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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 10062009 - C.69RECOMMENDATION(S): ACCEPT the attached report from the Employment and Human Services Department and continue to support the children & Family Services Bureau efforts to serve foster youth in the ILSP Program. FISCAL IMPACT: No Fiscal Impact. BACKGROUND: On October 17, 2006 the Board of Supervisors referred to the Family and Human Services oversight and monitoring of the Independent Living Skills Program. The Employment and Human Service Department report to the Committee on an annual basis regarding the services provided to foster youth. The current report and a PowerPoint presentation is attached. APPROVE OTHER RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE Action of Board On: 10/06/2009 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes: VOTE OF SUPERVISORS AYE:John Gioia, District I Supervisor Gayle B. Uilkema, District II Supervisor Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor Susan A. Bonilla, District IV Supervisor Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor Contact: Valerie Earley, 3-1583 I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: October 6, 2009 David J. Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors By: , Deputy cc: C.69 To:Board of Supervisors From:Joe Valentine, Employment & Human Services Director Date:October 6, 2009 Contra Costa County Subject:Independent Living Skills Program Annual Update ATTACHMENTS ILSP Report ILSP PowerPoint EMPLOYMENT AND HUMAN SERVICES CONTRA COSTA COUNTY TO: Family and Human Services DATE: September 21, 2009 Committee Members David Twa FROM: Joe Valentine, Director, Employment & Human Services Department Valerie Earley, Director, Children & Family Services Bureau SUBJECT: Independent Living Skills Program (ILSP) Recommendation Accept this report from the Employment & Human Services Department; and continue to support the Children & Family Services Bureau efforts to serve foster youth in the ILSP program. Background In 1999, the Foster Care Independence Act was passed by the Federal government. This legislation, sponsored by the late Senator John Chaffee, doubled funding for state-wide independent living (IL) programs. There was overwhelming evidence emerging that youth leaving foster care were in need of greater support from foster care into adulthood. Foster youth nationwide were found to have increased likelihood of early parenting, instability in relationships, not graduating from high school, lower school performance, increased health and mental health problems, homelessness, substance abuse, and a higher rate of unemployment. For the past ten years the Children & Family Services Bureau of the Employment & Human Services Department has expanded the scope of services that the Independent Living Skill Program offers for 16 to 21 year old foster and emancipated youth as a result of this new legislation. The ILS program has received recognition throughout the State of California and nation for its activities and youth services. The IL Program is staffed by an ILSP Coordinator, Assistant Coordinator and four ILSP Specialists. Over this decade the staff size has ranged from as small as two staff to as high as 20 staff. ILSP is funded by the federal Title V-E dollars with a 20% State match towards administrative costs. Prior to 2008 staff working in the program were contractors; in 2008 all ILSP staff became Contra Costa County employees. 1 Independent Living Skills Program (ILSP) 2008/2009 Program Report Progress to Date: Each year ILSP offers a variety of skill building and youth engagement activities. This past year, the model for providing the core ILSP skills building classes was changed. At the state, federal and local levels, more emphasis has been placed on providing hands-on, experiential learning experiences, reducing class sizes, and covering four core areas, called the Four Pillars. The Four Pillars consist of Education, Employment, Housing and Well Being. ILSP has been a forerunner in providing experiential learning experiences, so no change was necessary in this area. Due to decreases in the ILSP allocation and increased staffing costs, the class sizes could not be reduced. However, the biggest change was the program’s focus on the Four Pillars. They provided programming in each of these areas weekly in all three regions of the County – East, West, and Central. This past year, 330 foster youth were served both individually and in group settings (i.e. workshops, classes, etc.) Six hundred and twenty three (623) emancipated youth were served in the ILSP Aftercare program. Housing Transitional housing for foster youth and emancipated foster youth continues to be delivered