Today is National Daughters Day and for one Utah teenager, the title only seemed like a dream until recently.

Lilyauna Coffey, 19, lives in Salt Lake City. She spent nine years in the foster care system looking for her forever home and family. It was just last year her dream became reality.

Jessica Coffey said she and her husband Sam temporarily took Lilyauna in as she was waiting for an initial adoptive family to be ready. But after not having "clicked" with the family, Jessica said Lilyauna wanted to stay with them.

"When her adoption worker, that does work with the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, called us and was like, 'Hey, you know, Lilyauna was wondering if you guys would adopt her?' We already were ready to say yes," Coffey recounted. "What was supposed to be like two weeks max, just turned into forever and it's been great."

Coffey stressed it is important for families looking to adopt to realize there are many teenagers looking for permanent homes. She noted being a teen is hard already and for those who lack the support, consistency and love of a family, entering adulthood can be overwhelming.

The latest state data show there are about 2,000 children in Utah's foster care system, with fewer than 600 adopted per year.

Rita Soronen, president and CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, said when a judge permanently severs a child's relationship to their biological family, whether it be due to neglect or abuse, children are promised permanency. But about 20,000 children nationwide turn 18 each year and leave foster care without a family.

Soronen argued more must be done.

"That's why Wendy's Wonderful Kids programs -- for example, in Utah and across the nation -- are so critical to move those children to permanency," Soronen explained. "To minimize the trauma they've already experienced, and to move them toward a journey of healing with a family that can provide them the support and the care."

Soronen added what everyone strives for at the end of the day is a home, which she contended is evident in art and literature throughout American history.

"T.S. Eliot said, 'Home is where we start from,'" Soronen said. "Think of Judy Garland in the movie, right? 'There's no place like home, there's no place like home.' It is at the essence of who we are."

January is National Mentoring Month, and organizations like MENTOR Indiana are making a difference in young lives.

MENTOR Indiana is part of the Indiana Youth Institute. For nearly 20 years, it has connected young Hoosiers with caring adults.

Tami Silverman, president and CEO of the institute, said mentoring changes lives and there is research to prove it.

"When a young person has a mentor, they're 55% more likely to enroll in college, 78% more likely to volunteer in their home communities and they're twice as likely to hold a leadership position," Silverman outlined.

She pointed out their work ensures young people get the support they need to succeed. Despite the benefits, one in three young people lacks a mentor outside their family. Silverman stressed the gap leaves millions without the guidance they need to thrive.

To help close the gap, MENTOR Indiana follows proven practices to build strong and lasting mentor-mentee relationships. The organization partners with schools, nonprofits and community groups to meet the diverse needs of Indiana youth.

"That can translate into helping them talk through difficult things in their own life," Silverman added. "Whether that's friends' interactions or school, or trying to find work or thinking about what they want to do when they grow up."

She emphasized their efforts also address broader challenges like education gaps, mental health struggles, and community violence.


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Changes to Indiana's child labor laws went into effect Jan. 1 which could affect teens who have or are looking for jobs.

Employers are now no longer required to schedule around a teen's school hours or adhere to daily and weekly hour limits. For example, 16- and 17-year-olds no longer need parental permission to work longer or later, and an adult no longer has to be present at public establishments when juveniles work past 10 p.m.

Germaine Willett, an employment law attorney at the firm Ice Miller in Indianapolis, sees the changes as less administrative burden for employers who hire teens.

"What could be small violations, just a few minutes over a shift, for example, to not have employers be so constrained as they were to get workers ages 16 and 17 out the door exactly at the prior hour's limits," Willett outlined.

Willett noted now, a student has to self-advocate if a time conflict arises between an employer's work schedule request and their school hours. Supporters of the changes said longer hours on the job mean more money, and work better prepares them for the real world. Critics argued tighter work restrictions allow teens to focus more on their education and activities with their peers.

The modifications were made to more closely align Indiana law with federal requirements. Willett emphasized some of the biggest revisions extend exemptions to certain 14- and 15-year-olds.

"Those who have been excused from, or perhaps prohibited from, attending school under certain circumstances -- perhaps quit school after finishing 8th grade, or quit school to support their child -- those individuals would not be subjected to the same limitations, and instead be treated as if they're 16 or older," Willett explained.

Willett added it did not make sense for teens with such obligations to have the same work limits others had to follow under the old law. The Indiana Department of Labor said 14- and 15-year-olds may work until 9 p.m. on any day of the week between June 1 and Labor Day, with some exceptions.


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California has more than 60,000 children in the foster care system and about 7,000 in extended care up to age 21 but many do not receive all the services for which they are eligible.

This month marks the 25th anniversary of the Chafee Foster Care Program, passed by Congress to greatly expand services for foster youth.

Todd Lloyd, senior policy associate for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, said across the U.S., around a half-million people are eligible for Chafee services to help them transition from foster care.

"Of all those eligible young people, less than a quarter are receiving a service in a given year," Lloyd pointed out. "When we looked at their experiences over time, less than half have ever experienced even a single Chafee service."

Some of the services available include tutoring, mentoring and a variety of counseling supports. Extended foster care grants low-income young adults to health insurance via Medi-Cal and food benefits through CalFresh. Young adults in extended foster care may also receive financial assistance for room and board and for college expenses.

Hope Cooper, campaign manager for the advocacy group Journey to Success, a national policy reform effort focused on youth and young adults who experience foster care. She said it's a group that has enormous potential to have happy, prosperous lives.

"We have to provide the supports that they need during these critical transition years," Cooper contended. "Because they face a steep climb in their pathway to young adulthood."

Data show young adults exiting foster care run a greater risk of experiencing housing instability and homelessness, unemployment, physical and mental health issues, and more.