Overview of Independent Living Program

In April 2007, Kids Central’s Independent Living program was re-designed to work in collaboration with the youth, their caregiver, case manager and community partners in order to develop a continuum of services to support foster youth, ages 13 – 22, as they transition to adulthood. We embrace the philosophy, “Nothing about Me without Me”, which means we work very closely to engage the youth in every aspect of planning for their future.

Kids Central’s Independent Living is nationally accredited through the Council on Accreditation in New York City. The service planning process is client centered and addresses the youth’s needs and focuses on the youth’s strengths and assets. We focus on the creation of supportive partnerships in the community in four primary areas that have the greatest impact on successful transition to adulthood:

• Housing
• Employment
• Life Skills
• Education

The goals of the Independent Living program include:

• Enhancement and continued provision of supportive services that allow a child to grow, develop emotionally, and learn key skills that will enable them to live independently.

• Active engagement of the youth in the development of their programmatic plan: A consumer’s voice is critical to the quality assurance of any program.

• Coordination and provision of high quality, relevant education regardless of the placement setting of the child.

• Offering information related to employment choices including: exposure to the “world of work”, provision of structured internships that allow youth to tap into career options, and a strong linkage to both Workforce Development and community based employers.

• Opportunities to develop social, civic and leadership skills that allow youth to feel valued in the community.

• Connection to a caring adult that can mentor a child and the interaction of youth with peers in a safe, supporting environment.

Planning for Youth’s Transition
from Foster Care:

Beginning at age 13, the Independent Living Navigator facilitates a client centered staffing that addresses and develops a transition plan for every aspect of the youth’s life including but not limited to life skills, housing, employment, education, health, normalcy, transportation and ancillary services. (For more information on the staffing process Read more…)

At age 17, each youth is assigned to an Independent Living Specialist who schedules and facilitates two transition planning meetings during the youth’s last year in foster care. The meetings are held with the youth and all interested parties in the youth’s place of residence no later than one month following their 17th birthday and within the 90 period of the youth’s 18th birthday. The purpose of the meeting is to finalize a detailed account of the youth’s 18th birthday. (For more information on the transition planning meeting process Read more…)

Unique Programs and Special Events
(Life Skill Assessment and Activities):

I. Fostering Youth Success – In October 2010, Kids Central was awarded a grant in partnership with CLM (Citrus, Levy and Marion) workforce, College of CF (Central Florida), and CTAE (Community Technical Adult Education). The main goal of this collaboration is to provide an employment related training program designed to assist youth between the ages of 18-21 who were formerly in foster care. In addition to offering youth employment training, the program provides youth with vocational training and opportunities for cooperative learning. It is hoped this employment related training program can provide the skills needed to locate employment in support of Florida’s Full Employment Initiative.

II. Supportive Services for Youth who are Parenting and/or Pregnant – In April 2010, Kids Central contracted with two (2) local providers, Camelot Community Care and Hands of Mercy Everywhere (HOME) to create individualized services to meet the needs of this very vulnerable population.

a. Camelot Community Care

i. Prevention – The prevention program aims to increase protective factors with a goal of reducing the risk of teen pregnancy. In order to accomplish this goal, they work in collaboration with other agencies to provide education, youth complete a needs survey, the therapist uses the survey to complete an assessment to determine if further services are required.

ii. Pregnancy Intervention – The intervention program provides in home support that focuses on counseling youth on topics such as domestic violence prevention, financial planning/budgeting, family planning and parenting services provided by Camelot include both prevention and intervention segments.

III. CTAE – A partnership with Community Technical Adult Education (CTAE) resulted in the development of an accredited General Education Diploma (GED) class specifically for youth formerly in foster care. The youth who attend this class are provided individualized attention. In order to ensure oversight and monitoring of the youth’s progress, the following items have been implemented:

a. Daily Sign Sheets
b. Weekly Checks by IL staff
c. Monthly tracking of attendance percentages
d. TABE testing after 60 hours of instructions
e. Individual conferences regarding school progress as needed

IV. Florida Youth Sheriff Ranch – The camp’s purpose is to provide a wholesome atmosphere, positive opportunity for the youth to interact with their peers. The youth are offered a wide variety of activities, including, archery, canoeing, swimming, a high and low ropes course, and Independent Living Skills programming, including a mix of hands on and classroom activities centered around daily living skills, financial (token economy), etc.

V. Local Community Colleges – The Independent Living staff has developed connections with admissions and financial aid staff to assist youth with the enrollment process. As a result of these partnerships, the youth have been afforded opportunities to attend campus tours, theme parks, participate in tutoring services and other support services as needed.

VI. Family Finders – In December 2010, a Family Finders Specialist was hired specifically to work with Independent Living youth in order to provide these youth with a connection to a caring adult. These youth have little connections and/or support with family members.

VII. Access Florida – Independent Living has developed a contact with a representative from the department of children and families to ensure that the youth in the program are awarded the appropriate benefits.

VIII. Peer Mentor Program – Kids Central has two young adults who turned 18 in foster care and are currently attending college and working part-time as Independent Living Peer Mentors. They listen, support and help teens who are in foster care as they prepare for life on their own. The peer mentors are also gaining valuable experience by coordinating events, speaking to community groups and facilitating a Youth Advisory Council.

IX. Community Navigator – The Independent Living Community Navigators are assigned to designated counties within the Circuit. Each Navigator conducts outreach within the community in order to remain knowledgeable about local, regional, and state resources which include advocating and soliciting resources for the youth.

X. Extracurricular Activities – In order to enhance the youth’s overall development, Kids Central provides opportunities for youth to participate in normalcy related activities such as: Computer Camp, Band Camp, and Graduation Celebration. Beginning in July 2010, Kids Central developed a new initiative to ensure that youth were provided the opportunity to be involved in activities that are outside of the normal school curriculum. Some of these activities include:

a. Athletics
b. Social Clubs
c. Arts and Crafts
d. Educational Trips
e. Visual and Performing Arts Program