Friends of the Children
Fargo-Moorhead
Generational Change, One Child at a Time
Friends of the Children Fargo-Moorhead will partner with several community organizations to identify and select children ages 4-6 years for enrollment in the program. Each child will be paired with a Friend who will spend 3-4 hours a week one-on-one with each child from kindergarten through high school graduation – 12+ years, no matter what.
Over the course of their 12 ½ years in the program, youth selected for Friends—Fargo-Moorhead will have a consistent, caring adult by their side to navigate tremendous transitions and develop core assets like hope and perseverance to overcome obstacles. A third party evaluation of Friends of the Children program graduates showed that:
—83% of program youth receive a high school diploma or GED
—93% remain free from involvement in the juvenile justice system
—98% successfully delay parenting until after their teen years
—92% of graduates go on to enroll in post-secondary education, enlist in the military or find employment
In both North Dakota and Minnesota, the number of youth experiencing foster care is increasing. On any given day in Fargo-Moorhead, at least 50 children ages 4-6 are in foster care. Parental substance abuse is now the leading reason for a child’s placement in foster care in North Dakota and Minnesota. Additionally, 1 in 5 people who are homeless in Fargo and Moorhead are children. Nearly all homeless youth (95%) and three-quarters of homeless adults (74%) in Fargo-Moorhead have experienced some type of adverse childhood experience such as abuse, neglect, or out-of-home placement.
Click here to learn more about the Fargo-Moorhead chapter of Friends of the Children
