- CHALLENGES CONFRONTING OLDER CHILDREN LEAVING FOSTER CARE

[House Hearing, 106 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

CHALLENGES CONFRONTING OLDER CHILDREN LEAVING FOSTER CARE

=======================================================================

HEARING

before the

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES

of the

COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

__________

MARCH 9, 1999

__________

Serial 106-26

__________

Printed for the use of the Committee on Ways and Means

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
61-777 CC WASHINGTON : 2000

COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

BILL ARCHER, Texas, Chairman

PHILIP M. CRANE, Illinois CHARLES B. RANGEL, New York
BILL THOMAS, California FORTNEY PETE STARK, California
E. CLAY SHAW, Jr., Florida ROBERT T. MATSUI, California
NANCY L. JOHNSON, Connecticut WILLIAM J. COYNE, Pennsylvania
AMO HOUGHTON, New York SANDER M. LEVIN, Michigan
WALLY HERGER, California BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland
JIM McCRERY, Louisiana JIM McDERMOTT, Washington
DAVE CAMP, Michigan GERALD D. KLECZKA, Wisconsin
JIM RAMSTAD, Minnesota JOHN LEWIS, Georgia
JIM NUSSLE, Iowa RICHARD E. NEAL, Massachusetts
SAM JOHNSON, Texas MICHAEL R. McNULTY, New York
JENNIFER DUNN, Washington WILLIAM J. JEFFERSON, Louisiana
MAC COLLINS, Georgia JOHN S. TANNER, Tennessee
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio XAVIER BECERRA, California
PHILIP S. ENGLISH, Pennsylvania KAREN L. THURMAN, Florida
WES WATKINS, Oklahoma LLOYD DOGGETT, Texas
J.D. HAYWORTH, Arizona
JERRY WELLER, Illinois
KENNY HULSHOF, Missouri
SCOTT McINNIS, Colorado
RON LEWIS, Kentucky
MARK FOLEY, Florida

A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff

Janice Mays, Minority Chief Counsel

______

Subcommittee on Human Resources

NANCY L. JOHNSON, Connecticut, Chairman

PHILIP S. ENGLISH, Pennsylvania BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland
WES WATKINS, Oklahoma FORTNEY PETE STARK, California
RON LEWIS, Kentucky ROBERT T. MATSUI, California
MARK FOLEY, Florida WILLIAM J. COYNE, Pennsylvania
SCOTT McINNIS, Colorado WILLIAM J. JEFFERSON, Louisiana
JIM McCRERY, Louisiana
DAVE CAMP, Michigan

Pursuant to clause 2(e)(4) of Rule XI of the Rules of the House, public
hearing records of the Committee on Ways and Means are also published
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C O N T E N T S

__________

Page

Advisory of March 2, 1999, announcing the hearing................ 2

WITNESSES

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Carol W. Williams,
Associate Commissioner, Children's Bureau, Administration for
Children and Families.......................................... 6

______

American Public Human Services Association, William Young........ 68
Child Welfare League of America, Robin Nixon..................... 31
Connecticut Department of Children and Families, William Pinto... 63
Connecticut Youth Advisory Board, and Norwalk Community College,
Reggie Rollins................................................. 19
Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services, Sharyn L.
Logan.......................................................... 40
New Pathways, Inc., and Baltimore Studio of Hair Design, Shauntee
Miller......................................................... 23
Orange County/California Works, Donald I. MacAllister............ 46
Orphan Foundation of America, and Texas A&M University, Elaine
Kay Nelson..................................................... 16
United Parcel Service, Kevin M. Garvey........................... 57
Vermont Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, William
Young.......................................................... 68

SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD

Courtney, Mark E., University of Wisconsin-Madison, statement.... 79
Covenant House, Sister Mary Rose McGeady, statement.............. 80
National Association of Former Foster Care Children of America,
Louis H. Henderson, statement.................................. 84
National Network for Youth, statement............................ 85
New Pathways, Inc., Baltimore, MD, Kevin M. Keegan, letter....... 88
Orphan Foundation of America, Vienna, VA, Eileen McCaffrey,
statement...................................................... 88

CHALLENGES CONFRONTING OLDER CHILDREN LEAVING FOSTER CARE

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TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 1999

