South Jersey First Star Collaborative at Rowan University

The Rowan Academy is implemented by the South Jersey First Star Collaborative, which is funded by the Pascale Sykes Foundation, and serves foster youth from Gloucester, Cumberland, and Salem Counties in New Jersey. The Collaborative is a partnership between First Star, Rowan University, and CASA (wespeakupforchildren.org).

The Rowan Academy focuses on creating lifetime networks of support for the participating youth and their families. By partnering with the Family Strengthening Network (www.familystrengtheningnetwork.org), the Rowan Academy creates lifetime networks of support for the foster youth and their families (natural or foster). The Family Strengthening Network identifies adults in the youth’s lives and creates Family Action Plans to ensure that the youth have the long-term support needed to successfully transition to adulthood. The families attend monthly workshops over the four years of the Academy to ensure they have the tools needed to support the youth.

The Rutgers School of Law-Camden provides education case management and advocacy to ensure that each of the youth remain on track for high school graduation and admissions to higher education.