Michaels How-To on How to Succeed When You Move Out

Youth in Transition:
Each year, an average of 20,000 young people reach the age of 18 and can no longer be supported by the U.S. foster care system. Many are only 18 years old and still need support for housing, school, and food, although some are the ages of 19, 20, or even 21 or 22. Several aged-out foster child studies show that without a lifelong foster parent or parents, these older youth are often left vulnerable to a host of problems, like homelessness, starvation, or imprisonment . Foster children who stay in residential treatment centers never experience a real caring family therefore never learn the true skills you need to be able to move out into a new house/apartment, learn to pay bills, handle money responsibly, get/maintain a permanent job/career, and other responsibilities that are necessary to learn before and when you move out. In addition, nearly 25% of aged out kids did not have a high school diploma/GED, and an extreme low of 6% had finished a two- or four-year degree after aging out of foster care. A study completed shows that 70% of all youth in foster care have the desire to attend college, but never have the chance because they never get the care that a typical biological child receives.

My experience with the foster care system:

Speaking from true experience, I have lived in two residential treatment centers, one from ages 8 to 9 and ages 11-14. And during my teen years, never did I get even a small speech on what lays ahead of me and what I will need to learn. All I learned there is this: You behave, you get to go have fun. Misbehave, and you dont get to have fun. And once you turn 18, so long, adieu, auf wiedersehen, adios, good luck. At the first center I lived at, I saw people that were from ages 17 to 21, and all of them were clueless on how to survive on their own. I guarantee that almost all of them were picked up either because they didnt have a place to stay or they were caught doing illegal activities because that was the only way they could survive, as none of them had college degrees. I, on the other hand, had something those kids didnt: hope. I held firmly to the belief that I would find the right parents, get through high school, go to college and be successful. And I am now a soon-to-be graduating student from New Vista High School and I am attending Front Range Community College in the fall. And I can most likely guarantee that all the kids I knew at my first center have ended up in prison, living on the streets, are in a mental hospital, or maybe even dead.

Foster Children Statistics:

In September, 2007, there were an average 496,000 children in substitute/foster care/treatment centers. Of these children, 39% were identified as being 13 years of age or older. During the 2007 fiscal year, States reported that approximately 29,000 young adults exited/emancipated from foster care, which means on average 17% of foster kids exit the system each year. On the next page, the first three charts show kids that are biological and have a hard time moving out. The two tables beneath the charts shows the stats on foster kids who have or need support to survive on their own. As you can see, the charts for biological adults have even more chances of success because they had parents behind them to help and support them. However, as you can see, the rate for biological children actually moving out is slowly declining, especially kids between the ages of 18 to 29. This may be because bio kids become more attached to their parents, which might be why a few foster kids can actually succeed because we want to be independent and we dont get attached to people very easily. On the other hand, foster children have very little to no parental support or care, thus not having the right mental state to want to succeed. This is the reason why the stats on foster kids who do not have their own places is higher than the one with biological children.

Results High school diploma Got a Bachelors+

Nat data 54% 2%

Reg/Local data 50% - 63% 2%

Became a parent Were unemployed No health insurance Been/is homeless Have PA

84% 51% 30% 25% 30%

42% 30% 29% 36% 26%

Race White(non-Hisp) Black(non-Hisp) Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islndr. Unknown 2+ Races

Home Care Population 41% 32% 18% 2% 1% 2% 3%

Gen. Pop. 61% 15% 17% 1% 3% n/a 4%

The Colorado ETV Program

Program Description:
The Colorado Education and Training Voucher Program is a federally-funded, state-administered program designed to help youth who were in foster care. Students may receive up to $5000 a year for qualified school related expenses. Funding is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible students. Applicants must complete the ETV application which includes documentation each semester that is sent directly from the school to ETV confirming enrollment, the cost of attendance (COA) and unmet need.

