Foster Youth Internship Program®
Congressional Report
CCAI’s Foster Youth Internship (FYI) Program® offers the talented leaders in the program the opportunity to use their newfound understanding of Capitol Hill and federal policy to research and write a policy report. The interns focus on subjects they are personally passionate about due to their experiences and understanding after experiencing foster care and make personal recommendations for improving the U.S. foster care system. This report is published annually and presented at both congressional and briefings with the executive branch.
The reports have become a highly sought after, expert resource for federal policymakers, and many of the recommendations have even been signed into law. The Foster Youth Internship Program® interns are often invited to speak across the nation on the subjects they have researched and presented, given their expertise on these subjects.
Meet the 2026 cohort of the Foster Youth Internship Program®!
Foster Youth Internship Program® Congressional Reports
2026: Anchored in Permanency: Policies to Strengthen Belonging, Stability, and Family Connections
2025: Policy in Practice: Centering Youth and Families in a Reimagined Foster Care System
2022: Well-Being in Action: Expanding Equitable Access to Comprehensive Supports for Foster Youth
2021: Building the Path Forward for Change in the Child Welfare System
2020: Seeing Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic: Creating Change for Vulnerable Children and Families
2019: Boundless Futures: Building a Youth-Focused Child Welfare System
2018: Tools for Transformation: Building a Compassionate Child Welfare System
2017: Unlocking Potential: The Strength of Our Stories as the Key to Child Welfare Reform
2016: "Powerful Voices: Sharing Our Stories to Reform Child Welfare"
2015: "Embracing Our Past, Empowering Their Future: Why Child Welfare Reform Matters"
2014: "Shaping Tomorrow with Today's Minds: Applying Updated Solutions to an Outdated System"
2013: "Our Voice, Their Future: Fostering Hope Through Child Welfare Reform"
2012: "Hear Me Now"
2011: "The Future of Foster Care: A Revolution for Change"
2010: "Leaving Our Mark on a New Generation"
2009: "Using Yesterday to Shape Tomorrow: Uniting 500,000 Foster Youth Voices for One Mission"
2008: "Putting the 'Foster' Back Into Foster Care: Recommendations for Improving Foster Care and Adoption"
Read the Individual Reports From 2026
Fia Ewers: Advancing Higher Education Access Through Institutional Support and Federal Policy
Miles Marquez: Reforming Access to Mental Health for all Foster Youth
Serenity Miller: Preventing Sibling Separation
Alexia Nechayev: Strengthening Relational Permanency for Youth in Foster Care Through Mentorship
Layla Nytes: Reducing the Overuse of Psychotropic Medications for Children in Foster Care
Alexander Robbinson: Reducing Reliance on Congregate Care Driven by Placement Shortages
Hana Ramirez Thomas: Too Few to Care: Workforce Shortage in the Child Welfare System
Shalise Truxler: Enhancing Reunification through Multidisciplinary Legal Representation
Aria Williams: Establishing a National Trauma-Informed Training Standard for Foster Parents Through Title IV-E
