Youth Transitioning from Foster Care: Partnership for Success

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Youth Transitioning from Foster Care
Partnership for Success

• A training designed in collaboration with Kansas
  Youth
• Jennifer Propp and Brenda Chamberlain

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As an infant Brenda Chamberlain slept in a box.
Her parents lived on welfare and couldn't afford
a crib.
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Poem by Josh

• I can cry out and scream hoping you hear my every
  word
• Or I could just watch you walk by and let the
  message go unheard
• I could be lazy feel self-pity
• Weep, sulk and complain
• But I'd rather be strong and press on
• Towards a positive change
• I could blame my family and society
• For what they have failed to give
• Instead of letting the strength inside me
• Dictate the life I live
• I could be selfish and worry about me
• And all the things I need
• Or invest the same effort
• Towards trying to feed my seeds
• I could accept the violence and drugs
• That destroys our neighborhood
• But I wish to replace that grief with peace
• Sincerely if I could

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Competencies as Defined by Ks. Youth
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Competencies

• I want my worker and foster parent to know the
  system and help advocate for me
• I want my worker and foster parent to let me know
  what my rights are in the system
• I want my worker and foster parent to understand
  that I am unique (know menot my case file)
• I want my worker and foster parent to know that I
  am normal and have all the same desires as
  other teens.

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Competencies (continued)

• I want my worker and foster parents to
  communicate with me by involving me.
• I want my worker and foster parent to be
  trustworthy and dependable
• Teach me how to advocate for myself
• I want my worker and foster parent to understand
  that they are a work in progress and so am I.
• I want my worker and foster parent to know the
  importance of the work they do, because I do.

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Why Focus on Youth Who Age Out?
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Transitions Are Tough

• Transition from F.C. occur as one discrete event
  rather than a step-by-step process
• Grief and loss issues/Structure to no structure
• Lack of preparedness for life on their own
• Grown up in a life that is not normal but desire
  the same things as other teens

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Poor Outcomes
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• Youth experience poor outcomes once they leave
  care
• They fail in both tangible and intangible areas
  ranging from educational level to the ability to
  maintain stable relationships
• These poor outcomes are an indication of our need
  to better prepare youth and better assist youth
  once they are out of care

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Barriers that Prevent Success
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• Stereotypes
• Personal (internal and external)
• Community Supports
• Resources
• System

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Federal and State Policy

• I want my worker and foster parent to know the
  system and help advocate for me
• I want my worker and foster parent to let me know
  what my rights are in the system

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Chafee Purpose

• Calls for services and life skill preparation
• Emphasize the importance of relationships/mentors
• Promote Health/Mental Health care
• Promote Post- secondary education/employment
• Provides assistance and services for older youth
  who have left foster care but have not reached
  age 21
• Allows states to use 30 of the funds for room
  and board costs for youth ages 18 to 21 who have
  left care

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Chafee Purpose (continued)

• Helps older youth transitioning from foster care
  access needed health and mental health services
  by giving states the option of extending Medicaid
  to 18, 19, 20 year olds who have emancipated from
  foster care
• Medicaid coverage as an entitlement based on
  previous foster care status up to the age of 21
  as state option. Increases asset limit from 1000
  to 10,000

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Chafee Eligibility

• Those youth who are identified as likely to
  remain in foster care until age 18
• A portion of funds must be used to serve 18-21
  year olds who aged out at 18

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Chafee Requirements for the State

• Must decide how to define likely to remain in
  foster care as a measure of eligibility
• Must develop statewide services to prepare youth
• Must provide statewide training to workers,
  foster parents, and other providers
• Must involve youth in every aspect of their care
  including case planning, program development,
  evaluation, and training
• Must develop IL services for youth who have aged
  out of care at 18 and are under 21 years of age

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Chafee Requirements for the State

(continued)

• Must develop a stakeholder group made up of a
  wide variety of representative groups to help
  advise, evaluate, and develop the IL program for
  the state
• Must make decision regarding Medicaid option,
  whether to extend coverage to 18-21
• Must determine how to spend funds on room and
  board
• Must report on federally mandated outcomes

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SRS Program and Policies
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SRS General Goals

• All youth age 15 and older must have a plan and
  receive services to help them achieve needed life
  skills (Form CFS 8550, CFS 3005A CFS 3005B)
• Foster parents and care providers will provide
  the core training and experiences youth need
• During the time youth is in care their case
  manager is responsible for assessing gaps in
  skills development
• Youth must be involved in all planning related to
  their case, especially their own case planning
  process