House of Representatives,
Committee on Ways and Means,
Subcommittee on Human Resources,
Washington, DC.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2
p.m., in room B-318, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon.
Nancy L. Johnson (Chairman of the Subcommittee), presiding.
[The advisory announcing the hearing follows:]

ADVISORY

FROM THE
COMMITTEE
ON WAYS
AND
MEANS

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES

CONTACT: (202) 225-1025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 2, 1999

No. HR-2

Johnson Announces Hearing on

Challenges Confronting Older Children

Leaving Foster Care

Congresswoman Nancy L. Johnson (R-CT), Chairman, Subcommittee on
Human Resources of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced
that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the challenges faced by
older children who leave the foster care system. The hearing will take
place on Tuesday, March 9, 1999, in room B-318 Rayburn House Office
Building, beginning at 2:00 p.m.

Oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only.
Witnesses will include the Administration, former foster children,
academic researchers, advocates, and representatives of State and
nonprofit organizations providing youth services. However, any
individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may
submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for
inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

Under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, children in foster
care are generally eligible for Federal maintenance payments only until
age 18. Accordingly, each year an estimated 20,000 adolescents age out
of foster care. These youths experience very unstable placements while
in foster care with more than half experiencing at least three
different placements and about 30 percent averaging nine years in
foster care without a permanent living arrangement. As a result, within
two years after leaving foster care, when most of these youths are
about 20 years old, only half have completed high school, fewer than
half are employed, only about 20 percent are completely self-
supporting, and 60 percent of the young women have given birth, almost
always outside marriage. Research also shows that these youths have
very unstable housing arrangements and that nearly half of them have
difficulty obtaining medical care. Members of the Subcommittee have
introduced legislation, and the President has included a proposal in
his fiscal year 2000 budget, designed to help these youths make the
transition from foster care to self-sufficiency.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Johnson stated: ``I cannot
imagine a more important issue of public policy than helping
adolescents who have lived in foster care make the transition to
adulthood. Research shows unequivocally that these youths experience
tremendous difficulty with housing, jobs, education, nonmarital births,
and physical and mental health. We simply must do more to help these
young people.''

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The major goals of the hearing are to gather additional information
to clearly define the problems faced by adolescents aging out of foster
care, to learn about successful programs that are now in operation
around the country, and to solicit specific policy recommendations from
a broad cross-section of experts, practitioners, and young adults who
lived in foster care as adolescents.

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noted above.

Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. The hearing will come to
order. Good afternoon, everyone.
One of my highest priorities as I assume Chairmanship of
the Human Resources Subcommittee, is to do more to help the
20,000 or so kids who are aging out of foster care. Like many
Members of this Subcommittee and particularly my Ranking Member
and friend, Mr. Cardin, I have spent a lot of time thinking
about the young people in the Independent Living Program. And
I'm convinced that the world they enter now is far more complex
than the world they entered 10 years ago and that the program
ought to reflect that change.
There are two good reasons for our Subcommittee to work on
the issues of children aging out of foster care. First,
research conducted a decade ago by Mathematica, ongoing
research by Professor Mark Courtney of the University of
Wisconsin, and other studies show that within a few years of
leaving foster care, young people have elevated rates of being
the victims of violence, the victims of homelessness, of
joblessness, of pregnancy outside of marriage, and of other
distressing outcomes.
There appears to be unanimous agreement that this group of
young people are at greatly increased risk of serious problems.
This reason alone justifies concern and additional spending.
But the pockets of success generated by the Independent Living
Program deserve our immediate attention and our careful thought
as to how we can spread the benefits of that approach.
There is a second reason for our concern. There isn't any
one of us who hasn't either been both an adolescent and either
parented or aunted or uncled adolescents and don't remember
what a challenging and difficult time the years 18 to 21 are.
It is precisely this situation that most young people face.
It is the most demanding and should, therefore, be a subject of
concern to Congress and a good investment of public dollars.
We are looking for good ideas. Many have been presented.
Some by Members of this Subcommittee, many by others. Certainly
extending Medicaid coverage to age 21, allowing foster care
maintenance payments to continue until age 21, providing money
so States could pay a time-limited stipend to these young
people. Those are amongst the ideas that have been put forward
and are rational, and compelling.
But I urge our witnesses today to provide us with their
ideas of what action Congress should take. And also the
qualifications and the ramifications of how free should any new
money be, how flexible. What is it? How does meeting the needs
of these young people vary from State to State and town to town
and district to district?
We are, of course, required to finance every program
expansion we approve, and so at some time we will have to think
through where do we get the resources to match the challenge in
this area. But our purpose today is to get your thoughts on
what is that challenge and how do we best meet it.
[The opening statement follows:]

