Youth Transitioning Into Adulthood Programs

Caring Adults '˜R' Everywhere (C.A.R.E.) is a 12-week natural mentoring intervention designed to address social support needs of youth preparing to exit foster care by facilitating and strengthening naturally occurring relationships and supporting the development of growth-fostering relationship between them and their self-selected natural mentors (i.e., helpful nonparental adults from within the youth's social network). Prior to enrollment in C.A.R.E., a master's-level social worker referred to as an interventionist meets individually with the youth in an effort to identify an appropriate natural mentor. Once the natural mentors have been screened and approved, they undergo a trauma-informed training. During the 12-week intervention, youth and their natural mentors participate in a variety of group activities as well as supportive one-on-one sessions with the interventionist designed to strengthen and clarify expectations surrounding the natural mentoring relationship. Additionally, the foster youth and natural mentor dyads are expected to meet a minimum of 2 hours per week for unstructured dyad "match" time, during which they can work on life skills and engage in other enriching community-based activities. Aftercare/booster sessions are available following the 12-week intervention.

This model is designed to address the socioemotional needs of older youth in foster care who are nearing transition to adulthood. The model employs a holistic approach by transforming the agency culture to one that empowers youth to develop, work toward and accomplish their goals, build supportive relationships, and become informed of the effects of trauma in their lives. Core tenets include believing that youth have the innate wisdom to know and understand themselves, their needs and aspirations; believing that youth have the capacity to make their own decisions; providing youth opportunities to discover what they need to be successful; allowing youth to learn by doing. This requires the adults in the lives of youth to shift long held beliefs and standardized child welfare practices. It requires more than a few months for everyone to adapt to this way of working together.

The model focuses on providing holistic support for these youth and young adults while they pursue and/or enroll in postsecondary education settings. The Fostering Success Coach Model of practice takes into account the unique challenges of living through adversity and the foster care system. The Fostering Success Coaching Model's skills are designed to enhance a child welfare or higher education professional's ability to partner with youth assessing strengths and challenges in targeted seven life domains' education, employment, housing, health, relationships, identity and life skills--by prioritizing level of need and intervening by teaching life skills that strengthen youths' healthy habits as they transition to the emerging adult years. The model's seven core elements are cultural humilty, interdpendent relationships, learner-centered approach, teaching in real time, skill-based asset development, network development, and empowerment evaluation. Understanding these core elements is fundamental in assessing, prioritizing, and coaching the students.

ILP, developed by the Orangewood Foundation, provides workshops, special events, support services, and case management to foster youth between the ages of 16-21 to help prepare them for the transition to independence. Each month ILP focuses on one of four key areas:

• Education
• Career
• Relationships
• Daily Living

LEASE, a program of Larkin Street Youth Services, is a scattered-site residential program for youth ages 18-24 who have emancipated from the foster care system. Youth are housed in studio, one-bedroom, or two-bedroom apartments and receive a range of supportive services including counseling, employment training, education counseling, and case management. Most participants attend college on a part-time or full-time basis. Youth work with their Case Manager to develop an individual plan to meet their unique needs. For all participants, an emphasis is placed on developing the life skills needed for independent living such as household organization and money management.

The MA Outreach program assists teenage intensive foster care youths in preparing to live independently and to achieve permanency after exiting care. The goals of the program are to help youths earn high school diplomas, continue education, avoid nonmarital childbirth, avoid high-risk behaviors, avoid incarceration, gain employment, attain self-sufficiency, and avoid homelessness. Other goals include supporting youths' participation in higher education, achieving permanency through a connection to a caring adult, and identifying a support network.

My First Place (MFP) is a manualized education and employment program model that provides housing and intensive case management to transition-age foster youth. With a stable place to live, these young adults can ideally focus on education, employment, and career goals; build community; and establish foundations for long-term success. Participants are expected to develop and practice skills around housing, health and well-being, financial literacy, education, and employment. By individualizing plans for each youth to progress to living-wage career pathways, this program is designed to help these young adults build the education, experience, networks, and skills to be self-sufficient in the long term.