in Contra Costa County. Two providers served the in-care foster youth age 16-18 in transitional housing, called THPP. Five providers served emancipated youth, aged 18-24, transitional housing called THP+. This past year, 17 foster youth were served in THPP and 60 emancipated youth were served in THP+. Housing continues to be a significant challenge for foster youth as they emancipate. The Housing Continuum that Children & Family Services has created has improved the numbers of youth being served, but it is only a drop in the bucket. Current efforts are underway to develop housing options in the community (i.e. rooms for rent) through collaborations with community based organizations and faith based organizations and individual citizens with resources to offer. The long term goal in this area is to develop more permanent housing options for youth. For example, discussions are being held with the Housing Authority to determine if foster youth can receive Section 8 vouchers. Additionally, the contracted providers, such as the county’s Homeless Programs and First Place for Youth, work diligently to develop more permanent housing options and advocate for improved housing options for foster youth. (See Table 1) 2 Independent Living Skills Program (ILSP) 2008/2009 Program Report Employment There are numerous endeavors underway in the area of employment. First, for the past year, the ILSP staff has been collaborating with county departments to develop an employment program called Project YES. Project YES was developed to employ Contra Costa county emancipated foster youth in county department positions. Through this pilot program, there have been 6 young people employed by various county departments. Over this past summer, Project YES collaborated with the Workforce Development Board’s Summer Youth Employment program to link foster youth with county departments. Over 100 foster youth were employed in the community, with 17 being placed in Project YES positions. Most recently, ILSP has been collaborating with the Workforce Development Board to work towards co-locating a WIA case manager at ILSP to enroll foster youth into WIA and help provide employment related courses to the entire ILS program. This past year, ILS provided employment workshops such as interviewing, resume writing, and dress for success for over 500 youth. (See Table 1). Education This past year over 150 youth aged out of foster care, with 92 graduating from high school. All the graduates were honored at a Recognition Night where 29 scholarships worth tens of thousands, were awarded. In addition to providing workshops on financial aid and tours of college campuses, ILSP has collaborated with the Assistance League of Diablo Valley to develop a Senior Sponsorship Program. As there are few funding streams to support extracurricular activities and expenses for foster youth, the program was designed to help enable graduating seniors to partake in the typical events that are often difficult for caregivers to afford. The Senior Sponsorship program funds such things as senior pictures, year books, prom tickets, and caps and gowns. It is well documented that foster youth are undereducated and often drop out of high school and lack basic educational skills. In collaboration with the community colleges, youth who attend the four pillar workshops receive concurrent enrollment credits. This past year 26 youth received these credits. Supporting our foster youth to stay in school through such programs helps assist youth strive to achieve graduation. (See Table 1) Well-Being Youth in foster care often do not experience childhood in the way most children do who live with their families of origin. They have suffered child abuse and neglect, been removed from their families and many older youth 3 Independent Living Skills Program (ILSP) 2008/2009 Program Report spend the remainder of their childhood moving from home to home. The foster care system is designed to fund board and care and basic needs, and even this is woefully underfunded. Youth in foster care miss out on participating in sports, arts, birthday parties, spending the night at friend’s homes, and the like. They are in turn exposed to the sub-culture of foster care. They learn the survival skills needed to cope with placement changes, rejection for foster parents, and the grief of not being with their families. Instead of developing positive social skills, for instance, some are learning to cope with living in a group setting with other foster youth who are struggling with their own issues. ILSP provides activities and supportive services to help encourage positive social development and exposure to typical childhood activities. Through excursions to A’s and Raiders games and field trips