Core Services: Transition to Adulthood Support
31st of July 2017
The Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) was designed so that children living out of their home would be provided the most appropriate placement in committed nurturing resource (foster) homes. Services and supports will be tailored based on each child’s needs. All of these services and supports fall into 6 Core Services: mental health, transition support upon entry, educational/physical/behavioral/extracurricular support, transition to adulthood support, permanency support, and Native American child services.
The Trinity Youth Services (TYS) team, along with our resource (foster) families, will directly provide the core services and support to children, Non-Minor Dependents (NMD) and their families, fulfilling the requirements of the CCR.
Last month we outlined the third core services, educational/physical/behavioral/extracurricular supports. This month we will look at transition to adulthood support.
This core service is critical to our older youth in care. Think back to when you were 18. Were you ready to live on your own with no support whatsoever? Extended foster care changed policies so that youth could stay in foster care through the age of 21 years old, allowing four more years of preparation time for the youth to be successful as adults. During this extended time in foster care, the NMDs must meet certain criteria to remain eligible for services. For example, they must be in school or working.
TYS is committed to supporting children and Non-Minor Dependents in achieving a successful adulthood. A huge part of this support comes from resource families opening their homes to teens and making them part of the family. Treatment Foster Care Social Workers (TFCSWs) along with the resource parents work closely together to provide educational and employment support to the youth by assisting in job search, support in completing job applications and providing the youth the opportunity to visit local colleges.
TFCSW will assist in the implementation of the Transitional Independent Living Plan (TILP) by working directly with the youth on achieving goals set within the plan. Youth will participate in independent living skills groups. Additionally, TYS will assist youth in establishing lifelong connections by assisting the youth find and connect with family and/or nonrelated family members.
In my next blog, I will discuss permanency support. This topic dives into the important support offered to TYS youth as the agency and families strive to achieve a permanent environment for children in foster care, either through reunification or adoption.
Jackie Jakob, Foster Care and Adoptions Director
Having over 20 years’ experience, Jackie currently oversees Trinity Youth Services’ operations of foster care and adoptions programs throughout Southern California and in Houston, Texas. She received a bachelor’s degree in law and society from University of California Santa Barbara, a master’s degree in social work from California State University Long Beach and recently became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Jackie enjoys spending time with her husband and two children attending various baseball, softball and judo meets. She is on the parent board for a judo dojo and is one of the troop leaders for her daughter’s Girl Scout troop. Additionally, she really enjoys running half marathons and aims to run 4 to 5 races each year.
Tel: 909.825.5588 | Email: info@trinityys.org
