Independent Living Program The Independent Living Program is an opportunity to help youth 16 and older prepare for a successful transition out of foster care towards living on their own. The goal of this program is to provide an unstructured, yet supportive environment where the youth can focus on education, employment, money, budgeting, and other activities. The relationship with the foster parents along with natural and logical consequences will be used in the homes.

Education Youth must attend school while setting goals for graduation from high school (i.e., night school packets) *Youth must know the requirements for graduating from high school and what credits they need *For those youth who do not struggle as much in school, encourage mainstream classes, vocational classes such as auto mechanics, computers, and business classes *Job skills may also be obtained through YESS, Alliance, &WEA Youth are responsible to get themselves to and from school as well as keeping up on homework assignments If youth are unable to graduate from high school they must work towards an alternative such as taking the GED, Job Corps, alternative high schools

Education Encourage some form of continuing education, skills training *For youth looking towards continuing education, they must apply for college early in their senior year *ACT testing should be done sometime in junior year or early senior year *Each youth in state’s custody is allowed one free ACT test. They must contact their school counselor *Youth should apply for financial aid for college. This should be done at least three months ahead of time *Joining the military may be a good option for some as it will give help develop skills and pay for schooling *There are other schools for specific skills such as computers, cosmetology, auto mechanics, etc. that may fit best for some youth

Education All youth need to take a driver’s education class. If there is no one to sign for the license, such as a parent, the youth should take the class closer to age 18, so that the credit for the class will still count towards obtaining a driver’s license (the permit from school lasts 6 months) *DCFS has a contract with A-1 driving school if the youth is unable to take the class at school. The youth will need to contact their caseworker for further information. Independent living youth should take the Basic Living Skills class through DCFS. This will provide skills training and money for the youth to put towards an apartment.

Employment All youth 16 or older are expected to have a job *If youth do not have a job, a minimum number of applications/interviews must be completed weekly with a goal set for when a job must be in place *Youth will be responsible to keep track of their work schedule and get themselves to and from work *UYV will partner with employers to help find youth jobs and coordinate with employers to maximize results *Encourage youth to balance school and working, set a plan for themselves

Employment If youth are placed as ILP, they will have a 4-6 week internship with Utah Youth Village, if necessary, based on lack of or poor job skills *This will include on the job training and formal job performance evaluations *This may also include internships with partnering employers which may lead to continued employment Youth may also sign up for the Youth Employability Program through Work Force Services

Money and Budgeting Youth should open up a savings account. This can be done jointly with a parent or caseworker. Or the youth may set up their account without a co-signer at a credit union *Watch who the youth put as co-signers as that person may take the money Youth should put a minimum amount of their paychecks into their savings account *Negotiate with the youth in how much they want to save for the future. This will help determine how much they should put in each time *Some caseworkers may have a set amount they expect the youth to save *If the youth have any fines, those must be paid before spending money

Money and Budgeting The youth should purchase their own bus pass if finances allow Foster parents should give the youth their monthly clothing allowance so the youth can purchase their own clothing *A letter from the caseworker must be in the file for the youth to be given the money *Have the youth sign a receipt for the money given to them and return all receipts for clothing and other items purchased with that money *Encourage youth to buy clothing needed before wanted, encourage them to buy appropriate clothing (modest clothing, no foul language or gang affiliation) *They will need to save for bigger purchases such as coats or certain shoes

Money and Budgeting *The youth should have a budget planned on how the money will be spent *Do not give the youth extra money. They should earn money for extra items such as CD’s, video games, school activities, etc. *Special needs money is available but should only be used to help youth with extra curricular activities such as sports, dance, etc. Give the youth a budgeted amount to plan, buy groceries, and prepare a meal for the entire family that is healthy as well as economical Encourage youth to start preparing for living arrangements *Youth should be knowledgeable of costs for deposits, rent, utilities, etc.

Money and Budgeting If youth want to purchase a car they must start saving money, research car insurance, maintenance, and fuel costs Youth should be educated on the consequences of credit card debt *The youth will be sent several letters from credit card companies saying they are already qualified. Educate them on interest rates and long term costs. *Youth may want all the luxuries they have had in the past and should be cautioned on purchases of needs versus wants, avoiding rent to own centers, and other potential pitfalls

Other activities Youth should keep in contact with their caseworkers to update them on their progress Youth should make all dental, health, and eye care appointments *They are responsible to get themselves to the appointment, take and return a filled out health care visit report as required by DCFS Youth should be a part of preparing a meal for the family they live with including a budget to follow and preparing a healthy meal Youth are responsible to wash their own clothing, keep their room clean, take care of their hygiene, and complete other tasks as part of daily living *Foster parents are not to remind the youth to do these tasks. Let natural consequences fall into place

Other activities Youth on medication need to be responsible to take their medications and sign a medication log. The youth should be allowed to make their own decisions as much as possible such as bedtime, curfew, dating, etc. The youth should be working on developing or improving biological family relationships as these are the people the youth will turn to when they are on their own

Most important Build relationships with the youth, mentor them. Instead of teaching skills directly, model for the youth, negotiate, encourage. The relationship you have with the youth will have great impact on their success. Let them make decisions and fail. Let natural and logical consequences fall as they will. Loosen the structure of your home dramatically. No daily schedule, laundry days, chore check off, study hour, bedtime expectations. No point cards!!! The youth will use the achievement card to track SDS. In order to not confuse other program youth, these youth are not achievement youth. They are independent living youth. Allow for time when the youth may need to talk or be counseled. Let them come to you! The youth will make mistakes. Allow them to fail! Do not rescue them. We would rather have them fail now in a loving and supportive home instead of later on their own.

Other resources to help This website can help the youth assess several life skill areas and the needs they may have. It is a great tool in preparing the youth for what they need to work on towards independent living. DCFS requires that each independent youth take this test within 30 days of placement. Your consultant or the youth’s caseworker can help with instructions on how to take this test and get the scores to the correct people. This website has a wealth of information including schooling requirements, financial aid, housing, finances, substance abuse and mental health services, sex education, resources for pregnancy and parenting, legal needs, transportation, employment, food/nutrition, social activities, and much, much more! Please don’t use this as a substitute for the skills you can provide the youth

Independent Living Program This training presentation is available for download at: © 2007 Utah Youth Village.