MAKING A DIFFERENCE : Independent Living Skills Program : A Bridge From Foster Care to Self- Reliance
Few 18 year-olds have the education, experience or income to survive without any financial or social support from their families. Young adults “emanicipated” from foster or group homes are no exception. With sometimes abridged educations, no credit history and scanty guidance or encouragement, these youths risk homelessness, health problems and a lifetime of bad jobs or worse. Since 1989, the federally mandated and funded Independent Living Skills Program has given young adults leaving foster or group homes the boost that most teens get from parents. The program provides information and training to help kids get jobs, finish their education, manage their money and live as productive citizens. In Los Angeles County the process includes a combination of community college classes, training at job skills centers located at sites such as the Urban League and modest financial grants for education, housing and transportation until they are 21 years old.
The House of Representatives voted in March to eliminate the federal mandate and $70 million funding allocation for the Independent Living Program. The proposal, part of the GOP-dubbed Personal Responsibility Act, is under consideration by the Senate.
How the Program Works in Los Angeles County This year more than 2,000 youths ages 16-21 from Los Angeles County foster and group homes will participate in some portion of the program.
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1. Skills Instruction
Youths attend an eight-week class at one of 15 Los Angeles community colleges. Transportation is provided. They learn skills such as:
* how to read and respond to rental ads
* how to relate to their work supervisors
* how to handle acquaintances they don’t wish to see anymore
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2. Job Training and Education
At one of 10 skills centers countywide, youths: * receive job skills and interest testing and assessment
* sign up for volunteer positions and internships to gain workplace experience and get job referrals.
* complete high school or GED work, apply to colleges and vocational schools and apply for financial aid
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Participants may remain in this phase until they turn 19 years old or graduate from high school, whichever comes firs. *
3. Follow- Up
* Until they are 21 years old, participants are eligible for cash grants to secure or maintain housing, employment, transportation and education. Typically they receive modest amounts for items such as bus passes, resume printing, buying books or tools needed for college or vocational training and meeting security deposit requirements for an apartment.
Why Invest in the Independent Living Skills of Foster Youths?
“If we don’t pay for it now we will pay more for it in the future. When people tell me that cutting these kinds of programs is going to save me tax dollars, I think to myself: I’m going to end up paying for the girls who may end up pregnant and live off of welfare, for the youths who don’t go and get jobs or get an education. And many years from now when I approach SocialSecurity age, they’re not going to be contributing to the system.
Two of the girls I have worked with over these last four years are in college. They are making something of their lives. It is absolutely a good investment.
--Jean Swift-Riordan, an investment officer with Wells Fargo Bank, mentor to Alfrieda
TO GET INVOLVED: Call (310) 312-7925. Researched by CATHERINE GOTTLIEB / Los Angeles Times