps provide social pathways away from gang and gun violence to young people. The mayor has called us to go upstream, and we are delivering on that promise.
All of these initiatives are a result of this administration's commitment to asking our young people directly what they need from us, and really listening to them and delivering for them. Mayor Adams has not only been a listening ear, but his administration has helped turn their asks into reality. All young people deserve our support, and when we deliver for them, they thrive and deliver for their communities. This is a priceless investment.
Before I wrap up, I want to thank all those at ACS, our provider agencies like Children's Aid that you mentioned, Children's Villages here today, New York Foundling, who has done such great work in this area. Thank you for everything that you do. I also want to thank the Center for Fair Futures, and I'll call up Tracy in a moment. And in particular, a huge thank you to our deputy commissioner, Ina Mendez, our associate commissioner, Alathia Barnett. Please raise your hand.
Stacey Charles, Ray Singleton, who's filming, Sonia Gonzalez from ACS [inaudible] Team. And I also want to thank our Juvenile Justice Team, led by Deputy Commissioner Nancy Ginsburg, Ray Toomer, and Johan Pagaro, who have made sure I've expanded this to the– first in the country to expand the juvenile justice system as well.
So with that, I want to say thank you to Tracy. Tracy leads the Center for Fair Futures. This is something that did not exist before this administration, and they have trained all of our staff. They have [trained] all the provider staff. They've created a community. You can't serve young people as individuals. You have to do it as a community. And so they are constantly bringing us together. They are listening to young people, and they are pushing us further. They are not letting us stand on our laurels.
And so, Tracy, thank you for your leadership. You've been doing this work. She was the director of Fair Futures at JCCA before that, and to your amazing team. I'll turn it over to you.
Tracy Jenkins, Executive Director, Center for Fair Futures: Good morning, everyone. Before I start, I would be remiss if I didn't recognize my team here at the Center for Fair Futures. Emil Ramnarine, Nadine Uvienco, and Holly Smeltzer. This is my leadership team at the center. I am so honored here today to be a part of this celebration, a part of this launch, and just representing the Center for Fair Futures.
First, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Mayor Eric Adams, not only for his steadfast support for Fair Futures today, but for being an advocate, a champion of this model from the very beginning. Your belief in our youth and commitment to long-term success has made this expansion possible, and it's because of you.
Thank you also to Commissioner Dannhauser for being a tireless advocate for children and families across our city, and to Deputy Commissioner Mendez for your true partnership and leadership in bringing this work to life.
Because of your collective efforts, we are now reaching more than 4,700 young people from middle school through age 26, with high-quality, individualized coaching, tutoring, and specialized support in academics, career readiness, and housing. And with this expanded investment, our goal is to grow the number beyond 6,000.
This is not just an expansion of services. It's an expansion of possibility. It ensures that every young person in foster care or involved in the juvenile justice system across 25 foster care agencies and nine juvenile justice provider organizations have the opportunity to be seen, to be heard, to be supported on their own terms.
We are deeply grateful to the provider agencies who have partnered with us to implement this model with such care, dedication, and innovation. Your work is what makes this possible, and it makes it a vision for the thousands and thousands of youth that we support. We look forward to continuing this partnership, this journey with our administration, with ACS, with all of our agency partners, but most importantly, to the young people who are the heart of this work, who are building a stronger, more future for all. With that, I'm going to turn it over to Jenisette from Children's Village. Thank you.
Jenisette Perez, Program Director, Youth Services, The Children's Village: Good morning, everyone. Good morning. I want to say thank you to Mayor Adams, Deputy Mayor Miles-Gustave, Commissioner Dannhauser, Executive Director Ms. Jenkins from the Center of Fair Futures, and everyone that's here today. My name is Jenisette Perez. I'm the program director of Youth Services at the Children's Village.
On behalf of the Children's Village and our CEO and president, Dr. Jeremy Kohomban, who could not be here today, I would like to welcome all of you to our space here at the Eliza [audio break]. With deeply affordable homes, the preschool above us, and this community center with a performance space, robotics lab and sensory lab, and our teaching kitchen operated with our amazing partner, Emma’s Torch.
I'm here today because I'm proud to say that I've dedicated my entire career working with young people in foster care, particularly our older youth population. So, I know firsthand how the work of programs like Fair Futures and College Choice have impacted our youth. Since expanding Fair Futures to include young people up to the age of 26, we've had the opportunity to work with more and more young people, particularly young people that have left care.
They're talking to one another. They know that we have a systematic way of providing support and resources. Resources that include employment, applying for housing, finding resources to stabilize housing. They know that they have their Fair Futures specialist and coaches to hold their hand every step of the way.