to bowling or swimming, foster youth are able to experience fun activities that the typical teenager might, but are also mentored in developing positive social skills and are further engaged in the ILS program. The State of California Department of Social Services has emphasized the importance of supporting the well being of foster care and ILS is the perfect mechanism to provide this intervention. The ILS staff is trained in an approach called Positive Youth Development. This approach enables them to engage youth and motivate them to strive to improve their lives. (See Table 2 and 4) Aftercare Each year, between 100-150 foster youth age out of foster care at age 18 or 19 years old. At that point, they are on their own to support themselves. A few foster youth are fortunate to remain with their foster parents or relatives other youth are able to participate in the Transitional Housing Program, but most are literally pushed from care as soon as the foster care checks end. The State funds counties to provide supportive services to emancipated foster youth up to age 21 years old. This past year, over 600 emancipated youth were served by ILSP. The needs of emancipated youth are severe. They often call in crisis, homeless and in need of basic things like food and shelter. Even the foster youth who go off to college, struggle at holiday breaks and summer, when the dorms are closed. The Aftercare program provides emancipated foster youth supportive housing, employment, educational, and crisis services. In a recently completed research study of emancipated foster youth in Contra Costa County, UC Berkeley researchers found that 88% of the sample population (N=86) received ILSP services and 95% stated they would recommend ILSP. The results of this study indicated that foster youth could use more support with education and finances, as well as help accessing physical and mental health care. 4 Independent Living Skills Program (ILSP) 2008/2009 Program Report Leadership Development ILSP promotes the development of leadership in foster youth through their support of the Contra Costa County California Youth Connection (CYC) chapter. CYC is a statewide advocacy organization specifically geared towards developing leadership in foster youth and advocating for the needs of foster youth. This past year ILSP supported the CCC CYC chapter in applying for support from the Orinda’s Women’s Club. They were awarded $10,000 to support their chapter and events. (See Table 4). Additionally, each year ILSP trains foster youth to participate in a leadership group called the Speaker’s Bureau. These youth are trained in public speaking and work with ILSP to speak to community groups, advocate for legislation at the State capital and be the youth voice in the child welfare system. This past year, 25 youth were trained in the Speaker’s Bureau. Summary/Conclusion Youth who emancipate from foster care are expected to become self-sufficient at age 18 or 19 years old. This entails the ability to maintain stable housing, maintain employment, and maintain one’s physical health. Research on the outcomes of emancipated foster youth indicates that these tasks are difficult for this population. Rates of homelessness for emancipated foster youth has been found to be as high as 42% and housing moves are generally related to poverty and lack of stable family relationships. Foster youth also have high rates of incarceration, especially when they have experienced multiple placements and episodes in foster care. Some of the current information states that 72% of prisoners were once in foster care ILS programs have been implemented by child welfare programs in order to help prevent these negative outcomes. The Contra Costa County ILSP serves upwards of 900 youth each year and endeavors to fill the void the foster care system does not address. Despite a reduction in staff and funding over the past several years, the ILS program continues to strive to improve the lives of at-risk foster youth. Much of the work of the ILSP Coordinators is to cultivate collaborative partnerships with community based organizations and other foster youth serving groups. With the recent passage of a 10% cut to child welfare allocations including the ILSP program and the THPP, the ILS program is even more necessary. Their expertise in engaging youth and motivating them to stay in school, graduate, and get life sustaining employment is critical right now. With the Board’s continuing support and 5 Independent Living Skills Program (ILSP) 2008/2009 Program Report commitment to the ILS program, foster youth will continue to be provided quality skill building workshops, social skill development and improved transitions into adulthood. 