Opening Statement of Hon. Nancy Johnson, a Representative in Congress
from the State of Connecticut

One of my highest priorities when I assumed chairmanship of
the Human Resources Subcommittee was to do more to help the
20,000 or so children aging out of foster care. Like many
members of this Subcommittee, I have spent time over the past
two or three months reading about this problem, considering the
Independent Living program, and trying to think of actions we
could take to help these children make the transition from
adolescence into adulthood.
There are two good reasons for our Subcommittee to work on
the issue of children aging out of foster care. First, research
conducted a decade ago by Mathematica, ongoing research by
Professor Mark Courtney, one of our witnesses today, and
several other studies show that within a few years of leaving
foster care, young people have elevated rates of being the
victims of violence, of having been homeless, of joblessness,
of pregnancy outside marriage, and of several other distressing
outcomes. There appears to be unanimous agreement that this
group of young people are at greatly increased risk for serious
problems. This reason alone justifies public concern and
additional spending.
But there is a second reason for our concern. All of us
have been adolescents and most of us on this Subcommittee have
been parents. If we think back to our own adolescence, or to
that of our children, we can easily imagine how difficult life
would have been if we had tried to negotiate the impossible
years between 18 and 21 with little or no family support. Yet
that is precisely the situation that most of these young people
face. Again, I believe most members of Congress understand that
helping these children is a good investment of public dollars.
So the Subcommittee is looking for good ideas. We have
several good ideas in both Mr. Cardin's bill and in the
proposal supported by the Clinton Administration. These ideas
include putting more money in the Independent Living program,
extending Medicaid coverage to age 21, allowing foster care
maintenance payments to continue until age 21, and providing
money so that states could pay a time-limited stipend to these
adolescents. I urge our witnesses to provide us with their own
ideas of what action Congress should take.
After this hearing, and a breakfast meeting among members
that we are now planning, we will develop a bipartisan bill
that Mr. Cardin and I will introduce. We will then solicit
comments on that bill and hold a hearing to get reactions from
a broad range of interested parties. It is my intention to then
proceed to markup the bill at both Subcommittee and at the full
Committee. My greatest concern is that under Committee rules,
we are required to finance every program expansion that we
approve. Thus, I hope we will all be able to match our desires
to help this group of young people with our specific ideas
about how to pay for our desires.
This is very important work and I am confident that within
the next several months we will bring an excellent bill to the
House Floor.

Ben, would you like to make an opening comment?
Mr. Cardin. Thank you, Madam Chairman. I thank you very
much for your leadership on this issue. I think it is
noteworthy that the high priority Mrs. Johnson has placed on
this issue is the fact that we have a hearing today, so early
in this Congressional schedule, on children aging out of foster
care.
So I applaud your leadership and thank you very much for
this opportunity.
I think we should also note that it is snowing outside for
those who may not know that. So we ask the indulgence of our
guests here today that Members of our Subcommittee may be a
little late or have trouble getting here because of the
weather. We thank all of you for being here, and we certainly
look forward to you, our witnesses.
I want to just underscore the point that Mrs. Johnson made,
and that is recent studies have conclusively shown that
children leaving foster care face many barriers to self-
sufficiency, including lack of housing, poor employment
opportunity, and inadequate opportunities for educational
achievement, and, in many cases, the absence of health care
coverage.
These aging foster care children have had a much more
difficult time than children coming from other households. In
many cases, the children have been abused, they have been
neglected, they have been abandoned, they have been in one,
two, three, four, five foster homes. Yet we expect them, when
they reach 18 years of age, to be self-sufficient.
That's not realistic for any child, let alone one who has
been in foster care. Along with my Democratic colleagues on the
Subcommittee, I have introduced the transition to adulthood
program path to provide States with the option of extending
Federal foster care assistance to youths between the ages of 18
and 21 if they are working, in training, or in school, and if
they have a specific plan for self-sufficiency.
As is the case under the current foster care systems,
States would be required to provide and match to receive
extended funding under this legislation. It would also allow
these youths to retain their Medicaid coverage. It expands the
work opportunity tax credit to include all individuals who were
in foster care the day before their 18th birthday.
It increases the amount of assets that children in foster
care can save without impacting their eligibility for Federal
IV-E maintenance payments. And, finally, the TAP proposal would
update the funding formula for the current Independent Living
Program to reflect the States' share of the national foster
care caseload in 1996 rather than in 1984.
Madam Chair, we hope that this legislation, along with
suggestions that have been made by the administration and other
Members, will be the basis for us to work in a bipartisan way
to provide ways in which we can provide for children aging out
of foster care.
I might point with pride that on our hearing schedule
today, we have Shauntee Miller, who is a student in Baltimore
under the new Pathway Independent Plus Program. That's an
example of the State, my own State of Maryland, that had
provided help for children aging out of foster care.
I might add at 100 percent State support without the
Federal Government as a partner. I think you will find that
these types of programs have been extremely beneficial, and we
need to expand those opportunities.
It is also a pleasure to have Carol Williams here, the
Assistant Commissioner of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, who again has brought forward suggestions to
improve our foster care programs.
Madam Chair, I along with you look forward to our witnesses
and working with us come up with the appropriate Federal role
for children who are aging out of foster care.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Thank you, Mr. Cardin. I
want to recognize Mr. English and Mr. McInnis, Members of the
Subcommittee, pleased to have you here on time, and invite our
first witness, Carol Williams, the Associate Commissioner,
Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families of
HHS to come to the witness table.
Thank you for being with us and you may proceed. Your full
testimony will be submitted for the record.

STATEMENT OF CAROL W. WILLIAMS, ASSOCIATE COMMISSIONER,
CHILDREN'S BUREAU, ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES,
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Ms. Williams. Good afternoon. I'm pleased to be before you
today to discuss how we can better help this special group of
foster children, older children making the transition from
foster care to adulthood. To address the needs of these
children, the President's budget for fiscal year 2000 proposes
to expand the Independent Living Program, to authorize a
demonstration program for transitional support for former
foster children between the ages of 18 and 21, to increase the
funding for the transitional-living program, and to encourage
continued access to health care for young adults emancipated
from foster care.
Many of the themes both of you addressed in your opening
comments are very much reflected in this. We are pleased that
the Members of this Subcommittee have also expressed an
interest in increasing support for youngsters leaving the
