ABOUT US

The Children’s Foundation of Las Vegas (CFLV), The Children's Foundation of Las Vegas (CFLV), formerly the CASA Foundation of Las Vegas, was established in June 1983 to make a difference in supporting youth who are or have been in foster care in Clark County, Nevada. Since 2020, CFLV expanded a component of its mission, addressing youth's unmet needs through other means, including tutoring, medical and dental needs, driving lessons, specialty camps, sports, music lessons, and more. CFLV is dedicated to providing opportunities for youth navigating the foster system and seeing those youth through the transition into independent living. We accomplish this through our generous donors, grants, community partners, sponsors, and other resources. 

 The Children's Foundation of Las Vegas is governed by an 8-seat volunteer board, including a four-person executive team and a full-time Executive Director.

Foster children long to fit in with their peers at school and have "normal" childhood experiences. However, participating in an extracurricular activity is often beyond a foster youth's reach, causing them to feel different and separate from their peers and miss out on opportunities and experiences that allow them to build skills and relationships. The Children's Foundation of Las Vegas aims to ease the stigma that affects many foster youths and help pave a smoother pathway to adulthood through social activities and other experiences.

It is a sad reality that a child's life in foster care is full of disruptions. They often feel alone and unprepared when they are moved from home to home, causing frequent upheaval in their schooling and social life. With each disruption and uncertainty in their lives, these children and young adults are at higher risk of learning disabilities and social implications. A critical need vital to the future success of at-risk youth in foster care is education. CFLV works to provide each student with ongoing tutoring to bring them up a grade level to bring them forward to be more successful academically. Furthermore, CFLV assists young adults to transition to independent living and continue their education in college or trade schools. 

 When it comes to education, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Every student is different and requires varying approaches to learning. Tutoring has been proven to be an effective way to help students improve their grades, test scores, and behaviors about school and learning. Tutoring helps the youth participate in the class environment and answer questions along with their peers; they are less disruptive and enjoy learning. They'll see it as a positive and fun experience instead of a frightening chore. Tutoring also supports young adults in obtaining their GED, helping improve career paths as they transition into adulthood and supporting scholarship programs to help children from the foster care system continue their education in college or learn trades.