The California Department of Social Services uses state funds for the Transitional Housing Program-Plus (THP+), which began in 2002 to provide housing assistance to youth formerly in foster care between ages 18 and 21. States may have an income test (e.g. Living in a condemned building. A youth can access a TLP as early as two months prior to leaving care. For example, Arizona gives out pamphlets at community colleges and at behavioral health organizations. Youth may stay in care for the entire school year if they are working on their high school completion and 6 months if they are working on their GED. [9] Youth Villages in Tennessee has engaged in internal evaluation and is currently undergoing an experimental design evaluation. Minnesota allocates its Chafee funding (not just room and board) to the counties, tribes, and an array of non-profit agencies statewide. Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago. 468.07Kb), Note: Documents in PDF format require the Adobe Available at http://www.fosteringconnections.org/tools/assets/files/Older-Youth-brief-2011-Final.pdf Accessed 1/9/12. 2007. Adult Foster Care is sometimes called Community Residential Settings (CRS). The study focuses on room and board provisions made available through the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (CFCIP or "the Chafee program"), which since 1999 has given states the option to use up to 30 percent of federal Chafee program dollars on housing for eligible youth. In order to be ready to take over the rent, youth typically must already have income of some sort, from a job, SSI, or educational support. Each year the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program provides $140 million for independent living services to assist youth as they age out of foster care and enter adulthood. What is Housing First? When asked what makes the program a good model, she responded, "I think part of it is the flexibility to use funding and coordinate with other agencies because they are not as bureaucratically structured in that sense and have more capability to determine shorter term goals and outcome needs." However, the NYTD will collect a limited amount of data. Transitional Housing Placement Program (THPP) for youth in placement. "So if [youth formerly in foster care] haven’t graduated from high school then that would be their primary focus?They do receive one-on-one case management, also life skills training provided by the provider and assistance in enrolling in college and the financial aid process.". Youth who are in high school and making a concerted effort to graduate may be maintained in care by the courts beyond age 18. Through this mechanism, youth work on learning life skills necessary for maintaining their housing, dealing with roommates, etc. Recently, the Texas legislature passed a bill requiring Texas institutions of higher education to provide housing between academic terms (including summer and winter breaks) for youth who aged out of foster care. The program’s capacity to support youth after 6 months is even less certain. In particular, one official particularly liked a program that emphasized education and training. Staff in Indiana provided an example, "Now we have a youth that maybe loses their job and has a child and something is going on with the child and all their savings are depleted and they are not going to make the rent. Under this Act, youth who remain in care past age 18 will receive housing support partially covered by federal funds, which will potentially free up Chafee resources. A few states inspect a unit before releasing Chafee funds. Although some states offer just one of these types of supports, other states have all three available to youth. We emphasize that these states may not represent the United States as a whole, but reflect only those that chose to use the maximum amount of their Chafee allocation on housing. They feel the potential problems with youth tenants could jeopardize the housing authority’s relationship with landlords. Youth do not need to be in school or working to be eligible. Available at http://www.napcwa.org/Youth/docs/Housing.pdf, National Child Welfare Resource Center for Youth Development and the National Foster Care Coalition. Amounts Vary: The amount of start-up funds available to youth varies considerably by state, ranging from $500 in New Mexico and Texas to $2,000 in Utah. By six months, the youth takes on 100 percent of the rent. Many of these resources are available to homeless individuals and families and are not child welfare programs. New Mexico has contracts with five community providers to run Transitional Living Programs (TLP) throughout the state. Virtually all the IL Coordinators in this study view the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) as providing this type of information in the future. Guidance documents are intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies. This philosophy limits Chafee support primarily to youth who will most likely make a successful transition out of care and provides them the initial funding they need due to lack of savings. Assessing the Impact of Extending Care beyond Age 18 on Homelessness: Emerging Findings from the Midwest Study. Most youth exit foster care by age 18, but nearly every state allows older youth to remain in care until a maximum age between 19 and 21 under certain conditions (e.g., while enrolled in school, or if the youth have qualifying medical conditions) (see Appendix D, Table D1). Under this formula grant program, states are provided allocations and allowed