“The Opportunity Youth Collaborative is a profound example of how cross-sector partnerships can create innovation. When everyone contributes, we can ensure our transition age foster youth leave care with the resources, skills and ability to achieve their dreams.”
— Angela Parks-Pyles Department of Children and Family Services
Collective impact is a network of community members, organizations, and institutions who advance equity by learning together, aligning, and integrating their actions to achieve population and systems level change.
Coming together to collectively define the problem and create a shared vision to solve it.
Tracking progress in the same way, allowing for continuous learning and accountability.
Integrating the participants’ many different activities to maximize the end result.
Building trust and strengthening relationships.
Having a team dedicated to aligning and coordinating the work of the group.
The LAP3 – Horizons 32K Strategic Plan is a roadmap to a future where all Los Angeles opportunity youth secure and persist in quality education, training, and employment pathways.
Through prevention and reconnection strategies, Horizons partners will develop systemic solutions to engage 32,000 more young people in education and career pathways, cultivating foundational knowledge and workplace opportunities integral to youth development.
Opportunity youth (OY) are individuals aged 16 to 24 who are not attending school or working, including system-involved youth – foster youth, unhoused youth, and justice-impacted youth.
Opportunity youth encounter systemic barriers challenging their pursuit of education and meaningful employment, which under resourced education, workforce development, and other public sector agencies often do not have the tools to solve. However, with the right resources and opportunities, opportunity youth can thrive in our communities, bringing valuable talent and expertise critical to our regional success.
Increase OY connections or
re-connection to education
Increase OY connections to workforce training programs and career related education pathways.
Increase enrollment in:
Increase OY connection to employment
Increase OY connection to employment Increase employment in the public sector
For 19-24 year old OY, increase their:
Increase OY utilizations of holistic services
Increase the % of OY served by an education/workforce program and a holistic support service
Increase the number of youth referred and enrolled in workforce/education programs for special populations
Collaborative Infrastructure for Results
Formalize and staff a strong collaborative infrastructure for Horizons 32K to drive accountability for implementation.
Policy & Advocacy
Increase policy advocacy at local, state, and national levels to influence policy and resources impacting OY in the L.A. region.
Data to Drive Our Common Agenda
Increase use of data to track coalition profress and data sharing among coalition progress and data sharing among coalition partners to drive our common agenda, innovation, and quality of service.
Cross-Sector Coordination and Collaboration
Increase cross-sector coordination and collaboration between government organizations to meet the holistic needs of OY as they enter and persist in education/training programs.
Innovation, Continuous Improvement, & Collaboration
Promote innovation, continuous improvement, & collaboration between Los Angeles region education and workforce systems to support OY connection to quality career pathways and employment.
The Opportunity Youth Collaborative (OYC) Young Leaders Program is a paid one-year training program in leadership development, public speaking, advocacy, and much more. Through regular meetings, activities, trainings, and active participation in various OYC efforts, Young Leaders will feel empowered to use their collective experience to champion the needs of young people who have been disconnected from school and work and/or impacted by systems, such as child welfare, juvenile justice and homeless. Young Leaders will have the opportunity to advocate and become impactful change agents in the Los Angeles County community!
The DCFS Director’s Advisory Council brings together Young Leaders and DCFS staff to work as a team. It’s a space where young people with foster care experience can share their ideas and stories to help make DCFS policies and programs better for everyone.
The YMN Visionaries Board leads the charge in building an LA county-wide network of supporting programs that serve system-impacted youth that seeks to center advocacy and cooperation amongst young people and various community partners.
The Horizons 32k Youth Advisory Council will provide vision and guidance to reach the goals of the Horizons 32K Strategic Plan, focusing on creative and realistic solutions to reconnect young people to workforce and educational opportunities with holistic supports.
Holistic Stability means young people have consistent, reliable support across all areas of life necessary to thrive. Including safe housing, financial well-being, education, health and wellness, and supportive relationships. Stability is not just about surviving, it’s about building a foundation for belonging, growth, and long-term success.
Young adults with lived experience should be at the table from the start. The LA OYC’s youth leadership approach is grounded in the intergenerational partnership model. This model emphasizes shared power, mutual learning, and the belief that systems change happens when lived expertise and the experience of long-time system leaders come together to co-create solutions.
Foster Youth at Work engages public workforce and child welfare agencies in LA County in devising collaborative, systemic solutions to improve foster youth connection to work readiness training, early work experiences, and pathways to sustainable careers.
“When this campaign was first launched, only 80 foster youth were enrolling in the County’s youth jobs programs each year. This year, 866 foster youth participated in a paid work experience thanks to the collaborative leadership of LA County’s child welfare and workforce systems.”
— David Rattray
Former President & CEO, UNITE-LA
The LA OYC partnered with the Nonprofit Finance Fund to assess the true cost of delivering quality youth workforce development programs in Los Angeles. This initiative examines the financial resources needed to compensate frontline staff with living wages while effectively serving TAY and OY. Key recommendations include advocating for dedicated state funding to increase per-participant budgets and indirect rate coverage, streamlining reporting requirements, offering flexible budget adjustments, and providing up-front payments with adequate transition time for 9 providers.
in 2023
young adults and practitioners reached across 139 trainings and convenings
of foster youth who were placed in a subsidized work experience completed training
in funding for direct educational support services for K-12 foster youth
convenings connecting young adults who experienced foster care to systems leaders
caregivers trained through newly-launched online caregiver training on Foster Parent College
01
75% of foster youth are performing below grade level
59% complete high school in four-years, compared to 83% of all students
High school proficiency and graduation is a key predictor of, and often essential for, occupational success and positive social outcomes.
With this new strategic focus, we will strive to ensure that our youth achieve educational equity in their high school experience, preparing them for post-secondary education and the workplace.
Objectives:
02
33% completed the FAFSA, as compared to 42% of general population
50% enroll in college; 4% complete a two- or four-year degree by age 24, as compared to 36% of the general population
We seek to increase post-secondary enrollment, persistence, and completion rates for youth who have experienced foster care. Post-secondary education is the key to enabling youth to achieve long-term economic security whether it be career technical education, vocational training programs or a 2-year or 4-year college degree.
Objectives:
03
67% will be unemployed at age 19
57% were employed at age 21
50% will be unemployed by age 24
For youth, a prosperous career often starts with pre-employment support, work readiness training, and meaningful work experience.
Our goal is to provide youth who have experienced foster care a viable pathway to their long-term career goals.
Objectives:
