2. Alumni of Care Together
Improving Outcomes Now
We bring together the voices of foster
care youth, alumni and allies, to create
lasting change and generate hope for
current and former foster youth, based on
access to resources, ally support and
alumni expertise.
3. Today’s Agenda
1.) Welcome and Purpose of the Day
2.) OAC and Independent Living Services
3.) Life Skills Assessment
4.) Exit Plan (including vital documents)
5.) Permanency Pact
6.) Statewide and Local Resources
7.) Hands-on Activities
8.) Next Steps to Move Forward
4. Transition to Young Adulthood for
a young person growing up with their
biological family
9. Federal Legislation
Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing
Adoptions Act of 2008
Title II, Section 202
• Mandates that 90 days prior to emancipation
from foster care, “a caseworker on the staff of the
State agency, and, as appropriate, other
representatives of the child provide the child with
assistance and support in developing a transition
plan that is personalized at the direction of the child,
includes specific options on housing, health
insurance, education, local opportunities for mentors
and continuing support services, and work force
supports and employment services, and is as
detailed as the child may elect.”
10. Ohio Administrative Code
• Ninety days prior to the youth’s
emancipation from the agency’s custody,
the PCSA or PCPA shall work with the youth
to develop a final transition plan.
• The plan shall be youth-driven and as
detailed as the youth chooses.
11. Vital Documents:
Prior to the youth’s emancipation from the agency’s
custody, the PCSA or PCPA shall coordinate with the
following agencies, to obtain necessary documents:
• an original birth certificate
• an original social security card
• a current state identification card
*OAC 5101:2-42-19: “Requirements for the provision of
independent living services to youth in custody”
12. Essential Elements:
• Post-Emancipation Services (if available)
• Healthcare; insurance, power of attorney
• Higher Ed; secondary, post-secondary
• Housing; obtaining, paying for
• Budgeting; credit report
• Selective Services (males must register)
• Existing Court Fees (preexisting)
• Existing Benefits; i.e. Social Security
17. What exactly
can I rely on you for?
It is critical to the youth’s success to identify those adults
who will continue to provide various supports through and
beyond the transition from care.
Clarifying exactly what the various supports will include
can help to avoid gaps in the youth’s safety net and
misunderstandings between the youth and the supportive
adult(s).
• A home for the holidays
• A place to do laundry
• An emergency place to stay
• Care packages while in college
• Storage
• Someone to discuss problems with
• A phone or computer to use
Wouldn’t it be great if we planned for these things ahead of time.
It’s wise to have an exit strategy.
One tool = a 90-day exit plan. Its definition and purpose
Preparing youth for the future – this is not an OPTION, this is FEDERAL LAW
The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 outlines federal requirements regarding essential elements to be covered in the development of a 90-day transition plan.
STATE LAW
The reason that the Youth Developed Discharge Plan is being piloted (in five Ohio counties) is because Ohio youth have reported NOT being provided with / involved in the development of a 90-day transition plan.
“The goal of an exit plan is to identify anticipated service needs for older youth who are in the process of transitioning out of foster care. Youth who have a comprehensive transition plan are better equipped to transition successfully from foster care to self-sufficiency. An unintended consequence of not preparing youth to exit from foster care is the youth becoming homeless.” (Missouri Dept. of Social Services)
Youth Access to Vital Documentation
The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 outlines federal requirements regarding essential elements to be covered in the development of a 90-day transition plan.
Both federal law and Ohio Administrative Code require that prior to the youth’s emancipated from foster care, they need to receive ORIGINALS (not copies) of these three documents.
What Other Documentation Might Help?
Letter of Verification of Dependency
Immunization records
Free credit report (www.annualcreditreport.com)
Tribal information when applicable
Death Certificates of parents, when applicable
Information on registering to vote
Information to males to sign up for the selective services (30 days prior to 18 or 30 days after 18)
Information on any existing court fees associated with the youth’s name prior to emancipation.
The plan shall include information regarding: (WHITEBOARD ACTIVITY)
Balloon activity
What if you try to make the very best plans possible, but something falls apart along the way?
If you are going to come hurtling through the sky, then obviously, you will want a SAFETY NET
Safety net activity: Choose at least 3 adults that you trust. Fill in the contact information for each person in your safety net.
FOSTERING CONNECTIONS ACT
It does take a village: During a youth panel at the 2006 Casey It's My Life conference, young people said that they needed an entire network of connections, and not just one person.
It is often up to us to identify those key figures in a child’s life, and to facilitate the building of future relationships.
Concurrent Permanency Planning offers caseworkers a structured approach to moving children more quickly from the uncertainty of foster care to the stability and security of a permanent family (having a back-up plan).
Historically, caseworkers have been taught to plan in a straight-line, sequential fashion: first to work diligently toward reunification with the biological family; and if after a year—or two or three—reunification looks unlikely, to then switch gears and start planning for adoption or another permanency option.
Unfortunately, by this time, the parents have usually become alienated from their child and the case planning process, the child will probably have to be moved from the temporary foster home to a pre-adoptive home, and the child’s length of stay in foster care has been prolonged unnecessarily.
Chart the Connections: There are a variety of different ways to map out on paper who the teenager has in their lives and the level of connectedness, and safety related to those connections (timeline, circle, ecomap, genogram, connectedness map) Do not ask the youth to make a Family Tree. DO invite and include youth input.
Introduction: “I don't know if you remember her but she remembers you as someone important in her life. As a social worker, I won’t always be around, but I want this information for her We’re worried about what might happen if she leaves foster care with no family connections.” (Ask for photos from childhood!!)
Even if they can't parent the youth, they can provide some support to the youth. Tell them, “Your family has some responsibility for her - and here are some ways to help.” (my bio-fam could have been helpful)
Reconnecting Can Be Painful
Hearing that your biological father asked for a DNA test, for example…
CBS interview with Leslie Stahl: Teens reunited with father -- only to discover that he was an alcoholic, their mother had died from a drug overdose and that their father has a total of 10 children, none of whom he had cared for. Imagine if you had built up hopes about your long-lost father. How he would come back into your life with a reason for being gone for so long. He was... abducted by aliens... in the Secret Service... stranded on a desert island. But, all the time he had been thinking of you, right? He had always been thinking of you. In that dream, your father isn't off fathering other children. He's not drowning his sorrows in a bottle.
When dreams die, we feel sadness, anger and disappointment. That is a normal reaction to facing the rift between ideal and reality. Teens are idealists; they want adults to display perfection. It is hard to face human frailty, false promises…
Preparation for permanency includes grieving the loss of people from their past, continuing to form personal identity, building trust and security through relationships, and developing an openness to forge permanent connections. Pain comes into our lives through relationships – but healing comes that way, too.
Paint a realistic picture for the youth: Finding a permanent family is not fast and there is no guarantee of success. Be prepared for the youth to become impatient or discouraged. Prepare for daily questions from the youth about how the search is going. Discuss their expectations. Ask the youth if they would like to bring anything to share with the family, such as art work, crafts or a video.
Take it slow: Give the youth details ahead of time, so they can mentally and emotionally prepare. Introduce the youth to the family member or other adult in a supervised setting. Accompany and support them during the visit. Make the first visit short and fun – and, if necessary, shorten visits to minimize stress and anxiety (my father’s birthday).
Debrief after: Debrief after the meeting. Don’t minimize the complexity of a youth's post-visit feelings. Listen to and validate youth concerns and reactions, and recognize them as a part of the process. Adults cope with impermanence by building on an accrued sense of self-reliance and by anticipating and planning for a time of greater constancy. Teens in foster care have a backlog of painful memories to fall back on… (vs. RC: secure base)
Permanency PactYouth transitioning from foster care are often unsure who they can count on for ongoing support. Many of their significant relationships with adults have been based on professional connections which will terminate once the transition from care is completed. It is critical to the youth’s success to identify those adults who will continue to provide various supports through and beyond the transition from care. Clarifying exactly what the various supports will include can help to avoid gaps in the youth’s safety net and misunderstandings between the youth and the supportive adult(s).Suggested Supports include: a home for the holidays, a place to do laundry, emergency place to stay, food/occasional meals, care package at college, employment opportunity, job search assistance, career counseling, housing hunt, recreational activities, mentor, transportation, educational assistance, relationship counseling, assistance with medical issues, storage, motivation, someone to discuss problems with, a phone to use, a computer to use, clothing, spiritual support, legal advise, etc.Copies of the Permanency Pact for each of the adults who has indicated a willingness to provide support should be made for the youth and placed in the Health and Education Passport, a document distributed to youth when they age out of care.
It is critical to the youth’s success to identify those adults who will continue to provide various supports through and beyond the transition from care.
Clarifying exactly what the various supports will include can help to avoid gaps in the youth’s safety net and misunderstandings between the youth and the supportive adult(s).
Permanency PactYouth transitioning from foster care are often unsure who they can count on for ongoing support. Many of their significant relationships with adults have been based on professional connections which will terminate once the transition from care is completed. It is critical to the youth’s success to identify those adults who will continue to provide various supports through and beyond the transition from care. Clarifying exactly what the various supports will include can help to avoid gaps in the youth’s safety net and misunderstandings between the youth and the supportive adult(s).Suggested Supports include: a home for the holidays, a place to do laundry, emergency place to stay, food/occasional meals, care package at college, employment opportunity, job search assistance, career counseling, housing hunt, recreational activities, mentor, transportation, educational assistance, relationship counseling, assistance with medical issues, storage, motivation, someone to discuss problems with, a phone to use, a computer to use, clothing, spiritual support, legal advise, etc.Copies of the Permanency Pact for each of the adults who has indicated a willingness to provide support should be made for the youth and placed in the Health and Education Passport, a document distributed to youth when they age out of care.
NAME THAT RESOURCE – each logo represents an existing resource OR funding stream
Dress for Success: ‘Suits to Self Sufficiency’- [email_address]
Each Dress for Success client receives one suit when she has a job interview and additional apparel when she becomes employed.
After a client finds work, she can return to Dress for Success for her employment suiting, during which we attempt to provide her with
enough additional apparel to mix and match for a week’s worth of outfits.
Job Fair Ohio: Easy to use; lists job fairs by cities