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 Each year, approximately 450 Arizona youth leave foster care at age eighteen to live on their own. In comparison to other young adults, youth transitioning from foster care are at greater risk of low educational attainment, homelessness, non-marital child-bearing, joblessness, poverty, physical and mental illness, and engaging in or being victims of crimes.
There are several reasons why foster youth are at greater risk for such serious problems in early adulthood. National research indicates that they may not have learned the life skills necessary to handle adult tasks. Few have a family support network to fall back on, and without such support, the emotional demands that come with adulthood can be overwhelming. Many young adults, especially those from group homes, leave the foster care system still struggling with un-addressed emotional issues stemming from their personal histories.
Another way AFC has tried to prepare youth for this transition is through scouting. Young men (ages 10 and over) in this program will encounter the adventure, learning, challenge, responsibility, and leadership that is central to the scouting experience. By entrusting the youth to lead their own troop, this program validates the sense of agency and self-worth that young men need for a healthy transition to adulthood. In addition, the youth will encounter and model for other youth the values of responsibility, integrity, and preparedness that they will need for success in their adult lives.
Locations: AFC has formally partnered with the Arizona chapter of Boy Scouts of America and Sunshine Group Homes, Inc. to establish 3 patrols (one troop) in the West Valley. The patrols will meet separately twice each month at their group home and once every other month at the Sunshine office as a troop. Once this pilot program has been assessed, we will expand our programming to other group homes.
Time Commitment: Volunteer scout leaders and scouting assistants are required to meet the normal obligations as outlined on the scouting.org website.
Training and Support: Volunteer training will be carried out by Boy Scouts of America in accordance with the standard training curricula.
Descriptions of Boy Scouts training click here.
Background check: Volunteers will be fingerprinted by Boy Scouts of America.
Getting started: If you are interested, please contact us and we will schedule a time for an interview.
"Arizonans for Children brought a very innovative idea to us this year.They sponsored our group home boys in a pilot Boy Scout program unique to foster children. Their staff has been fully involved in the planning and implementation of the troop activities, including their recent outing to Camp Geronimo along with 200 other Boy Scouts. They evaluate our scout's self-image as they progress through the program so as to document and understand the impact of this experiment. We are grateful for their support of our children in this and all other activities."
Sincerely, Simon Kottoor, CEO, Sunshine Residential Homes, Inc.
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