This initiative aims to support Peer Support Specialist employment opportunities for former foster youth.
(Sacramento) August 18, 2025 – The Steinberg Institute and iFoster are proud to announce a new website aimed at expanding access to behavioral health careers for Opportunity Youth in Los Angeles County. As part of the launch, the organizations released a joint video that highlights the role of Peer Support Specialists in California’s behavioral health system, featuring the stories of former foster youth who are entering the field through iFoster’s specialized training and placement program. The video underscores how peer-led support builds trust, improves outcomes, and helps create a behavioral health system that reflects the communities it serves. Explore the page and watch the video at hireafosteryouth.org/peer-support.
The initiative builds upon iFoster’s integrated foster youth Peer Support Specialist (PSS) training program, which prepares youth to deliver culturally responsive peer support in schools, clinics, and community settings. In partnership with the Steinberg Institute, the program will expand through the cultivation of employer networks and the co-creation of new career pipelines into the behavioral health workforce, ensuring that young people can grow into long-term, sustainable roles within the behavioral health field.
“Now more than ever, investing in our youth is critical,” said Serita Cox, CEO and co-founder of iFoster. “By joining forces with the Steinberg Institute, we’re ensuring that young people who have navigated complex systems are the ones shaping them going forward and guiding their peers.”
The initiative will directly address one of the main goals of the Steinberg Institute’s Vision 2030 initiative by helping to modernize and strengthen California’s behavioral health workforce to meet the diverse needs of the entire state.
“As we look to grow and diversify our behavioral health workforce in California, we must prioritize recruitment that focuses on those with lived experience. This project does that and provides a career pathway for former foster youth,” said Karen Larsen, CEO of the Steinberg Institute.
The website is being launched thanks to support from the R&S Kayne Foundation, a Los Angeles-based funder catalyzing positive change through strategic investments in education, economic mobility, arts, and other meaningful initiatives. “The R&S Kayne Foundation believes in investing in young people not just as recipients of services, but as future leaders and changemakers,” said Sarah Ali, R&S Kayne Foundation COO. “This partnership creates a powerful, tangible pathway for Opportunity Youth to step into meaningful careers in behavioral health — careers where their lived experience is a strength. We’re proud to seed this work and help build a model that can transform how California invests in both care and community.”
This initiative also aims to advance broader policy solutions in California. Building on the Steinberg Institute’s advocacy in support of SB 803 and similar initiatives, the organizations will identify ways to reduce barriers and increase accessibility for youth entering behavioral health roles.
Watch the full video below.