Vol. 1, No. 1 • Spring 1997

"Ready or Not, Here I Come"
by Joan S. McAllister

	Keisha is almost eighteen and acts like she knows everything. Granted, she's street smart, but she makes dangerous choices for herself. After knowing her only a few months, you realize that she is acting our of her history of being abused by her father. She rebels against everyone who tries to tell her what to do. She trusts no adults, only her friends. Behind a year in school, she is at risk of being a school dropout. How do you help her learn to make good decisions for herself?
	Bill left foster care at seventeen to work at a gas station. Now, at twenty, he has lost his job, displaced by automation. No job, no high school diploma, some minor brushes with the law, and about to be evicted from his apartment. He says he needs your help. Why wasn't he ready to listen when he was with you? What can you offer him now?
	Rita is sixteen, a good student, and a nice kid, though a little immature. She thinks she wants to be a nurse some day, but the only thing she knows about nursing is what she sees on television. You don't think she is taking the courses she needs to get into nursing school upon graduation, and wonder if she knows how to plan her future.
	Jake's eighteenth birthday is next month. He's a high school senior, but graduation is months away, and he has nowhere to live if he doesn't stay in foster care. Usually outgoing and friendly, he has become increasingly withdrawn and worried. If he doesn't sign a Voluntary Placement Agreement, he cannot stay with you.

It is hard enough to be a teenager in foster care, but it seems particularly difficult for kids sixteen and over. Foster parents and group home staff are frequently confronted by young people who are becoming physically mature, but who lack the resources, skills, and life experiences to make a successful transition to adult living. For those youngsters who leave foster care without sufficient preparation, the statistics are startling. One recent study indicated that forty-six percent of the homeless population were former foster kids.

Historically, the system has been less successful with older teens in foster care. Teens leaving the system between the ages of 16 and 21 have spent on the average over three years in foster care, in three to four placements. As teens get older, they learn to act like they know what they are doing, and learning gaps may be missed by the adults in their lives. Adults may also make assumptions about what teens know, because the information is so basic.

But for many of these youth, they simply do not know how to get a post office box, talk to a rental agent, wash their clothes, or order food in a real restaurant. They don't know that being paid $6.00 an hour doesn't mean you get $6.00 an hour. They don't know how to write a check, or how to eat so you don't get sick. They are tired of the DSS, and never want to ask for help again, so they wait until their situation is so difficult that it's hard to know how to begin. Worse, they don't ask for help at all.

Significant numbers of "graduates" of the system are now in mental hospitals, jails, or prisons. One young man reportedly stole a care and drove up and down the street until he was arrested. He admitted that he needed a place to stay and food to eat, and could think of no other way to get his basic needs met.

The Federal government, in response to these needs, set aside special funding to help states and local agencies address the unique needs of youth in foster care. This Independent Living Initiative was originally funded in the mid-1980s. North Carolina began Independent Living (IL) programming in 1987.

The young people described at the beginning of this article are all eligible for Independent Living Services, and will continue to be eligible until they are 21 years of age. If a youth was once eligible for Independent Living services, he or she can continue to receive available IL services from the county. Each North Carolina county determines the types of services that will be offered, based on the needs of the youth in their care and the resources available. Services must be directed toward one goal: helping youth achieve the skills and experiences they need to make the transition from foster care to adult living.

This means different things for different youth. In looking at the four situations above, services might include tutoring and basic living skill classes for Keisha; money management skill training and guidance to get a GED for Bill; visits to nursing schools and a job mentoring program for Rita; and one-to-one counseling for Jake, helping him to look at his options.

One of the most valuable and under-used resources available to foster teens is the foster parent. Foster parents have the skills and knowledge to teach their foster teens, expose them to community resources, and advocate for services. Foster parents can allow and encourage youth to learn how to wash their own clothes, buy groceries, plan and cook nutritious meals, and manage their own spending money. They can allow youth to fail and to learn from their failures. Foster parents interested in providing Independent Living skills training to their foster teens should discuss these plans with the social worker.

Whether or not we help these youth gain the skills they need, they will achieve adulthood and leave our care, ready or not. None of us achieved success as adults without the help and guidance of the adults in our lives. By taking the time now, by providing needed knowledge and skills, we can help prepare teens for their transition to adulthood.

To read reader comments in Volume 1, Number 2, see "Readers Write: Ready or not, here I come."

Joan S. McAllister is an Independent Living Consultant for the North Carolina Division of Social Services.

Copyright � 2000 Jordan Institute for Families