Getting a driver's license is a pretty typical rite of passage when a teen turns 16, but it can be a process filled with roadblocks for youth living in the foster care system. CASA volunteer Pete Piferi shares some of the challenges faced by *Diego, his 19 year old CASA youth, when he wanted to get his driver’s license.

Diego has lived in foster care for most of his life and is currently placed in a home in an unincorporated remote part of Riverside County where he is far from the social services available to him in Orange County. He has no car in which to practice and no access to driving lessons. Maintaining consistent attendance at school or a job has been difficult for Diego without personal transportation. He attended the local community college for a while but it required catching a 5am train and multiple buses to reach campus and eventually became too much. 

Diego is alone much of the time since his foster parents work long hours in another county and he is left on his own with no transportation. According to his CASA Pete, “He is living on an island out there with nothing close by for miles except for one strip mall. No transportation or clear path forward.

Pete has only been a CASA since February of this year when he was first matched with Diego. After a few lunches together, Pete quickly sized up Diego's challenges which included a need for some direction. Another challenge, according to Pete, is the tremendous turnover of support people in Diego’s life. “Diego is on his third social worker in nine months. In that short span of time, I’m the one adult who’s been around the longest to support him. Everyone eventually transitions out of his life,” said Pete.

Pete and Diego began to map a path forward out of his foster home and towards independence. Pete asked Diego what he wanted out of life and Diego replied, “I’d like a small apartment, a car and to live relatively comfortably.” Pete helped Diego visualize what it would take to make that happen. He projected what monthly expenses would be and what that would require earning as an hourly wage. Pete said, “I pulled up what certain jobs pay - like being an apprentice electrician - and told him his goals were achievable but he was going to need to start on a path to get there.”

“I realized that Diego didn’t have the benefits that come with growing up in a more ‘traditional’ environment with parents who support their kids, encourage them to move forward, and serve as a backstop if they fail,” said Pete. He went on to say, “With so many youth in foster care, there’s a sense of avoiding failure. They think, ‘If I leave here and fail, who’s going to be here to pick me up?’”

Pete shares, “We started going through brochures and talking about different trades and job options. However every option for work, trade apprenticeships, or further education required a car so that’s where we began.” 

With Pete’s encouragement, Diego began studying for his driving test and advocating for practice time in his foster parents’ car. Pete helped Diego learn about the controls on his car’s dashboard and coached him on parallel parking tactics. Together, Pete and Diego coordinated getting Diego to DMV with a borrowed car for his driving test.

According to Pete, with all the stumbling blocks before Diego, it took months to achieve his goal of getting his license, but that event proved to be a turning point in their relationship. Pete said, “That accomplishment was the first building block and gave him some confidence. Diego became more open and responsive in his interactions with me and seemed more empowered to move forward”

After getting his license, Diego was able to save enough to buy a pre-owned car through a friend of his foster family. With Pete’s help, he then navigated the complexities of buying an insurance policy where he was required to go through a broker and pay high fees for low coverage as a brand new driver. 

Since that time, Diego and Pete have begun to work on a timeline together for Diego to attend the Lyon Workforce Academy which connects student-apprentices with local corporations. Participants receive skills-training and attend workshops that provide life skills and professional development. In order to attend, Diego will need to find new housing in Orange County, so he’s begun the process of applying to get into a Transitional Housing Program by the end of the year. Diego is also studying to take an aptitude test for admission to the Air Force. 

Pete is encouraged to see the path that Diego is now on. He says, “The part that was missing for Diego was someone helping him set goals and really following up, encouraging him, and holding him accountable. Over the past several months, Diego has really shown resilience and determination in setting goals for himself and doing the work required to achieve those goals.”

As for Pete, he feels that his bi-weekly visits with Diego are so manageable, that he’s just taken on a second youth. He recently began working with *Scott, a severely developmentally and physically challenged 18 year old. Pete seems ready for the new challenge and is already formulating a plan to help teach Scott how to use simple hand tools. “I hope to teach him how to make simple adjustments to his bike and help him learn how to ride it,” said Pete. “I’ll need a few more meetings to better assess his capabilities but he already seems more focused and calm when he has tools in his hands.”

Kevin Plata is Pete’s Advocate Supervisor and nominated him as CASA’s November Advocate of The Month saying, “Pete jumped onto this case when his youth was already 19 with no life experience. In their short time together, he has helped Diego study for his driving exam (license obtained!), connected him to job resources, and even organized workshops between Diego and the Orangewood Foundation to discuss independent living and workforce programs. Diego is now well underway to becoming an independent adult! He is more motivated than ever.“

To learn more about becoming a CASA, sign-up to attend one of our upcoming Information Sessions or email CASA’s Volunteer Recruitment and DEIB Manager, Norma Mendoza.

*Name changed to protect privacy.