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  Over the next month, Los Angeles County will roll out an electronic system that supporters say will make it easier for youth in foster care to enroll in programs in the county’s workforce system.

For young people who have survived often-turbulent stays in and out of the foster care system, trusting adults and systems can be hard. “After all, we’ve been through foster care and the crazy situations we’ve been in, if you’ve never been there, you’ll never be able to understand,” said Kamiah Manning, an 18-year-old foster youth from Los Angeles.

Velvet Trivino dreams of becoming a skin care specialist one day, to help others look pretty, to make them feel their best. But before she can care for someone else, she first had to look deep inside herself.

Internships can often serve as an important leg up for young people trying to gain work experience and build relationships with employers. But few foster youth participate in such opportunities. A recent study of California foster youth at age 21 found that only 30 percent had completed an internship, apprenticeship or other on-the-job training in the past year.

In 2013, more than 20,000 teens and young adults in Los Angeles received services through Youth@Work’s Work-Based Learning Program, which provides youth in the county with subsidized work experiences and trainings.

This past spring, Washington became the first state in the nation to pass legislation specifically designed to help foster youth access apprenticeship opportunities, which offer a steady path to full-time employment in a highly-skilled trade.

During a recent St. Anne’s meeting for pregnant and parenting teenagers in Los Angeles, seven students learned the difference between a resume and a cover letter. It is a particularly important distinction for these young women, all between the ages of 15 and 18, who are trying to juggle parenting and high school with their eventual careers.

While April 15th is far from a national holiday, it is an occasion that brings together millions of Americans, often for complaining and commiserating rather than celebrating. Indeed, in 2014 the IRS received 136,887,000 tax returns, some eligible for refunds and others accompanied by a payment to make up a shortfall in money owed.

WestCoast Children’s Clinic provides specialized services to sexually exploited youth, and conducts research and advocacy to improve protection and support for child trafficking victims. The following was written by Breanne, who was formerly sexually exploited.