6 Independent Living Skills Program (ILSP) 2008/2009 Program Report Table 1 - Workshops Pillars: Housing, Employment, Education Number of Times Workshop/Activity Offered Workshop/Activity Name Number of Youth Served 2 Senior Night 62 6 Employment 104 5 Employment Interviewing 138 4 Resume Writing 123 4 Dress for Success 96 4 Housing Resources 89 4 Housing Interview Workshop 116 2 Senior Scholarship Workshop 46 1 Senior Financial Aid/Chaffe Workshop 22 6 Money Management 136 2 Vocational/Technical Training 57 4 THPP/THP Plus Housing Services 128 Table 2 - Workshop Pillar: Well-Being Number of Times Workshop/ Activity Offered Workshop/Activity Name Number of Youth Served 4 Cooking Class 80 2 Art Expression 46 3 Sexual Exploitation Workshop 38 3 Men’s Group 22 1 College Luncheon 17/4 Alumni 4 Healthy Bodies 73 1 Hip Hop—Beyond the Rhymes 28 2 Sexual Responsibility/STI’s 56 7 Independent Living Skills Program (ILSP) 2008/2009 Program Report 8 Table 3 - Leadership Development/California Youth Connection Activities Meetings and Events Number of Youth Who Attended 24 CYC Meetings held 15 Youths per meeting CYC Day at the Capital 6 CYC Statewide Conference San Diego 4 youth /1 Supporter CYC Statewide Conference Chico 6 youth /2 Supporters CYC/CASA Training 6 youth Assembly Member Tom Torlakson Community Forum on Caseload Management 3 youth served on panel CYC Presentation—Orinda Women’s Club 2 youth/2 supporters Speaker’s Bureau—Public Speaking Training 25 youth Table 4 - Positive Youth Development Activities Activity Number of Youth Who Attended Oakland A’s vs. Texas Rangers 38 Oakland A’s vs. Seattle Mariners 12 Raider’s Fun Day/Game vs. New Orleans Saints 25 ILSP Fall Retreat 30 Wrap it up Workshop 42 Youth and Toddlers Candy Creation Workshop 24 Holiday Network Event 78 Foster A Dream Senior Photo/Make up Session 26 CONTRA COSTA COUNTY INDEPENDENT LIVING SKILLS PROGRAM (ILSP)2008/2009 PROGRAM REPORTFAMILY AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE Who are the Foster Youth Served by ILS?• Children who have been removed from their family’s custody due to neglect and abuse.• Children who have not reunified with their family nor have they found a permanent home (i.e. adoption)• Children who may have grown up in foster care or just entered as adolescents.• Youth who are also involved with Probation What is the Need?• Children who emancipate from the foster care system face higher rates of: - Unemployment - Lower Educational Attainment - Incarceration - Dependence on public assistance - Substance abuse - early childbirth - Other high-risk behaviors What’s the Future?• 70% of all State Penitentiary inmates have spent time in foster care • 51% of youth are unemployed within 2-4 years of emancipation and earn significantly lower wages.• Former foster youth are found to suffer from post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at 2 times the level of U.S. war veterans.• The average age that a young person is completely on their own is 23-26 years old; foster youth are on their own at 18 or 19 years old. What is ILSP?• Programming to support foster youth age 16 to 21 years old to become self-sufficient through skill building, supportive services and positive youth development.• Funded by State and Federal government via the Chaffee Foster Care Independence Act in 1999. “We Deal in Futures” The ILSP Program• Staff – ILSP Coordinator, Assistant Coordinator and 4 ILSP Specialists• Serve all foster youth placed in Contra Costa County• Located in the ILS Youth Center opened in 2001• Serve foster and probation youth age 16-21 years old. Programming and Services• Independent Living Skills Workshops – The Four Pillars– Housing– Employment– Education– Well-Being• Aftercare program for emancipated youth • Leadership Development 2008/2009 Summary• 330 youth attended ILS workshops• Over 600 emancipated youth were served in the Aftercare program• 60 emancipated youth were housed in transitional housing (THP+); 17 foster youth were placed in THP• 92 youth graduated High School• 162 youth attended New Youth Orientation ILSP Recognition Night Projects and Collaborations• Project YES – Employment program– Place foster youth in County positions• Senior Scholarship Program– Provide financial assistance for graduating seniors • Pathways Program – Educational program for out of school youth to improve basic skills and encourage higher education Future Plans-Continue to expand Employment continuum-Expand focus on Well-Being-Increase Housing Options-Secure external funding to support program Summary• In the current economic climate, ILSP plays an even greater role in the lives of foster youth• For some emancipated youth, ILS is the only support they have in times of crisis• ILS addresses the social and well-being aspects of foster youth.