When Zuleima was six years old, she watched other children come and go from the foster home they shared.

"I saw all these kids leave and go home to their families," said Zuleima, now 17. "I wanted to know why - why couldn't that be me? Why can't I go home?"

Though the average length of time a child stays in foster care locally is less than a year, Zuleima and her brothers and sisters are among the unlucky few who never return home or become adopted. For those children, there is the Road to Success.

Road to Success helps older foster children make the transition into adulthood by teaching independent living skills, said Leigh Ann Gilcher, Road to Success program supervisor for United for Families, the nonprofit organization that coordinates child-welfare services for children and families in St. Lucie, Martin, Indian River and Okeechobee counties.

Adolescence is a time of growth, learning and developing independence. Most teens, with the support of their family, make a successful transition into adulthood. Foster youth, however, don't have the same reliable support system - a fact that impacts society as a whole, Gilcher said.

"Children who grow up in the foster care system are more likely to become homeless, teen-age parents or imprisoned than children who have not lived in foster care," Gilcher said. "Few graduate high school, fewer attend college, and those who seek and maintain employment do so at low wages."

Road to Success, however, focuses on guidance, instruction and support to change that. Support is offered through trainings, educational field trips and conferences and adult mentors.

"Just because you have a difficult childhood doesn't mean you have to have a difficult adulthood," said Martin County Commissioner Ed Ciampi, a United for Families board member and supporter of the Road to Success program.

Zuleima said she has come a long way thanks in great part to the program.

"I don't want to be what people said I was going to be," she said. I want to be so much better."

The program is an integral part to United for Families' system of care and is the focus of upcoming fundraising efforts, including the Toyota of Stuart Le Bal Masque. The formal gala is October 24 at Willoughby Golf Club.

For reservations, or to make donations, visit www.unitedforfamilies.org. Tickets are $125, and $875 for a table of eight.