	Youth Independent Living Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-YIL 2: Service Philosophy

The program is guided by a service philosophy that:

sets forth a logical approach for how activities, interventions, support, and opportunities will meet the needs of youth least prepared to achieve well being as a young adult;
incorporates youth perspectives; and
guides the development and implementation of services and activities based on program goals, strategies, and the best available evidence of effectiveness.

Research Note: The only comprehensive study of the value of life skills training for older youths in foster care reported outcomes are strongest when training for five core life skills is combined. A significant implication, drawn from a demonstration of potential for life skills to make a positive difference, has been to recognize the narrowness of life skills training and interruption in a positive trajectory that occurs for young women who become pregnant and assume parenting responsibilities. These findings can usefully inform state foster care programs and service providers taking a life skills only approach and who orient program offerings with limited expectations for youth knowing that youth can refuse to participate in independent living services, participate minimally, or drop out.

Research Note: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA), responsible for serving disadvantaged youth under Title 1 of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), set a goal of partnerships between state and local workforce systems and tribal governments. The vision, to develop and deploy a workforce that includes Neediest Youth, encompasses giving priority to youth in foster care, those aging out of foster care, youth offenders, children of incarcerated parents, migrant youth, youth with disabilities, and Indian and Native American youth. ETA aims to implement performance based initiatives that assure funding for youth programs, and to focus systems and programs on outcomes. ILS programs that pursue WIA-funded youth programs for some services will note that this initiative falls under the OMB’s common measures for youth guidelines, which define outcomes for younger and older youth, tied in with career and technical education under the Perkins Act. Under 2005 policy guidance, states and local workforce investment bureaus can present data on the share of youth harder to serve as part of the standards negotiation process

Research Note: Some independent living programs are guided by the general philosophy of positive youth development. This approach sets expectations for an “intentional, deliberate process of providing support, relationships, experiences and opportunities that promote positive outcomes for young people, broadly viewed as increasing capacity to be happy, healthy and successful.” A systematic review of 77 positive youth development programs having an adequate description of the intervention and outcome measures, identified eight elements the authors considered to be core, including self-determination. The review reduces to 25 the number of programs the authors consider model based on evaluations of effectiveness.

Research Note: An evaluation of two multi-service youth empowerment programs compared results obtained when different styles of goal setting, progress monitoring, and performance feedback were used: one traditional, clinical and open ended; the other directly engaging youth in setting goals and evaluating their progress. A difference found in service provider goals for youth, and goals espoused by youth, suggests that whereas one approach focused on subjective, internal indicators, the other focused on measurable performance, such as improving grades in school; similarly, whereas measures of success for counselors can be service availability or activity level, for youth jobs or pay can mean success. Systematic involvement of youth in outcome assessment is recommended, as is continuous comparison between provider and service recipient goals.

Research Note: A recent policy report directed at investing in successful futures for foster youth offers an example of organizing activity and focusing resources, directed at achieving a specific aim, using a logic model. In this example, the model specifies conditions, strategies, and desired outcomes, including indicators and performance measures, that may be of interest to programs, communities, and foundations. The body of research noted supports a comprehensive, community-based approach to strengthening families and protecting children consistent with provision of support for youth independent living.

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	PURPOSE: Young adults who receive Independent Living Services obtain safe and stable housing, develop life skills and competencies including work readiness, achieve educational and financial growth goals, and establish healthy, supportive adult and peer relationships.

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.


	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.


	SERVICE PHILOSOPHY The theoretical framework that describes and explains an organization's approach to service.


	TRAINING Instruction so as to make fit, qualified, or proficient in a skill or body of knowledge.


	OLDER YOUTH In the context of Volunteer Mentoring Services, middle school and high school students.


	ADMINISTRATION The personnel responsible for management functions of the organization, including fiscal management, human resources, and service delivery. Such personnel determine organizational goals, acquire and allocate resources to carry out a program, coordinate activities toward goal achievement, and monitor, evaluate, and make needed changes in processes and procedures to improve the likelihood of goal achievement. The term is synonymously used with MANAGEMENT.


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


	PERFORMANCE A measure of how well an organizational system provides services to consumers. Performance is often based on key indicators, such as rates of service, cost per consumer, degree of satisfaction with services, and extent of consumer access to services.


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


	EMPOWERMENT The process of helping individuals, families, groups, or communities to increase their personal, interpersonal, political, social, and/or economic strength or position and to develop influence that may impact their circumstances.


	MONITORING An evaluation involving a periodic review of consumer services, organizational activities, or conduct. Specifically, monitoring is an activity of case coordination, whereas more broadly, monitoring is an evaluation technique used in overall quality assurance.


	CLINICAL The study, assessment, and diagnosis of the client situation followed by direct treatment to help the client achieve prescribed goals.


	INDICATOR A described activity, event, outcome, or benchmark used for measurement in monitoring the quality and outcome(s) of service.


	ASSESSMENT An evaluation, which utilizes professional expertise and skills in the collection and analysis of data to understand and describe the nature of service needs of an individual, family, or group. Assessment, as in needs assessment, is also used to determine priorities of program planning and service development for the organization as a whole. See also DIAGNOSIS.


	SERVICE RECIPIENT The individuals, groups, organizations, or communities that use, receive, or benefit from programs and services. Service recipients can include consumers, patients, family members, legal guardians, advocates, public/private organizations, employers, and purchasers. All are regarded as significant stakeholders served in a variety of agencies and practice settings.


	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.


	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.