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SRS Subsidy Eligibility

• The maximum amount of the plan is currently 400
  plus 50 for the community advisor
• Youth 18 to 21 years of age
• Must have completed IL life skills training
• Have entered into an IL agreement that is focused
  on attending school, or find employment, or start
  up funds to establish housing (may include one or
  all of the above) (Form CFS 8590 CFS 8591 CFS
  8593)

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SRS Subsidy Eligibility

• Must have a community mentor/advisor assigned
  (Form CFS 8592)
• Mentors help with subsidy planning/encouraged to
  be a supportive stable friend to youth (may
  include family, foster parent, teacher,
  minister, etc.)

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Tuition Waivers

• Eligibility
• youth must be in custody until 18 and accepted
  to Kansas Education Institution within 2 yrs of
  High School Graduation
• Benefits
• Tuition and fees waived (limit 8 semesters of
  undergraduate instruction)

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Tuition Waiver (cont)

• Requirements
• Full time student
• Good academic standing
• Part-time employment (minimum 10 hrs. a week)
• Continuing eligibility verified by the school of
  attendance
• Renew application annually
• Schools required to honor no more than 3 waivers
  an academic year

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Tuition Waiver Stats

• Summer 02 1 applied, 1 accepted
• Fall 02 25 applied, 15 accepted
• Spring 03 13 applied, 6 accepted
• Fall 03 to Spring 04 18 will remain eligible, 1
  is now over the age of 21 and will no longer be
  eligible. New application process will begin
  

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Motivating Youth/Effective Practice
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• The greatest good you can do for
• another is not just to share your riches, but to
  reveal to him his own
• Benjamin Disraeli

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Re-defining Success
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What Kansas Youth Have to Say About Success

• I guess I am successful, my workers tell me
  that, my foster parents tell me that, I just want
  to tell them to shut up! I dont feel
  successful. I mean I have a house, a job, and I
  just got my LPN but it doesnt feel right. I
  dont have a home, I dont have anyone to talk
  to. I just didnt think success would feel this
  lonely.

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Interdependent Living
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• Independent is defined as ...not influenced or
  controlled by others not relying on others for
  aid or support.
• Interdependent is defined as a process of
  counting on other people to provide help in
  coping physically and emotionally with the
  experiences and tasks encountered in the world
  when one has not sufficient skill, confidence,
  energy, and/or time
• What happens to our focus on IL preparation if we
  re-define success as Interdependent Living?

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Re-defining Our View Of Youth
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• Adultism Only seeing the world through an adult
  perspective and thereby minimizing the
  perspective of youth. In child welfare youth are
  often excluded from decision making regarding
  their own lives, and have little impact on their
  own case outcomes.
• Learned Helplessness A result of adultism we may
  create for youth a sense of learned helplessness.
  This may often get translated as lack of
  motivation.

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Positive Youth Development

• I want my worker and foster parent to
  understand that I am unique (know menot my case
  file)
• I want my worker and foster parent to know that
  I am normal and have all the same desires as
  other teens.
• I want my worker and foster parent to
  communicate with me by involving me

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• Emphasize the strengths and capacities of youth
• View youth as a resource
• Involve youth in every aspect of their care
• Allow for opportunities for youth to take on
  leadership decision making roles
• Understand normal aspect of adolescent
  development (they are all in turmoil whether in
  foster care or not)
• As Batavick (1997) describes, there are three
  possible approaches to working with youth, 1). If
  youth are seen as needy, we provide them with
  things, 2). If youth are seen as problems, we
  contain them, 3). If youth are seen as a
  resource, we build on their strengths.

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Goals of PYD

• Create environment and allows for opportunities
  for youth to feel safe in practicing development
  skills
• Involve youth in all aspects of decision making
• Establish Collaborative Partnerships with youth
  adultsencourage collaborative projects
• Facilitate youth empowermentencourage youth how
  to find their own voice, their own power.
• Shed role of expertshare knowledge and power

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Degrees Of PYD

• None at all unchallenged complete authority of
  worker
• Tokenism Worker sets agenda and makes decision.
  One or two youth may be consulted but their
  view/opinion not take seriously
• Consultation Workers consult youth but
  parameters set by workers
• Representation Select number of youth chosen to
  represent peers, usually via committee
• Participation Youth set agenda, decide on issues
  and activities, have joint accountability with
  workers
• Self-Managing Youth manage with little or no
  adult guidance

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Communication Killers

• Avoid Moralizing, judging, lecturing, patronizing
  (dont say things that sound like your mother
  talking)
• Not visiting them and not keeping your word
• Lowering the Bar of competency expectations
• Forcing whats practical and not letting them
  have a chance to dream a little
• Not involving them until they are ready to be
  released

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Assessment

• I want my worker and foster parent to understand
  that I am unique (know menot my case file)
• I want my worker and foster parents to
  communicate with me by involving me.

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• Conduct standardized assessments (Independence
  should be based on readiness of youth not just by
  age)
• Assessments need to evaluate youth readiness in
  both tangible and intangible areas
• Should assess skill areas of Education,
  Employment, Housing, Money Management, Health,
  Pregnancy and Parenting, Social Support
• Continue to assess family connections
• NO COOKIE CUTTER APPROACH!!!!!!!!

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Preparation and Planning

• Teach me how to advocate for myself
• I want my worker and foster parent to understand
  that they are a work in progress and so am I.
• I want my worker and foster parent to include me
  in decision making

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Typical IL Preparation

• At 16 we begin to teach life skills
• Focused primarily on tangible skills of
  education, employment, housing, health, pregnancy
  parenting.
• Use life skill curriculum and teach in a
  classroom type learning environment
• Define Success as achieving Independence and
  Self-Sufficiency

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Effective Preparation Strategies

• Youth should be encouraged to remain in care
  until adequately prepared to make the transition
• Create a hands on, real world learning
  environment in which youth can learn needed life
  skills.
• Allow time for youth to practice rehearse these
  skills in the real world
• Begin preparing youth at early ages
• Emphasize positive youth development
• Assist youth in establishing/re-establishing or
  working through redefining their relationships
  with family of origin prior to discharge

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Transitional Planning

• Create comprehensive, continuous transitional
  plan based on unique needs of youth (as
  determined by assessment)
• Need to include plans related to education,
  employment, housing, health, finances,
  pregnancy/parenting, and support
• Encourage Youth participation in their life plan
• Be clear of roles and expectation of all
  participants
• Establish Relationship Permanency

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Relationship Permanency

• I want my worker and foster parent to be
  trustworthy and dependable
• I want my worker and foster parent to show me
  they care

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Relationship Permanency

• Re-thinking permanency as more than a placement,
  but a lifelong relationship. Must assist youth to
  define family or family like connections prior to
  and after leaving foster care

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• As one national expert remarks, Supportive
  relationships are the single most important
  factor in how successful youth will be when they
  leave care. The quality of the personal support
  network will be the greatest indicator of success
  for these youth once out on their own
• Programs that establish continuous connections
  for youth lead to better outcomes for youth once
  they leave care
• Social Support is the glue the foundation in
  which to build all other life skill preparation

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Relationship Permanency Mentoring

• Kinship mentoring
• Peer mentoring
• Foster parent mentoring
• E-mentoring
• Supportive Practice
• Continue to assess family despite permanency goal
• Teach survival skills in dealing w/family post
  placement
• Create formal and informal mentoring
  opportunities

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Relationship Permanency Bridging Ties of Foster
Parents

• Foster parents are the single most important
  teacher in life skill development
• Foster parents can provide the bridge for youth
  making the transition out of care
• Supportive practice
• Train, teach, prepare and support foster parents
  to work w/older youth
• Create policies and practices to encourage
  ongoing involvement post care

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After Care Planning
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• Provide services to youth until age of 21
• Provide resource information to all youth upon
  exiting system
• Conduct exit interviews and assessments
• Inform youth of their rights according to Chafee
• Provide both formal and informal supportive links
• Implement plan for Relationship Permanency

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Sibling Connections

• Can be the longest relationship in life.
• In Kansas
• About 20 (592) are not placed with siblings
• Nationally
• Over 500,000 children in the U.S are in foster
  care
• 65 85 entering have at least one sibling
• 30 entering have four siblings or more
• 3 out of 4 children in foster care are separated
  from at least one sibling

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Supportive Practices

• Foster parents and workers
• Advocate for sibling groups to the court
• Foster parents take in sibling groups
• Encourage sibling groups to advocate for
  themselves and each other
• Listen to the youth wishes
• The system
• Listen to what the youth want
• Encourage the sibling group connection
• Encourage foster parents to take in these groups,
  maybe have an incentive