foster care system. And I hope that on this issue, like other
issues we have explored together in the past, we will be
successful in enacting bipartisan legislation.
Each year, 20,000 youngsters reach 18 and exit foster care
without financial or emotional support of a family. As any of
us who have raised children can attest, it is rare that a young
person at age 18 is fully ready to be autonomous and self-
sufficient, yet we hold this expectation for the young adults
aging out of the foster care system.
I am reminded of a conversation I had with a young woman
who had grown up in foster care, gone to college, and wondered
in her first semester: Do I have some place to go back to on
the holidays? Where will I be during spring break and the
summers? Or was she really in a world all her own?
And she was then nearly 40 years of age but had acute and
compelling recollection of her feeling of being in limbo. For
many youths emancipated from foster care, the consequences of
being left to fend for themselves at age 18 are quite grave.
Studies show, as you have indicated, that only half of the
youths who exit care have completed high school. Fewer than
half are employed in the 2 years immediately after exiting
care. Some experience homelessness. Sixty percent of our young
women are pregnant prematurely, and only a small proportion are
economically self-sufficient. Furthermore, many of these
youngsters experience depression, isolation, and loneliness.
Last fall, I had the opportunity to spend time with a group
of former foster care youths, and they talked with us about
what they need to achieve self-sufficiency. They talked about
the importance of having access to medical care, including
mental-health services.
They talked about the critical need for education,
continuing education and vocational training. They talked about
the importance of having experiences that would prepare them
for the world of work, including internships. And they talked
about the dilemmas of housing and the need to have stable
housing. They also spoke of needing to stay connected to the
networks of support, including mentors and peers, that would
help them through this period.
I believe that the administration's year 2000 budget takes
an important step in addressing the needs well articulated by
these youngsters.
The first component of our proposal is to increase the
funding through the Independent Living Program by 50 percent.
This program offers services to children in foster care 16
years of age or older, and it is designed to help young people
make the transition to adulthood by helping them complete their
high school education or complete a GED or engage in vocational
training; providing skills in the activities of daily living--
budgeting, locating housing, finding a job--providing
counseling, and coordinating other services.
Since 1992, the Independent Living Program has been funded
at $70 million annually. And those funds are allocated among
the States according to a formula based on the 1984 population.
We propose to increase that funding. That increase will allow
us to expand the number of youngsters being served. It will
allow us to increase the quality of service, and address the
needs of underserved jurisdictions.
Our second proposal is to create a transitional support
program for older youths. This addresses the need of youngsters
to have some kind of base of economic support during those
transitional years. Currently, these youngsters have no
economic support. We propose to create a time-limited
demonstration program for youngsters aging out of the system.
The program would be funded at $5 million in the year 2000 and
grow by increments of $5 million through the year 2003.
We want to provide health insurance for children leaving
foster care. When children leave foster care, when their title
IV-E eligibility ends, they also lose their Medicaid coverage.
We propose to extend Medicaid coverage for this population
through age 21.
In addition, we propose to increase discretionary funding
for the Transitional Living Program, which is a program that
serves homeless youngsters ages 16 to 21. We propose to
increase it by $5 million, from $15 million to $20 million in
fiscal year 2000.
The President's budget outlines a sound set of policy
initiatives to help youth leaving foster care to make the
transition to healthy, productive lives as adults.
We recognize that there are other ideas that the Congress
will also be considering. In particular, we would like to
acknowledge Congressman Cardin for the leadership he has shown
on this issue by introducing the transition-to-adulthood
program of 1999. We are interested in working with all the
Members of this Subcommittee to explore options to meet our
common goals of assuring self-sufficiency for youngsters
exiting foster care.
What we want for these youngsters is what we want for our
own children, that they should be educated and well-prepared
for the world of work, physically and emotionally healthy,
economically secure, and supported through a network of caring
relationships.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the
Subcommittee. I'm pleased to take any questions you might have.
[The prepared statement follows:]