So, that's why I'm so excited to be here to hear that announcement that we can be able to help more and more young people. And I'm super proud of the administration for expanding College Choice and now launching the new Career Choice program. Because we know that we're going to be able to support more young people.
I've seen firsthand the struggle that our young people have trying to focus on school while trying to stay financially afloat. So, I'm thrilled today to be here, to be a part of this announcement and talking to you all. So, because of College Choice, we have the largest number of young people in college that we've seen in the 20 years that I've worked with the Children's Village. Guys, it's truly a game changer for all of our young people, and we expect to see the same success with Career Choice that we have with College Choice.
So thank you, Mayor Adams, for believing in our young people, for funding programs like Fair Futures and College Choice to make sure that our young people have a stable and equal footing as everyone else.
Mayor Adams: Before we open up to questions, I want to bring up our state senator. You do so much work in Albany for us. Please come on up. Senator Jackson.
State Senator Robert Jackson: Good morning, everyone. First, let me thank Mayor Adams for allowing all of us to come together. And you talked about the baton, passing it on. And I tell you, that baton is, like you said, worth $164 million. But I know about programs that help individuals rise up.
The Upward Bound program that was, for me, at the– what is that? The Upward Bound program on 104th Street gave me the opportunity to go to college, to see colleges while I was in high school. And I wound up going to SUNY New Paltz, and I got my degree there, met my wife there. My daughter went to SUNY New Paltz, and she's an MD. I can go on and on.
And all of you have so many positive stories in order to tell those that do not believe and do not believe that it's worth the cost of spending that type of money in order to help thousands and thousands and thousands of young people. And the majority of them, Black and brown.
So, when I read on my cell phone all of the positive programs that have been implemented and are being implemented, I said, “I have to go to this.” And I see that, I'm here. And I know that my other colleagues would know that this is an appropriate time to be here to say thank you. Thank you, Mayor Adams. You and your team. You and your team here.
And that baton is going to be passed on, and we hope that the incoming mayor, Mamdani, is putting his hand out there saying I'm ready to run the last leg. That's important. And if he was here today sitting, standing, he would know that this is a program that must continue. Thank you, everyone. Thank you.
Mayor Adams: Thank you. Thank you. Some of the non-profit partners that are here, WOM, Iesha Sekou, Street Corners Resources, and the ever-famous Jackie Rowe-Adams. I hope I'm not missing anyone. But thanks, all.
Question: Do you know if the next mayor-elect is planning to keep Commissioner Dannhauser?
Mayor Adams: Well, I think what people are going to be surprised about is how many people from this administration, that any mayor that comes in would be wise to tap into their knowledge and their experience. We have a lot of talent. We already heard some of the names being mentioned.
But I think we owe it to Mayor Zohran Mamdani to do his announcements. I didn't want Bill to do my announcements, and so he should do his announcements. But if I were the incoming mayor and looking at the victories we had around housing, around public safety, around transportation, around economic recovery, around taking care of our young people. If it's not broke, don't try to fix it. Try to use it. And so he would be blessed to have Jess stay on and continue the work that he's doing. And his team.
[Crosstalk.]
Mayor Adams: What's going on, Kelly?
Question: I'm good. I haven't seen you in a while.
Mayor Adams: Yeah, I've been around.
Question: You’ve been busy. I wanted to ask you, the timeline of this program, how are the foster children chosen to be a part of the expansion? Is it first come, first serve? And how are you reaching out to them? Do you reach out to them proactively? Do they have to come to you? And is this funded through the next administration?
Commissioner Dannhauser: Yeah, so this is funded through– it's baselined as we go forward. In FY26, there's a staggered increase. In FY27, it's fully funded at the $163 million over the five years. And this builds on what already exists with Fair Futures. So, what we saw in the past is we used to send out all these e-mails and say to all the kids, “There's a test coming up that you might take. There's an opportunity over here.” But unless it's centered in their goals, it's just not something that they're going to be able to take advantage of, that they're prepared for.
So, the core of this is the Fair Futures coaching. So, the coaches sit with young people. They develop their goals. So the first thing might be just to pick a school to re-enroll in. The second might be to get a first job or build a resume. And we actually track how many goals that they meet, and then the programming slides into this.
There is no picking. If you're in foster care, these programs are for you. And so the job of the coach is to go out and convince young people that they care. Because we know with young people, they don't care what you think until they think you care. And so, they go out. They have a coffee with them. They go to McDonald's, whatever. We don’t tell Mayor Adams that they go to McDonald’s.
But we start where they're at. We start where they're at, and then we get the healthy foods in. But this is really open to all young people in care. And the vision here that we're creating is that they will continue with them until they're 26. They might just need one aspect of it at that point in their lives. But the message to all young people is we got them.
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