Warren Graver still displays his all-time favorite book on a shelf in his office.

When his twin boys were younger, they chose “Bud, Not Buddy” for story time, a novel about a boy in foster care who left to find his father.

“Every person out there has a person,” he said. “But they have a challenge to find that person, because we are broken and disconnected from our community.”

Now, Graver, 51, of Freeport, spends his free time repairing that disconnect.

As an independent contractor, Graver is helping the state of Maine replace its child and family services technology. But his most rewarding work happens after hours, when he collaborates with people to find solutions to the foster care crisis.

Warren Graver is a project manager for Maine’s child and family services and volunteers with non-profits to launch a financial literacy program from children in foster car. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Most children who age out of foster care at 18 become homeless or end up in the criminal justice system, Graver said. He taps his connections to help address the issues that foster care children face.

His most recent personal project brought together nonprofits and Midcoast Federal Credit Union to create a financial literacy program for children in foster care. The first two savings accounts were opened in October.

Graver grew up in Jamaica where his parents were passionate about service.  He said he was “technically” a high-school dropout. But his mother gave him time to regroup and move forward.

He is now an author and holds two master’s degrees, from Howard and DeVry universities.

All of his accomplishments were only possible because he was allowed to fail, Graver said. Although the United States is a resource-rich country, he said, it doesn’t always give children a second chance.

Shannon Saxby, who oversees Maine’s Youth Leadership Advisory Team, said Graver thinks creatively to connect children in foster care to their community, like giving them tickets to see the orchestra or leading them to job opportunities.

“It’s awesome to see somebody get so excited about someone else’s potential and work so hard to help someone else see their own potential,” she said. “And be just as excited and motivated about that as they would be if it were their own child.”