Mission Statement
The Advocate Project builds AI-powered systems that provide continuous, personalized advocacy for children in foster care—from the day they enter the system until they thrive as adults.
We exist because the current system fails by design. Caseworkers turn over. Placements change. Files get lost. And every year, over 20,000 young people age out of foster care into homelessness, incarceration, and exploitation—not because they lacked potential, but because they lacked one consistent presence who knew their story, believed in their future, and refused to let them fall through the cracks.
The Crisis
The Numbers
- 400,000+ children are currently in foster care in the United States
- 20,000+ age out of the system every year
- 40-50% become homeless within 18 months of aging out
- 50% end up homeless or incarcerated
- Only 3% earn a college degree (despite 70% wanting to attend)
- 60-85% of sex trafficking victims come from foster care or group homes
- 17% of all state and federal prisoners spent time in foster care
- $4.1 billion annual cost to taxpayers from poor outcomes
The foster care system has been called “a highway to homelessness.” This is not hyperbole. It is a statistically predictable outcome that we allow to happen year after year.
The Root Cause: No One Stays
The average caseworker has 40+ cases and turns over within 18 months. Children experience multiple placements, each one severing whatever fragile connections they’ve built. Files are lost. History is forgotten. And when they turn 18, the system that was supposed to prepare them for adulthood simply… ends.
They are handed paperwork on their 18th birthday and sent out with a trash bag of belongings. Some are driven directly to homeless shelters.
The problem is not that foster children lack potential. The problem is they lack continuity.
A Real Story
Based on public records and social media posts
A girl enters foster care at age 7 when her father dies. For the next 11 years, she moves through placements, experiences abuse, loses her grandmother, and tries to raise herself.
At 18, she ages out. Her housing plan falls through. She sits in a caseworker’s car with nowhere to go and says the words that define the crisis:
“I don’t have anybody.”
Police are called. She is arrested. Her worst moment is filmed and posted online for entertainment. 59,000 people watch. Strangers hunt her down on social media to mock her.
In the months before this incident, she posted publicly on social media:
- “Ain’t wanna feel shit no more”
- “Tryin to keep my head above water n my hand away from the blade”
- “A very bright beautiful vibrant life is what I see for myself”
- “I’m tryna do what’s right… just wanna make u proud daddy”
No one saw these posts. No one responded. No one intervened.
Two years later: aggravated assault, five failure-to-appear charges, a mugshot posted for public ridicule. Her 19-year-old brother dies. She writes in his memorial guestbook: “Say hi to dad n grandma 4 me please.”
She was not a menace. She was a child who was never caught.
This trajectory was predictable. It was preventable. We simply chose not to prevent it.
The Vision
What If She Had Someone Who Stayed?
Imagine an AI advocate—always available, infinitely patient, deeply informed—that knew her entire story. That remembered her father died when she was 7. That recognized warning signs in her posts. That helped her regulate when she was spiraling. That reminded her of court dates. That helped her build a resume. That prepared her for aging out starting at 14, not 90 days before.
Not a replacement for human connection. A bridge until humans show up. A safety net when they don’t.
An AI advocate would have:
| Need | Current System | The Advocate Project |
|---|---|---|
| Continuity | Caseworkers turn over every 18 months | AI stays from entry to adulthood and beyond |
| Crisis Detection | No one watching | Monitors for warning signs 24/7 |
| Emotional Support | Office hours, if lucky | Available any time, in their pocket |
| Life Skills | 90 days before aging out | Years of preparation starting at 14 |
| Advocacy | Overburdened humans | Tireless, informed, persistent |
| Accountability | Hidden failures | Transparent outcomes |
| Legal Navigation | None | Court dates, conditions, reminders |
| Education Support | Disrupted by every placement change | Continuous tracking and tutoring |
| Employment Prep | None | Resume building, interview prep, job coaching |
What We Build
The AI Advocate
A personalized AI presence for each child that:
- Knows their story: Placement history, family losses, trauma, dreams, strengths
- Speaks their language: Meets them where they are, not where adults think they should be
- Never leaves: Doesn’t turn over, burn out, or get reassigned
- Builds trust over years: Remembers every conversation, every struggle, every victory
- Prepares them for life: Education, employment, housing, relationships, health
Dual-Layer Memory Architecture
Common Record (Transparent)
- Placement history
- Educational records
- Medical basics
- Court dates and legal status
- Key life events
- Milestones achieved
- Official documents
Persists across caseworker changes. Creates accountability. Ends the “lost files” problem.
