Live Smart Program
Live Smart Program: provides mentors to youth, ages 16 to 21 to work on a one-on-one basis to develop independent living skills. With a Mentor, a young adult can achieve any of the following:
- A safe and stable place to live
- Attain academic or vocational/educational goals
- Connections to a positive personal support network
- Avoid illegal / high risk behaviors
- Postpone parenthood until financially established and emotionally mature
- Access to routine mental health, health and dental health care
Housing Funds: Funding available for rent deposits, 1st month rent and some basic necessities. Must be currently between 18 and their 21st birthday and turned 18 in custody.
Transitional Funds: Funding for eligible youth to be used in achieving positive outcomes. Examples of this include: tutoring, work uniforms, summer school, furnishing apartments, bicycles for transportation to/from work, etc. • Youth who aged out of foster care at age 18 and are currently between age 18 and 21.
Housing Issues (Facts extracted from CWLA Website)
Young people transitioning out of the foster care system are significantly affected by the instability that accompanies long periods of out-of-home placement during childhood and adolescence. The experiences of these youth place them at a higher risk for unemployment, poor educational outcomes, health issues, early parenthood, long-term dependency on public assistance, increased rates of incarceration, and homelessness.
Approximately 20,000-25,000 young people age out of the foster care system each year, many without family or economic support (Allen, M. & Nixon, R., 2000). According to the 2000 Census, nearly 4 million people ages of 25-34 live with their parents due to economic realities--jobs are scarce, and housing is expensive.
Unfortunately, foster youth do not always have the option of turning to their families for support. Alone, these young people are confronting the harsh reality of the gap between the wages they earn and the cost of housing (White, R., 2003). As a result, youth aging out of the foster care system are becoming homeless at disconcerting rates. Anywhere from 12% to 36% of young people transitioning out of the system experience homelessness (Cook, 1991; Courtney & Pilivian, 1998; Reilly, 2003). As many as 3 in 10 of the nation's homeless adults have a history in foster care (Roman & Wolfe, 1995). Young people aging out of public systems are confronted with critical housing needs that, left unaddressed, have the potential to cause irreparable harm.
In an effort to assist youth in their transitions to adulthood, the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 established the John Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (Chafee Program), allowing states more funding and flexibility to help young people transition to adulthood. States received increased funding and were permitted to extend Medicaid eligibility to former foster children up to age 21.
