Overview: Every youth that has encountered the foster care system has had experiences that they feel are unique to them. The shame, confusion and complexity of the relationships in their lives are distinct to them but can very familiar and comforting to their peers and informative for the adults and professionals in the child welfare field. But teaching current and former foster youth how to frame their experiences and share their stories we can enable a them to take ownership of their narratives and become the leaders of a greater dialogue on child welfare reform.

Target Audience: Adults who work with current and former foster youth in engagement, therapuetic and advocacy settings.

Objectives: By the end of the workshop participants will be able to:

1. Understand the individual impact in youth-led sharing of personal experiences;

2. Be able to name three ways to they can teach youth to frame their stories in ways that are focused and healthy;

3. Develop basic for engaging the youth they work with in framing and sharing their personal experiences.