Foster youth fight for funding to boost mentorship and support program
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Maria Alcis, a SUNY Plattsburgh junior from Brooklyn, has benefited from the Fair Futures program, which provides guidance and mentorship to young people in foster care. Photo courtesy of Alcis
By David Brand
Two months after arriving in England for a SUNY study-abroad program, 21-year-old Marie Alcis found herself all but stranded as COVID-19 surged on both sides of the Atlantic.
Alcis, a junior at SUNY Plattsburgh, had started taking classes at a university near Newcastle — until the professors went on strike. A few weeks later, the English school informed her she had to leave her dormitory because of the pandemic, even though passport problems complicated her return home. SUNY officials 3,000 miles away provided little guidance, she said.
“I called someone from the Global Education Office and they were unaware the school was asking us to leave,” Alcis said.
Instead, Alcis turned to a familiar source of support — her foster care coach and mentor, Ayain Mohamed. Alcis has worked with Mohamed and the organization SCO Family of Services for eight years, obtaining her green card, applying for colleges and making the move from Brooklyn to an off-campus apartment in Plattsburgh, not far from the Quebec border.
“When I was in England, she was the main person who was really checking on me, calling me everyday, and when I needed help with my passport, she was the one giving me direction,” Alcis said.
Coaches like Mohamed are part of the Fair Futures program, an initiative that pairs social service workers who act as a mentor, an accountability partner and consistent resource for foster youth. Fair Futures received $10 million in funding from the city in the last budget, allowing more than two dozen foster care agencies citywide to implement the model.
“Marie is an extraordinary youth. Not everyone has it together like she does,” Ayain said. “They need a lot of support and coaching because they don’t have anyone.”
Mohamed and Fair Futures are advocating for the city to raise the program age to 26 in order to provide continued services to young people transitioning into adulthood. They are also urging the city to include at least $10 million in the upcoming budget, and for the city and state to allocate a combined $50 million to the program. More than 1,000 young people in foster care sent a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio and Speaker Corey Johnson outlining the need for more resources last month.
“During this time of crisis as our City addresses the dangerous spread of COVID-19, our coaches and tutors are essential to our survival,” they wrote. “There’s a significant percentage of our larger community, particularly those who have recently aged out of foster care, who are still in need as they try to navigate the world on their own.”
Research shows that young people transitioning from foster care are more likely to experience mental health problems, substance abuse, underemployment and homelessness than peers who did not go through the foster care system. In New York, young people age out of foster care at 21.
Alcis said Mohamed helped her continue to pay rent on her Plattsburgh apartment while she was away and assisted her with navigating the passport process while abroad.
But when Alcis returned to New York in late March, she faced another problem: her summer internship was likely to be cancelled.
“So Ms. Ayain, again, always comes to the rescue,” Alcis said.
Mohamed, she said, let her know about an opportunity to work in a mentorship program run by SCO.
Meanwhile, Mohamed has continued crossing the city, and at times, much of the state, to check in with her clients during the COVID-19 outbreak. She helped one young person pack up her apartment and drive back to New York City after her school in Albany closed down. She has also organized a virtual book club and checks in with young people in-person and via teleconference to maintain a sense of normalcy.
“Imagine how they’re feeling,” she said. “Their whole lives have changed.”
