Support Youth Transitioning From Foster Care ~ Policy for Results

Policy for Results has created an interactive Web site where you can compare state foster care data, look at resources for policy makers, and find successful strategies to support youth transitioning out of foster care.

Activities for Foster Parents to Do With Youth in Their Home

• Ready, Set, Fly: A Parents Guide to Teaching Life Skills
• Money Pals: I Know Where I'm Going, But Will My Cash Keep Up?

Quick tips:

• Assign the youth chores.
• Give the youth the opportunity to budget and spend money.
• Role-play situations that the youth might encounter.
• Help the youth learn to use public transportation.
• Help the youth plan for future living arrangements by budgeting with real numbers (i.e. build a budget using newspapers to research what jobs pay and the cost of apartments).

Casey Life Skills ~ Free Resources and Activities

Cleaning My Place ~ activities and resources

Education, Job Seeking Skills, and Job Maintenance Skills ~ activities and resources

Housing, Transportation, Community Resources, Understanding the Law, and Recreation ~ activities and resources

Hungry? Eat Healthy! Activities for Real Life Learning has over 40 pages of reproducible sheets which include meal analysis and plans; grocery store shopping; reading labels; scavenger hunts; time management sheets; cooking and restaurant experiences; and community involvement.

I Can Do It! A Micropedia of Living on Your Own: This engaging, easy to use resource can be used by older youth to guide them through most topics pertaining to living on their own, including budgeting, housing, daily living and relationships. For self-teaching or group teaching.

I Know Where I'm Going (But Will My Cash Keep Up?) A two-part workbook for youth ages 12 and older focusing on all aspects of money management. Developed specifically for youth in out-of-home care, it is applicable to all. Self-teaching tool, or use with adult supervision.

I Need a Place to Live! Activities for Real Life Learning has 49 pages of creative, reproducible worksheets, teaching ideas and tests. Included are lease and rental applications; apartment check-lists; cost planning sheets; needs and wants analysis; furnishings inventory; and preplanning guides.

Lookin' Good! Activities for Real Life Learning has over 40 pages of reproducible sheets. Includes clothing plans; line and design; grooming; color analysis; mending, chopping challenges; thrift shop style show; laundry & stain removal activities.

Money, Home and Food Management Activity/Resource Workbook

Personal Care, Health, Social Skills, and Safety Activity/Resource Workbook

Young Parents Guide ~ Activities and Resources

FindYouthInfo.gov Shares Resources and Evidence-Based Practice

FindYouthInfo.gov was created by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs (IWGYP), which is composed of representatives from 12 federal agencies that support programs and services focusing on youth.

Through the website, IWGYP provides an interactive mapping tool to find federally-supported youth programs, a searchable directory of evidence-based programs, and other resources to help local leaders implement effective, collaborative strategies for helping youth succeed.

Transition Age Youth 

FindYouthInfo.gov has a section that focuses on Transition Age Youth, between ages 16-24.

Study of the Impact of the Ohio Benefit Bank

Ohio Benefit Bank programs include:

• Food and Nutrition Programs
• Healthcare Assistance
• Taxes and Student Aid Programs (including the FAFSA)
• Child Care Assistance
• Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP)
• Ohio Works First Cash Assistance (OWF)

A Study of the Impact of the Ohio Benefit Bank was recently released by the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs at Ohio University.

Funded by the Columbus Foundation, the survey looked at hardships experienced, whether OBB clients completed their applications at JFSs, and the short term impact for those individuals and families.

FosterClub Transition Toolkit

FosterClub has recently released the FosterClub Transition Toolkit to help youth develop a plan for transitioning into adulthood.

The toolkit encourages youth to prepare their individual plan with the supportive adults involved in their lives, such as foster parents, teachers, or mentors, and is designed to help youth assess their assets, identify resources, and plan for life after foster care.

The toolkit also provides a "Readiness Scale" for youth to track their progress in the following 10 areas:

• Finances and money management
• Job and career
• Life skills
• Identity
• Performance
• Education
• Self care and health
• Housing
• Transportation
• Community, culture, and social life

FosterClub's toolkit supports the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, which requires that all States develop an individual transition plan for the foster youth during the 90-day period before a youth leaves foster care.

To download the Transition Toolkit, please visit:
www.fosterclub.com/files/transition_toolkit.pdf

Independence for Foster Youth

Independence for Foster Youth
Created for youth in Washington state who are preparing to transition out of foster care, this Web site helps you find information and resources about living on your own. Get your questions answered about how to find a job, manage your money, and find a place to live.