Statement of Carol W. Williams, Associate Commissioner, Children's
Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services

Madam Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee,
I am pleased to appear before you today to discuss how we
can better meet the needs of a special group of foster children
who have little visibility--older youth making the transition
from foster care to adulthood. The President's budget for
fiscal year 2000 outlines a series of proposals to address the
needs of these youth. The budget proposes to expand the
Independent Living Program; authorize a demonstration program
of transitional support for former foster children between the
ages of 18 and 21 (both of which proposals are within the
jurisdiction of this Subcommittee); increase funding for the
Transitional Living Program; and encourage continued access to
health care for young adults emancipated from foster care. We
are very pleased that the members of this Subcommittee have
also expressed interest in increasing support for youth leaving
the foster care system. I hope that on this issue, like others
we have explored together in the past several years, we will be
successful in enacting bipartisan legislation.
We are proud that the Administration has been able to work
in a bipartisan fashion with the Congress over the past several
years to pass critical adoption, foster care and child welfare
reform legislation. Together, we have enacted and are now
implementing laws that make the health and safety of children
our first consideration and that encourage timely decision-
making on behalf of all children in foster care. We are also
working to tear down barriers to adoption, whether based on
racial discrimination, geographic boundaries or simply outmoded
assumptions about which children are ``adoptable.''
While we have accomplished a great deal, we have unfinished
work remaining. We are making strides in increasing the number
of children adopted from foster care. But we know that not all
children needing permanent families will be adopted. Each year,
nearly 20,000 young people in foster care reach the age of 18
and must enter adulthood without the financial or emotional
support of a family. As any of us who have raised teenagers can
attest, it is a rare young person who is ready on his or her
18th birthday to be fully autonomous and economically self-
sufficient. We do not expect this of our own children. And yet,
this is the burden we currently place on young adults aging out
of the foster care system. I am reminded of the story a
participant at one of our Kinship Care Advisory Group meetings
told. This young woman spoke about how she had been raised as a
foster child. When she turned 18, she went off to college. But
she wondered did she have a family? Did she have a place to go
home to on spring break? Or was she all on her own in the
world?
For many youth emancipated from the foster care system, the
consequences of being left to fend for themselves at the age of
18 are far more grave. Studies show that within two to four
years of leaving foster care:
Only half of these young adults had completed high
school;
Fewer than half were employed;
One-fourth had been homeless for at least one
night;
Thirty (30) percent had not had access to needed
health care;
Sixty (60) percent of the young women had given
birth;
And, not surprisingly, less than one-fifth of
these young people was completely self-sufficient.
Furthermore, many of these youngsters experience
depression, isolation and loneliness.
Last Fall, along with the First Lady and others, I had an
opportunity to hear from a group of former foster care youth.
Among the things that these young people told us they needed in
order to achieve self-sufficiency, stable living arrangements
and mature relationships were:
Medical services, including mental health;
Education and/or vocational training;
Employment preparation and opportunities,
including internships;
Transitional and/or supported housing; and
Psycho-social support via mentoring, counseling
and/or support groups.
The proposals in the Administration's FY 2000 budget take
an important next step in meeting the needs of young people who
will be emancipated from the foster care system. I would now
like to give a brief overview of our proposals.
Increase Funding for the Independent Living Program by 50
percent: The Independent Living Program, authorized by Section
477 of title IV-E of the Social Security Act, offers services
to children in foster care who are age 16 or older. At State
option, the program may serve both children who are eligible to
receive Federal title IV-E foster care maintenance payments and
youth in foster care supported through State dollars. States
may also opt to serve children beyond the age of 18, up until
the age of 21. All States and the District of Columbia have
elected to exercise both of these options. The program is
designed to help young people make the transition from foster
care to self-sufficiency by:
Helping participants to obtain a high school
diploma, a GED or to participate in vocational training;
Providing training in daily living skills, such as
budgeting, locating housing, finding a job or planning a
career;
Providing individual or group counseling;
Coordinating other social services available to
the youth.
Since 1992, the Independent Living Program has been funded
at $70 million annually. Of this amount, $25 million is
required to be matched by the States. Funds are currently
allotted among the States based on a formula tied to the number
of children in the State who were receiving title IV-E foster
care maintenance payments in 1984.
We propose to increase funding for the Independent Living
Program by 50 percent to a total of $105 million annually. Of
this amount, $45 million would need to be matched by the
States. The formula for distributing funds would also be
updated, so that funds would be allocated to the States on the
basis of their number of children receiving title IV-E foster
care maintenance payments in the most recent year for which
data are available to the Secretary. There would also be a hold
harmless provision, assuring that all States would receive at
least as much as they did under the old formula.
While funding for the Independent Living Program has
remained constant since 1992, the number of foster children
ages 16 and older has grown from approximately 62,000 in 1992
to over 77,000 in 1998, and we expect this number to continue
to grow for at least the next few years. We believe that the
substantial increase in funding we are requesting for the
program is needed to enable the States to serve this growing
population of youth and to increase both the quantity and
quality of services that are provided. This is a crucial
investment that we owe to youth in foster care to help them
become productive members of society as they enter young
adulthood.
Research tells us that the Independent Living Program's
services can and do make a difference in the lives of young
people. A 1990 study found that providing more comprehensive
services, including teaching a combination of skills--money
management, consumer and credit management, education and
employment skills--helped youth to achieve better outcomes.
