Executive Summary

The Mockingbird Society’s mission is to transform foster care and end youth homelessness. We create, support, and advocate for racially equitable, healthy environments that develop and empower young people who have experienced—or are experiencing—foster care or homelessness. Working in partnership with young people with lived experience, we change policies and perceptions standing between every child and a safe, supportive, and stable home. We envision each young person, regardless of race or individual experience, reaching adulthood with an equitable opportunity to thrive. The Mockingbird Society (TMS) was founded on a simple principle: that youth experiencing these systems are best positioned to know what needs to change. TMS was one of the first organizations in the country to partner directly with young people impacted by the child welfare system and homelessness to create lasting change. Through the lived experience and expertise of Mockingbird youth advocates, we drive policy change affecting young people currently experiencing foster care or homelessness or at risk of experiencing those systems in the future. Over the past two decades, our policies have impacted 100,000+ young people and have prompted more than $252 million in state investment in services and support for these youth and young adults. In the process, youth advocates are empowered, developing critical life and professional skills, as well as higher levels of confidence. Last year, 100% of youth and young adult participants surveyed said that advocacy helped them see themselves as leaders——helping heal the trauma of these systems and feeling empowered to fight for change.

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