New Jersey Launches Peer-to-Peer EnlightenMENT Program to Support Foster Youth

The New Jersey Department of Children and Families has launched a new program called EnlightenMENT, developed by young people who have experienced foster care themselves. 

The program offers support and guidance to other youth who are in care and is currently available to youth residing in foster care in nine counties across the state. 

Eligible participants aged 14 to 21 can connect with the program’s service providers, Children's Aid and Family Services, Children's Home Society, and Oaks Integrated Care, Inc., to get support through Peer Navigators who have their own lived experience in foster care. 

The program's model is comprised of three phases: engagement, empowerment, and connection, and is designed to provide youth with social connections that build resilience, critical life skills, and connect to resources needed to succeed. 

To learn more about the New Jersey Peer to Peer-EnlightenMENT Program or to participate, visit https://www.nj.gov/dcf/providers/fcp/peer2peer.html or https://www.nj.gov/njyrs/enlightenment/.