to use up to 30 percent of program funds for room and board for youth ages 18 to 21 who have left care. Some were hesitant to make much use of these vouchers for many of the youth they serve because they did not feel the time period was adequate to provide a solid transition out of foster care. Become a licensed foster family to provide temporary homes and care for children while their families complete the reunification process.. With the exception of the last category, Chafee funding has been supporting those eligible to stay in care under this Act. The pilot program includes a tenant training workshop, as well as credit counseling, financial budgeting, parenting classes, and child care. Youth are not officially in foster care past 18 but may sign a voluntary agreement and then continue receiving the same care and opportunities as though they were in foster care. Connected by 25, The Finance Project and the Youth Transition Funders Group. Given that not all youth require housing support, or may not require the funds available through the Chafee program, this dollar estimate represents a lower bound. Although the legislation requires states to submit a plan and indicate the proportion of the state’s funding that will go toward room and board, states do not systematically collect specific details about services, implementation, and other funding sources for housing. State by State Fact Pages. Most IL programs make efforts to get information to these youth. Another official described a housing program that includes a mentoring component. 4000 N. Silverbell Rd. The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 gives states the option to support youth in foster care until their 21st birthdays using federal funds made available through Title IV-E of the Social Security Act (Title IV-E funds). Youth who are not in school or working will find taking advantage of this support difficult. But put another way, to support youth at only $300 per month, the available funding would support approximately one-eighth of currently eligible youth in these states. Lighthouse Independent living Programs: Characteristics of Youth Served and Their Outcomes at Discharge. Eligible youth apply for a six month voucher that covers rent and utilities. Welcome to the Transition From Foster Care to Adulthood Wiki. In the latter case, youth receive a monthly amount and are responsible for spending decisions. PaymentAccuracy.gov, HUD USER On the other hand, youth in Kentucky cannot live with a roommate and in Tennessee a roommate or girlfriend’s income may decrease their per diem amount, thus creating a disincentive to share living quarters. Two federal programs that include housing support are the Chafee Education and Training Voucher (ETV) program administered by HHS and HUD’s Family Unification Program (FUP). "That makes it hard to separate out that money and almost all of them get strictly housing money from another source and they also go to their local PHA [public housing authority] for assistance." The child welfare agency does not want to set youths up for failure. Non-monetary assistance includes housing-related services such as help finding an apartment, filling out a housing application, or developing a budget. However, depending on the status of a state or county budget, funds may not be available to youth. This report has focused primarily on how states spend their Chafee funding to provide housing support for youth who age out of foster care. He or she must locate an appropriate place to live. Other states have programs to help homeless youth, some funded through Chafee; however none of the other states covered in this study dedicate their Chafee funds to this population of youth. Education and Training Voucher (ETV) Program. In Indiana the Chafee IL service provider talks to landlords about the unique needs of youth formerly in foster care. We summarize and discuss implications of Chafee room and board provisions in the final section. Typically a youth needs to have been in care at age 14. In Texas, for example, the case manager "?works with the youth to develop a plan for transition to self-sufficiency after assistance ends. Available at https://www.azdes.gov/main.aspx?menu=150&id=1780, California Ombudsman for Foster Youth. The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 allows states to use federal funds to keep youth in foster care until age 21, if the youth meets certain conditions such as being in school or working. Students are eligible until their 26th birthday. Generally states require youth to work with a case manager to identify their living costs, develop a budget, and show how they will be able to meet expenses over time. The program functions like a short-term Section 8 voucher program. Youth who are between ages 18 and 21 and have aged out of foster care are eligible for THP+. In addition, many child welfare independent living programs help youth learn money management or create a budget. ), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family member approved by the state. Adult Foster Care (AFC) is a type of housing for people with disabilities and seniors who need some daily care, but do not need skilled nursing care. We approached all 20 states planning to use 30 percent of their Chafee allocation for housing room and board and held discussions with staff in 17 of the 20 states. Below we highlight common themes several people expressed. The largest percentages are African American and Latino children. To remain in care under The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, a