	Foster Care Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-FC 13: Transition to Independent Living

Youth are prepared with positive experiences and skills to make a successful move to living and managing on their own.

Research Note: Agencies should explore the definition of independence with youth to ensure that youth are transitioning into a living arrangement that meets their needs and honors their belief system and cultural values. Establishing strong interdependent relationships with a committed caregiver, extended family, and supportive community members can smooth the transition into adulthood and independence.

NA The agency does not serve youth transitioning to independence.

PA-FC 13.01

The agency provides youth transitioning to independence with at least six months advance notice of the cessation of any health, financial, or other benefits that will occur at transition or case closing.

PA-FC 13.02

The agency prepares youth for a successful transition by providing:

for transfer or termination of custody, as applicable;
information about rights and services to which the youth may have access as a result of a disability;
information on availability of affordable community based healthcare and counseling;
information about court and welfare systems;
information to maintain an ongoing relationship with their tribe and tribal community members, as applicable;
information about child care services, as applicable; and
support through community volunteers or individuals who have made a successful transition, as appropriate.

PA-FC 13.03

During the transition process, and prior to case closing, the agency explores a range of living situations with youth and engages them in an evaluation of the risks and benefits of various housing options.

Interpretation: Housing options may include a full range from supported living to a fully independent living environment. When the case involves an Indian child, the agency should work with the tribe and the youth in transition to explore the risks and benefits of housing options within Indian country and prepare youth for this potential transition.

PA-FC 13.04

The agency ensures that an adequate living arrangement is in place for every person transitioning to independence and, when possible, provides supervised household management practice.

Research Note: Research indicates that many youth who have been separated from their homes experience high levels of housing instability and are at increased risk for homelessness. Accordingly, some experts emphasize the importance of providing concrete assistance to help youth secure appropriate housing, and recommend that independent living programs subsidize rental costs or develop transitional housing programs. Financial assistance for room and board may be available to former foster youth through the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program.

PA-FC 13.05

For every youth transitioning to independence, the agency ensures that basic resources are in place, including:

a source of income;
affordable health care;
access to at least one committed, caring adult;
access to cultural supports; and
access to positive peer support.

Research Note: A body of strong evidence supports the importance for positive outcomes of children and youth having at least one consistent caring adult in their lives to provide guidance and support.

PA-FC 13.06

The agency assists youth in obtaining or compiling documents necessary to function as an independent adult, including:

an identification card;
a social security or social insurance number;
a resume, when work experience can be described;
a driver’s license, when the ability to drive is a goal;
an original copy of the youth’s birth certificate;
religious documents and information;
documentation of immigration, citizenship, or naturalization, when applicable;
documentation of tribal eligibility or membership;
death certificates when parents are deceased;
a life book or a compilation of personal history and photographs, as appropriate;
a list of known relatives, with relationships, addresses, telephone numbers, and permissions for contacting involved parties;
previous placement information; and
educational records, such as high school diploma or general equivalency diploma, and a list of schools attended, when age-appropriate.

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	PURPOSE: Children and youth who receive Foster Care Services live in a stable home, remain safe and healthy, and achieve permanency and well-being.

RELATED FILES


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	CAREGIVER The provider of physical, emotional, and social needs to another person, often dependent and unable to provide for his or her own needs. Caregiver is the generic term used for the direct service providers in Community Care and Support Services (CCS).


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	COMMUNITY A specific group of people living in the same locality and who may share a common culture, values, and norms. Communities can also be defined by race, religion, ethnicity, age, occupation, political status, tribal affiliation, interest in particular problems or outcomes, or other common bonds. The term "community" encompasses worksites, schools, tribes, residential neighborhoods, business districts, recreational areas, and health and human service sites.


	CASE CLOSING A voluntary or involuntary process which occurs when an organization no longer assumes responsibility for providing services to a particular individual, group, or family. Also known as "termination" or "discharge."


	CUSTODY The care, control, and maintenance of a child. The court legally can award custody to an agency in abuse and neglect cases or to parents in divorce, separation, or adoption proceedings. Child welfare departments retain legal custody and control of major decisions for a child in foster care; foster parents do not have legal custody of the children for which they provide care.


	VOLUNTEER An individual who performs services for an organization for civic, charitable, or humanitarian reasons, without promise, expectation, or receipt of compensation for services rendered. Such service must be offered freely and without pressure or coercion, direct or implied, from an employer. If the individual is otherwise employed by the same employer for which s/he volunteers, the individual cannot volunteer to perform the same type of services that s/he is paid to perform as an employee.


	EVALUATION The review and assessment of organizational operations, programs and services.


	CASE A general term used to designate clients (including individuals, families, and groups) served by an organization for purposes of monitoring the provision of services. A foster care case is generally based on the placement of an individual child, although casework for the child may include services to the child's family. A child protective services case is based on an entire family household if a family assessment model is used; otherwise a case is defined as a child.


	INDIAN CHILD As defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), "Any unmarried person who is under age eighteen and is either (a) a member of an Indian tribe or (b) eligible for membership in an Indian tribe and is the biological child of a member of an Indian tribe." For purposes of compliance with ICWA, the definition provided in the Act shall apply. For purposes of access to services and resources, other more inclusive definitions may apply (e.g. Indian Education Act, tribal definitions, etc.).


	TERMINATION See CASE CLOSING


	MANAGEMENT See ADMINISTRATION


	PRACTICE Established actions or ways of proceeding in the regular performance of organizational duties. Policies and procedures often guide practice.


	RESEARCH For purposes of COA accreditation, all forms of internal or external research involving persons served except internal program evaluation and outcomes research, or educational projects performed by students and interns that are part of their professional training.


	PROGRAM A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.


	ELIGIBILITY The degree to which an individual, family, group, or community meets the specific criteria and qualifications required to receive goods, benefits, or services.


	PARENTS Parents can include: birth, foster, kinship, and adoptive parents. Please see service standards for more specific information about use of this term.


	LIFE BOOK A pictorial and written representation of the child's life designed to help the child make sense of his unique background and history. The life book includes, but is not limited to, birthparents, other relatives, birthplace and date and can be put together by the social workers and foster/adoptive parents working with the child.