Social worker program in Philly is changing trajectory of young people
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- March is not only Women's History Month but it's also recognized as National Social Work Month. On average, 250 young people are aging out of Philadelphia's foster care system each year.
The road 19-year-old Laniyah Little traveled to get to Lincoln University in Chester County was an arduous and uncertain one.
It's one she prefers to leave behind. So in 2022 when Little stepped foot on campus her freshman year, she knew.
"This is where I want to be," Little said.
Little says she spent most of her life in places she didn't want to be. At 14 years old, she and eight younger brothers and sisters were placed into Philadelphia's foster care system after a childhood of abuse and abandonment.
"I was always afraid of being separated or going somewhere I didn't want to go," Little said. "I don't trust people because I feel like it's hard."
A turning point in Little's life came last year when she met Ivy Burrows.
"She makes sure she checks up on me," Little said. "I can have a conversation with her. She asks me how's my day going. Most of the time I've never had anyone ask how's my day going."
"I will say it's empowering to be a woman in the role that I play," Burrows said.
Burrows is a social worker and mentor through a program called LifeSet. It matches young adults who are aging out of the foster care system with specialists who help them navigate their transition to independence.
"It's important because if we want to see our youth succeed, we need to make sure we're providing them with the resources they need," Burrows said.
These social workers meet with teens like Little weekly mapping out individualized treatment plans that include everything from guiding them through the process of obtaining a driver's license or opening a savings account.
Even down to applying for jobs, housing, and college.
"We are from the beginning assessing them with clinical tools to figure out what level of trauma they have experienced so far," program director Lauren Willis said. "What are some of the things that you would want to be in place if you were on your own tomorrow."
Willis says youth who age out of foster care are at greater risk of homelessness, unemployment, and incarceration.
Little is 19 years old and under Pennsylvania law, she ages out when she turns 21.
"I felt like who will I have now?" Little said. "It's like I'm on my own when I don't have those people. I don't know how I'm going to do it. but I feel like I can do it."
Since the program started five years ago, Willis says her team of social workers has changed the lives of more than 300 young people in Philadelphia.
"We've had about a 98% arrest reduction, 75% of our young people being involved in educational endeavors and 90% of our young people being employed," Willis said. "But the true testament is when a young person tells us the decisions I would've made before, I no longer want to make."
Although Little is coming to the end of her journey in the program, she says she's coming out a more resilient and responsible young adult who now feels loved, supported and is working on building up her trust in others.
She wants to use her story to set an example for her brothers and sisters.
"To be the first person to go to college in my family," Little said. "I just want to leave my mark, leave my mark."
