LEVEL-UP

The purpose of Level-Up is to provide a constant and stable environment for youth in foster care. The program offers a nurturing curriculum that includes an employment and career-shadowing component, youth-focused workshop series, year-round mentoring and involvement in other Urban League youth initiatives.

 

For more than 10 years, Level-Up has been funded by the South Carolina Department of Social Services. The program is geared towards students ages 14-21 who are in foster care and 14-19 for students who receive DSS services (Family Preservation_. Level-Up utilizes an evidence-based best practice strategy for working with youth in foster care that focuses on several critical needs areas of its participants.

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 The Level-Up program serves more than 400 youth in 12 different counties including Aiken, Clarendon, Fairfield, Greenville, Kershaw, Lancaster, Lexington, Marion, Richland, Spartanburg, Sumter, and York counties.

 

The Columbia Urban League’s Level-Up program has been recognized by the National Urban League as an evidence-based best practice model for youth development, because of its leadership in the foster care arena.

The Level-Up staff conduct workshops and presentations for the school district and local organizations.

 

Through CUL’s Level-Up partnership with the Department of Social Services, participants have the opportunity to gain work experience every summer.