WHITE PLAINS – Westchester County has been awarded a $2 million federal grant to help prevent homelessness and promote independence for young adults when they leave the county’s foster care system. Each year, some 75 young adults age out of foster care.
Westchester is one of six communities nationwide – the only one
in New York – to be awarded the grant. The county received $720,000
for planning in 2014-15. If Westchester’s program is successful,
the next and final stage would be for full implementation and potential
replication nationwide.
The “Westchester Building Futures” program is centered on four cornerstones – social and emotional wellbeing; permanent connections; education and employment; and stable housing.
The grant, in the amount of $670,000 per year through 2018, was awarded by the Department of Health and Human Services.
The county’s Child Welfare division currently has about 600 children of all ages in foster care. A little over half are between the ages of 14 and 21, the target population for the federal program.
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