The John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program

Program Description:
The John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (CFCIP) offers assistance to get former foster youth up on their feet to help them find housing, work, and benefits like food, transportation, and health. Grants are offered to States/Tribes who submit a plan to assist youth in the areas stated above designed to support a successful transition to adulthood. The program is intended to serve youth who are likely to remain in foster care until age 18, but it can also stretch for foster youth who is staying in the system until age 20 or 21. The Educational and Training Vouchers Program (ETV) is a program for youths aging out of foster care and was added to the CFCIP in 2002. ETV provides resources to meet the housing and educational needs for kids who are becoming independent . In addition to the existing authorization of $140 million for the CFCIP program, the law also grants $60 million for payments to States/Tribes for educational and training needs for youth who might face moderate to extreme difficulty when they age out at age 18. This program makes available vouchers of up to $5,000 per year per youth for post-secondary education and training for eligible youth.

Support during the Transition to Adulthood

The main program that supports youth during this transition is the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999, commonly known as the Chafee Act, after the late Senator John Chafee, an advocate for foster youth. The act provides $140 million in funding per year. The funding provides services (mental health services, life skills, mentoring, employment preparation, education, and others), stipends for housing, and extended Medicaid eligibility through age 21 at state option. The latter is especially valuable to foster youth, who often must contend with mental health issues arising from their traumatic pasts. Prior to the 1999 act, Medicaid was only available to former foster youth if they were eligible for other reasons (for example, they were poor young women with children), meaning that few were eligible. Given that former foster youth are less than half as likely to use mental health services after discharge from out-of-home care as they were while in care, this extension of Medicaid benefits is critical. The Chafee Act also provides states funding$44.7 million in fiscal year 2004for vouchers for education and training, including post-secondary training and education, to youth who have aged out of foster care or who have been adopted from the public foster care system after age 16.

WIA Youth Program

The WIA Youth Program helps low income at-risk youth and young adults to achieve their education and employment goals. Eligible youth enrolled in the program work with a counselor to create a plan for success, and can take advantage of a variety of services that can be accessed by contacting a local workforce center. Who is eligible for the WIA Youth Program?: Participants must be between 14-21 years old, live in a low income family, and have one or more challenges to success in education or employment, including: Deficient in math or reading skills Misdemeanor or felony record Documented disability School drop out Homeless/runaway Pregnant/parenting In foster care All program participants must be a US citizen or authorized to work in the US Selective Service registration is a requirement for males 18 or older Military veterans (1821 years old) get first priority for enrollment in this program GED Preparation/Support to achieve a High School Diploma Tutoring Assistance Summer Employment Opportunities Paid or Unpaid Internships Tuition Assistance Leadership Activities Supportive Services Adult Mentoring Learning work search and workplace success skills Referrals to jobs and educational opportunities 12 months of follow-up assistance after program participation is completed

What youth services can I get through the workforce centers?

Youth program participants must be motivated to improve their reading and math skills and learn job readiness and occupational skills. They should also expect to participate in skills assessment testing both before they start the program and after program completion.

Conclusion:
I hope this will be helpful to you, the reader, because I have had experience with the Workforce Investment Program, but all of these programs will be beneficial to you when you move out and become independent. And though some of you may be thinking, How will this benefit me? All this is is a bunch of information, and I doubt they will work. So for all the foster kids or biological kids reading this, you may be feeling hopeless that you wont succeed, or that all this information will do you no good. But the keyword in hopeless is hope. So if you just try hard enough, make a dream, and hold on to the firm belief that you can succeed, you will be able to do anything or go anywhere, as long as you have hope. Hope is the thing that keeps peoples dreams and aspirations alive, and if you hope hard enough and believe hard enough, all your dreams will truly come true.

Links: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/resource/chafee-foster-care-program:CHAFE Program https://www.statevoucher.org/state.shtml?state=CO :ETV State Program Home Page Colorado http://www.ccainstitute.org/why-we-do-it-/facts-and-statistics.html:Congressional Coalation on Adoption Institute http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/idcplg?IdcService=GET_DYNAMIC_CONVERSION&RevisionSelectionMethod =LatestReleased&dDocName=id_000553 : https://www.orphan.org/sch/login.shtml http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CDLE-EmployTrain/CDLE/1251621078706 http://www.fostercarealumni.org/resources/foster_care_facts_and_statistics.htm http://www.fosteru.org/fc2s-sponsored-scholarships/: https://www.childwelfare.gov/outofhome/independent/: General Information on becoming independant and moving out.