The graduation rate among Riverside County foster children is 50%, according to Project Graduate, a collaboration of Riverside Superior Court, attorneys and Department of Public Social Services social workers, and the Project seeks volunteers to help raise that percentage.
In this project, youth who are not on track to graduate are paired with an educational representative.
“They’re in survival mode most of the time,” said Riverside attorney Luis Lopez, an educational representative, in the Project’s promotional video. “To live in 20 different homes by the time they’re 18, let’s say, that’s just incredible.”
Representatives ideally have some affiliation to the Riverside County Bar Association. They may be but are not necessarily attorneys or paralegals.
These representatives act as friends, mentors and advocates for the students.
“By the time they volunteer for Project Graduate, they’re really far behind, and it seems impossible for a kid under those circumstances to graduate from high school,” Lopez said, “but they do.”
Experience with the program is not a requirement for serving as an educational representative.
Potential representatives are subject to background checks and go through a one-day training provided by RCBA.
For more information or to participate as an educational representative, contact the chair of the Project Graduate steering committee, L. Alexandra Fong, at lafong@rivco.org or 951-358-4737.
[/wlm_private]
