Please join us at our 2019 celebratory dinner and graduation ceremony where we will honor the accomplishments of foster youth enrolled in CII’s Individualized Transition Skills Program (ITSP). This year, we are recognizing over 100 students who are graduating high school and going on to colleges including Chapman, UC Berkeley, UCLA and USC.

Speakers Include

Sean Anders – Writer and Director
Sean Anders is the writer/director of the 2018 dramatic comedy Instant Family, which draws on his personal experience of adopting three siblings from the foster care system with his wife Elizabeth. Making the film connected Sean with several individuals and families touched by the foster care system including social workers, kids in care, adoptive families and other foster parents. The experience of meeting so many good people in the foster care community led Sean to create Foster Strong, an organization dedicated to re-branding what it means to be in foster care.

Jessica Chandler – Children’s Social Worker
Jessica Chandler is a national advocate for children and families involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. She is currently a social worker with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, working with children and families. Chandler is featured in the recently-released HBO documentary Foster.

Candi Marie – Actress and Advocate
Candi Marie is an actress, TV Host, and content producer who appeared in Instant Family. From the age of 7 to 17, she lived in foster care after experiencing abuse and neglect in her childhood. Candice’s vision to empower, enlighten and inspire others has encouraged her to advocate for foster care and share her story.

Maraide Green – Student and Instant Family Consultant
Maraide Green is a student at UCLA who used her personal experience in foster care to work as a consultant on Instant Family. From first grade to eighth grade, she bounced between an unstable home with her mother and multiple foster homes before being adopted. She is currently studying political science and film, and wants to use her experience to change stereotypes about youth growing up in foster care.

This event is proudly sponsored by The C.H.I.P.S and Random Act Funding.