youth must be enrolled in school, working, in a training program, or unable to engage in any of these activities due to a medical condition. Under the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, states may use Title IV-E funds to support youth who stay in foster care until they turn 21, as long as they meet certain educational and employment requirements. States that provide the funds to the youth feel money management is part of learning life skills while states that pay landlords directly feel that ensuring the money goes toward the intended purposes is a more important priority. One interesting distinction in how states implement their programs is that some states provide funds directly to youth while others make payments to landlords. DHS-1472, Foster Care Supportive Visitation Service Agreement . Using the customized set of questions for each state, we contacted the state’s Independent Living (IL) Coordinator, who is the program lead for services to youth currently and formerly in foster care, and scheduled a time to talk by telephone. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Family Unification Program (FUP) requires public housing agencies to team with child welfare agencies to compete for housing choice vouchers that can be used for certain child welfare families and for youth ages 18 to21 who aged out of foster care. In Utah, the case managers "?check up on the youth, that they are not violating their lease agreement and make sure that they participate and manage their money so they won’t get into debt, what parents would do with kids on their own.". In many cases this involves handing out pamphlets or brochures in places where youth formerly in foster care frequent. Given that not all youth require housing support, or may not require the funds available through Chafee, this dollar estimate represents a lower bound. In Illinois, where youth could stay in care until age 21 with no restrictions (prior to the state adoptingThe Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008), a high percentage chose to stay in care (Courtney and Dworsky 2006, Courtney, et al. "Step-Down" Payment Approach: Several states use a step-down approach to provide ongoing housing support with Chafee funds. Several states use Chafee funding to cover housing for ETV recipients during summer months when youth are not enrolled and thus not covered by their ETV. State officials felt it important to enable youth to sustain their housing after aging out of foster care. It is a litmus test. DHS-1471, Foster Care Supportive Visitation and In-Home Parent Education Initial Assessment . The monetary assistance states provide to youth generally covers start-up costs, short-term ongoing support, and/or emergencies. In this section we describe several programs within child welfare agencies specifically targeted at youth who age out of foster care, but do not utilize Chafee funds. New Mexico also contracts with five community organizations to provide Transitional Living Programs using the Runaway and Homeless Youth services model. and A. Dworsky. The scholarship pays up to the full cost of attendance for fall, spring and summer terms after other public funds and scholarships have been applied. In Illinois, youth in subsidized independent living are responsible for an increasing share of the rent over time. Note: Guidance documents, except when based on statutory or regulatory authority or law, do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. years old to be eligible. If the youth are homeless and have nowhere to stay, we can help them. Quotes presented in this report are based on notes and may not be exact. Some states have developed programs of their own. Independent Living Coordinators identified a need for longer term housing options. Like other states, Delaware offers rental/security deposit assistance to youth that attain their own rental units. Some agencies that did make use of FUP vouchers for youth did so as part of a broader strategy using the 18 month period as a bridge to another program. Further, youth are not required to be employed or going to school at the time they apply for housing; however, the goal is that they will be able to sustain an apartment after six months. Chafee funding may be used to cover summer months when the youth is not enrolled. Allocated to youth directly based on their requested need: Some states allocate funds to individual youth directly based on need. As noted, these life skills usually include making a budget. This report focuses primarily on how states spend their Chafee funding to provide housing support for youth and concentrates on the states that, according to the plans they filed with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), indicated they would spend the maximum 30 percent on room and board. In Florida youth must have been in care for at least 6 months to be eligible. Chafee funding has typically been supporting youth eligible to stay in care under this Act. [4] Kentucky is unique in that they offer their Chafee housing assistance exclusively to youth who are homeless. U.S. Census Bureau. NC Reach is a state-funded scholarship available for up to four years for youth going to any of the 74 North Carolina public colleges, universities, or community colleges. Note: Adult Foster Care is different than children living in foster care. To qualify for the Title IV-E maintenance payments, youth in foster care must be in a licensed or "supervised independent living" setting (Public Law 110?351 Sect.

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