About Us
In the Spirit of the Children, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization and one of the first non-residential, community-based programs established to provide daily support services to youth transitioning out of New York City's foster care system. The mission of this organization is the firm belief in the intrinsic ability of all families to improve their own conditions, once given the tools needed. We offer young adults who are leaving foster care to live on their own a continuum of services in order to prevent homelessness and promote successful independent adulthood.
Supportive services include parenting skills instruction, educational resources, healthcare and more. In addition to providing our participants with a myriad of support services, ITSOC works to break the cycle of young adults losing their children to the child welfare system. This is accomplished by offering life skill development instruction to these families. Since opening our doors in 2003, we have worked intensively with 157 youth and their children.
According to the Administration for Children's Services (ACS), there were 15,895 children in foster care at the close of 2009. On average, 900 youth ages 18 and older transition out of New York City's foster care system every year. Upon their discharge, New York City's former foster children struggle to live on their own and receive little to no assistance with the daunting tasks of securing housing, finding employment, and raising their own children.