Private Conversations (Confidential)
- Personal conversations with their advocate
- Feelings they’ve shared
- Private struggles
- Dreams, hopes, fears
- The real stuff
Confidential like therapy. Builds trust. Only escalates if safety thresholds are crossed.
Integrated Life Management
Education Module
- School and teacher tracking
- Grade monitoring with early warning
- Attendance tracking
- Homework help and tutoring
- Credit tracking toward graduation
- College and career preparation
- Continuity between school changes
Legal Module
- Case tracking (dependency, criminal, custody)
- Court calendar with reminders
- Conditions of release monitoring
- Document management
- Rights education
- Advocacy preparation
Employment Module
- Resume building from zero
- Skills identification
- Interview preparation
- Job search support
- Reference development
- Ongoing employment coaching
Health Module
- Medical appointment tracking
- Medication reminders
- Mental health check-ins
- Health education
- Insurance navigation (especially at aging out)
Safety Net Protocols
The AI is never the last line of defense.
TIER 1: AI HANDLES
- Normal daily struggles
- Homework help
- Venting about life
- Friend drama
TIER 2: AI MONITORS + FLAGS
- Mood changes over time
- Grade drops
- Mentions of conflict
- Increased isolation
→ Increased check-ins, flagged for human review
TIER 3: HUMAN NOTIFICATION REQUIRED
- Extended silence (device confiscated?)
- School attendance patterns
- Abuse mentions
- Running away ideation
- Legal trouble
→ Caseworker notified within 24 hours
→ Acknowledgment required
TIER 4: IMMEDIATE INTERVENTION
- Suicidal ideation
- Self-harm disclosure
- Active abuse
- Immediate safety threat
→ Crisis team activated immediately
→ Human contact within hours
→ Welfare check if needed
Silence Detection
Abusers isolate. Silence is a warning sign.
- 24 hours no contact: Check-in message
- 48 hours no contact: Caseworker notified
- 72 hours no contact: Welfare check requested
The system notices when no one else does.
Transparency and Accountability
Every Tier 3+ escalation is logged. Human acknowledgment is required. Response is documented. If no response within the required timeframe, it escalates to supervisors.
The system cannot hide failures anymore.
We Believe
- No child should have to parent themselves through trauma alone
- Continuity is not a luxury—it is the foundation of human development
- Technology should fill gaps where humanity has failed to show up
- Transparency creates accountability; accountability drives change
- Every child who ages out without support represents a preventable tragedy
- AI is not a replacement for human connection—it is a bridge until humans arrive and a safety net when they don’t
Our Measure of Success
The day the statistics reverse.
When foster youth graduate high school at the same rate as their peers.
When homelessness after aging out approaches zero.
When failure-to-appear charges disappear because someone reminded them about court.
When “I don’t have anybody” is a sentence no child ever has to say.
The Opportunity
This technology already exists. AI platforms are being built to serve as “Jarvis” for six-figure earners—people who already have assistants, networks, support systems, and resources.
Six-figure earners don’t need AI. They want it.
Foster children don’t want AI. They need it.
The same technology that helps affluent professionals optimize their lives could give a foster child something they’ve never had: someone who stays.
We are not entering a market. We are creating one.
The Ask
We are seeking:
- Funding: To adapt existing AI platform infrastructure for foster youth advocacy
- Pilot Partners: State or county child welfare agencies willing to test the system
- Policy Allies: Advocates who can help navigate regulatory requirements
- Lived Experience Advisors: Former foster youth who can guide development
- Believers: People who understand that this is not optional—it is urgent
Every week without this system, children are aging out with nothing. Posting their pain into the void. Becoming statistics we pretend we couldn’t prevent.
We can prevent it. The technology exists. The need is undeniable. The only question is whether we choose to act.
For the little girl with the backpack. And for everyone who was supposed to catch her.