FutureReady: Career Exploration and Coaching for Foster & Formerly Incarcerated Youth

Support for foster and systems-impacted youth

Central LA

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Foster youth and formerly incarcerated students face persistent barriers to college completion and career mobility due to trauma, housing insecurity, lack of professional networks, and systemic exclusion from opportunity pipelines. At Los Angeles City College, many Guardian Scholars (former foster youth) and participants in the Break It to Make It (formerly incarcerated) program arrive with resilience and drive but limited access to the tailored support, mentorship, and industry exposure they need to thrive.
While general student services exist, they are rarely designed with the complex, overlapping needs of foster and justice-impacted youth in mind. Traditional career exploration models often assume a level of stability, confidence, and access these students do not yet possess.
This project addresses a critical intersection: how to support foster and formerly incarcerated youth in identifying viable, motivating career paths and developing the skills to pursue them.

FutureReady is an innovative partnership between the Guardian Scholars Program (GSP), the LACC Career Center, and the Break It to Make It (BITMI) program that will provide trauma-informed success coaching and career exploration for foster youth and formerly incarcerated students. This grant will support a comprehensive year-long initiative serving approximately 40 students who face disproportionate barriers to higher education and employment.
Participants will be matched with a dedicated success coach trained in trauma-informed care and systems navigation. Through regular one-on-one sessions, students will receive academic guidance, mental wellness check-ins, and personalized support to stay enrolled and on track. Simultaneously, students will enroll in a career exploration track aligned with high-opportunity industries in Los Angeles, including healthcare, engineering, public service, and media.
The program includes industry panels, job shadowing, resume workshops, and field trips facilitated in collaboration with employer partners. Each student will complete a paid, hands-on project in their field of interest, building skills and confidence. The initiative will culminate with the career day workshop, showcasing employment pipelines and opportunities for transfer to four year universities.
By combining practical experience with consistent support, FutureReady empowers students to transform resilience into long-term success in college and career.

If FutureReady is successful, Los Angeles County will be a place where foster youth and formerly incarcerated students are not defined by their pasts but empowered by their potential. These young people will have access to the coaching, networks, and real-world opportunities they need to thrive in college and build meaningful careers. We will see increased retention and graduation rates among system-impacted students, stronger representation of foster youth in high-growth industries, and more equitable pathways into the workforce. Employers will benefit from a more diverse, resilient talent pipeline, while students gain stability, confidence, and purpose. Over time, this model can be replicated across other colleges and community-based programs, driving systemic change. LA County will be stronger, more inclusive, and better prepared to support all of its young people in becoming leaders, professionals, and agents of change.