MyPath Savings is a banking and savings model that is designed to seamlessly integrate key financial capability components into youth workforce programs, including direct deposit, vetted youth-owned financial products (a checking and restricted savings account), a blended in-person and online financial education curriculum, and saving incentives. Youth participants are supported to open accounts, set a personal savings goal, set up direct deposit, use auto-split to save a designated portion of each paycheck, and incentives to meet their goal. MyPath provides workforce programs with the training and technical assistance they need to integrate these components into their existing program cycles.

The Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative's Opportunity Passport^TM helps young people improve their financial capability when transitioning from foster care. The Opportunity Passport^TM includes financial education and support with establishing, maintaining, and growing a bank account; and, purchasing developmentally appropriate assets through matched savings opportunities. The financial resources assist young people meet their life goals with asset purchases such as vehicles, education, housing, health care, investment, credit building and microenterprise endeavors. Opportunity Passport^TM participants complete a baseline survey at enrollment and a bi-annual survey for the duration of their participation in the program to measure progress.

Rising Tide Communities, developed by Orangewood Foundation, is a transitional housing program. The program provides a range of options for TAY, which includes housing, employment assistance, education assistance, ongoing training in day-to-day life skills, counseling and mentoring. Rising Tide Communities is an intentional community to assist TAY to develop skills that are designed to assist them in as they move into more permanent housing situation.

The Seita Scholars Program is a campus-based support program for undergraduate students who experienced foster care and are attending Western Michigan University. Students receive support from coaches to successfully navigate seven life domains:

• Academics
• Finances and employment
• Housing
• Physical and mental health care
• Social relationships and community connections
• Cultural and personal identity
• Life skills

Students have access to 24-hour on-call support and emergency financial resources. The program includes a scholarship at the university and students are required to live on campus.

The Thresholds Mothers Project Transitional Living Program (TLP) provides comprehensive services for 17-23 year-old pregnant/parenting young women with mental health challenges referred by child welfare, juvenile justice, or homelessness. The TLP includes 24-hour staffed residences where young mothers and their children live together, and receive support and guidance at the moments when it is most needed. Additionally, residents receive case management, individual and group therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills training, psychiatry, Parent Education, Supported Employment and Education services, and access to the Early Learning Center.

By utilizing the Transition to Independence Process (TIP) Model and other practices as the program's foundation, the Mothers Project and all Thresholds Youth & Young Adult Services focus heavily on creative engagement strategies, enhancing competencies, facilitating self-discovery, and utilizing a team approach driven by the young person's preferences for goal planning to help those who have been hardest to reach.

Works Wonders® promotes increased well-being, career development, employment and education engagement, relational competencies, and self-determination for youth who are currently in (or have aged out of) foster care and/or involved in other systems. Works Wonders® is not designed to simply place youth in jobs but works to help them explore career paths that align to their individual interests and needs while assisting them to build the social competencies that are necessary for positive, productive workplace relationships. The program addresses barriers to employment and educational attainment through community partnerships and leveraged resources. Works Wonders® aims to empower youth to achieve success as they transition into adulthood.

YouthBuild programs give low-income young people who have fallen off the edges of society the opportunity to transform their own lives, get back on track to adult responsibility, and give back to their communities. Each year about 10,000 low-income young people who have left high school without a diploma enroll full-time in YouthBuild programs for about 10 months. They spend at least 50% of their time, usually alternate weeks, in caring academic classrooms, and at least 40% in hands-on job training building affordable housing or other community assets. A strong emphasis is placed on creating a safe and caring community of adults and peers committed to each other's success.

In the course of their full-time enrollment, they:

• Achieve their high school equivalency credentials or high school diplomas in a caring individualized context
• Obtain job skills and earn a stipend, wage, or living allowance by working on building affordable, increasingly green housing for homeless and low income people in their communities
• Gain industry-recognized certifications in preparation for productive careers (in addition to construction, some train for jobs in healthcare, technology, or customer service)
• Solve personal problems with counseling support such as addressing urgent needs for housing or child care, working to have their juvenile justice records expunged, or other concerns
• Give back and lead through participation in community service and advocating for their communities on the local and national levels
• Transition into postprogram placements such as college, registered apprenticeships, other postsecondary opportunities, and employment, with support of a transition coordinator and mentors