Theo
Theo, 17. In licensed foster care, Tampa. Junior in high school. Never had a job.
This is an illustrative account. Every detail is invented.
- Age
- 17
- Care
- Licensed foster care
- School
- Junior in high school
- Turns 18
- In seven months
Said out loud
Theo is 17. Almost everything the state offers starts at 18, and nobody has told them what's already theirs. U Navigate found three things that are: a birth certificate, a phone and a driver's license. They aren't benefits in the usual sense. They're what makes a 17-year-old hireable. Theo found out on their phone, told their coordinator, and the day they did is on record.
Full case
Situation
Theo is 17, in licensed foster care in Tampa, a junior in high school, and has never had a job. They turn 18 in seven months. Nobody has told them what changes that day. And if someone offered them an interview, they'd have no way to get there.
Watch
Why this case matters
This is the caught-early case. Almost every program starts at 18. Theo is 17.
Read moreRead less
The things that matter at 17 are simple: a birth certificate for job paperwork, a phone number an employer can reach, a driver's license. U Navigate knows which ones Theo can get today.
The feature they used
Capture. Over three weeks, Theo's real life shows up in their own words.
A now-hiring sign near school, with their note: "they said bring ID and a social." A talk with their coordinator about their birth certificate. Their learner's permit study book. And the Keys to Independence page, with the line the whole case turns on: "this pays for driver's ed??" That's the moment they found out something was theirs, with a date on it.
Birth certificate
The birth certificate fee is covered.
Phone
A phone number employers can reach.
Keys to Independence
This pays for driver's ed??
What changed
They did something about it.
They messaged their coordinator
The birth certificate fee is covered, the form is in
They're eligible for Keys to Independence now
Three steps are still open on their plan:
- Sign up for Keys
- Get a phone number employers can reach
- Study for their permit
The federal line
NYTD's first survey of every youth in care happens at 17.
Read moreRead less
That's when the federal government starts counting Theo: work, school, and whether they have an adult to rely on. At 18, Chafee-funded support opens up. Step into Success, ETV and the tuition exemption are already in U Navigate, with the age each one starts. Federal workforce law (WIOA) already names foster youth as a priority, and CareerSource is the door. U Navigate doesn't replace CareerSource. It gets Theo there with the paperwork already in hand.
Honest note
At 17, U Navigate can't yet show Theo what opens up at 18. It knows the ages but doesn't look ahead. A view of what turns on, and when, is the most useful thing we could build for a youth Theo's age. It's next.
Pick a time. We'll walk through the case closest to your caseload and what a pilot could look like.
Want to try it?
Create your own account. Nothing about these four people is in it.
Try U Navigate yourselfHow their information is protected
They own it
Their account is theirs. U Navigate is not the state's system of record. Nothing is shared with a caseworker or anyone else unless they choose to share it.
The record can't be rewritten
Their Journey Record only grows. Entries can be added, never edited or deleted, by them or by us.
Every row is locked to them
A request for their data returns only their data, even if our own code has a bug.
What the AI is given, exactly
Lexi knows their first name and their state, so they don't have to repeat themselves. Their last name, email, phone, address, date of birth and account ID are never sent to an AI provider. An automated test breaks our build if that ever changes.
When they upload a document, the AI reads it
That's how Lexi summarizes a lease or finds a deadline on a form. The document and the summary are theirs. Neither is used to train anything.
No ads. No data sales. Ever.
During pilots
We don't accept HIPAA-covered data.