Improvements in outcomes were seen in increased high school
graduation rates, greater ability to maintain a job for at
least a year, accessing appropriate health services, avoiding
young parenthood and decreased dependence on public assistance
programs.
It is important to highlight not only the importance of the
direct services provided by State Independent Living Programs,
but the creative linkages that these programs forge with other
organizations in the public and private sectors in order to
provide expanded opportunities for youth aging out of foster
care.
In Virginia, the Independent Living Program
secures internships with private businesses, community
organizations, hospitals, universities and others in order to
provide participants with opportunities to develop skills, gain
work experience and earn a stipend.
In Texas, the State Independent Living Program has
initiated a cooperative arrangement with State colleges to
provide free college tuition to youth aging out of foster care.
These examples of collaboration and initiative translate
into life-changing experiences for youth in foster care.
Brenda was a child who first came into Texas'
foster care system when she was 3 years old. She was later
returned to family, but re-entered care when she was 13. She
was enrolled in the Independent Living Program and through this
experience had the opportunity to serve on the Statewide Youth
Advisory Committee, which works to make life better for
children and youth in foster care. After emancipation from
foster care, she began college, with the help of the State's
tuition benefit program for children aging out of foster care.
She graduated from college in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in
social work and subsequently worked for the State child
protective services agency. She now works as a case manager
with a private child-placing agency. In her professional and
personal commitments, she has worked to improve the lives of
children in foster care. Her goal is to enter law school and to
advocate for the rights of children and youth.
Create a Transitional Support Program for Older Youth:
While the Independent Living Program provides needed services
to help youth and young adults gain skills and education that
will help them to become independent, the program does not
allow payments for room and board. Furthermore, foster care
maintenance payments generally cease once youth reach their
18th birthday. Therefore, young people leaving foster care no
longer have any source of economic support for basic living
expenses.
We propose to create a time-limited demonstration program
of competitive grants to States that would provide economic
support to young people between the ages of 18 and 21 who were,
until aging out of the system, receiving title IV-E foster
care; who are enrolled in an Independent Living Program; and
who have an independent living plan that includes participation
in an educational or job training program. The program would be
funded at $5 million the first year in FY 2000, rising to $10
million in FY 2001, $15 million in FY 2002, and $20 million FY
2003. The program would be evaluated to determine its effect in
helping young people to achieve positive outcomes.
This initiative would offer young people a better chance to
gain independence by assuring them of both economic and social
support while they pursue educational or job training
activities. A recent survey of transitional living programs,
which provide similar types of services and supports to
homeless youth, found that 74 percent of youth were discharged
to stable housing and, six months after completing
participation in the program, 78 percent remained free of all
direct government aid.
In addition to the President's proposals for the
Independent Living Program and the new Transitional Support
Program for Older Youth, there are several other proposals in
the budget that I would like to take a moment to highlight.
While they do not fall within the jurisdiction of this
Subcommittee, they are substantively related to assuring
positive outcomes for youth leaving foster care.
Provide Health Insurance for Youth Leaving Foster Care:
When foster care youth lose their eligibility for title IV-E
foster care maintenance payments at age 18, they also lose
their heath insurance provided by Medicaid. The President's
budget includes a proposal to allow the States to extend
Medicaid coverage for these youth until their 21st birthday.
Increase Funding for the Transitional Living Program: The
President's budget proposes to increase discretionary funding
for the Transitional Living Program by 33 percent, from $15
million in FY 1999 to $20 million in FY 2000. The Transitional
Living Program, authorized by the Runaway and Homeless Youth
Act, provides grants to local community-based organizations to
provide residential care, life skills training, vocational
training, and other support services to homeless youth ages 16
-21. While the Independent Living Program serves youth who are
in the custody of State child welfare systems, the Transitional
Living Program serves youth who are homeless, and not in the
custody of any other service system. Sadly, this group of
homeless youth includes many young people who suffered abuse or
neglect at home, a small proportion of whom were previously in
foster care.
The President's budget outlines a sound set of policy
initiatives to improve supports to youth leaving foster care,
in order to help them on the road to healthy, productive lives
as adults. We recognize that there are other ideas that
Congress will also be considering. In particular, we would like
to acknowledge Congressman Cardin for the leadership he has
shown on this issue by introducing H.R. 671, the ``Transition
to Adulthood Program Act of 1999.'' We are very interested in
working with the members of this Subcommittee to explore all
options that meet our common goals for youth aging out of
foster care. What we want for these young people is really the
same as what we want our own children--that they be well
educated and prepared for the world of work, physically and
emotionally healthy, economically secure, and supported through
a network of caring relationships. To promote these positive
outcomes we need policies and programs that help youth:
To develop needed basic living, educational and
vocational skills;
To have access to financial support;
To retain health insurance coverage; and
To obtain stable housing and employment as they
reach adulthood.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the
Subcommittee. I would be pleased to answer any questions you
might have.

Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Thank you very much, Ms.
Williams. It is a pleasure to have you.
Why are you suggesting a time-limited demonstration
program? We did it years ago, when Tom Downey was Chairman of
this Subcommittee, included in a bill that I had made to allow
Independent Living Programs to serve students up to 21, or
young people up to 21. And many are. So we already have quite a
lot of experience with just the kind of program that you are
proposing to demonstrate. Why do we need to demonstrate it?
Ms. Williams. Let me just say that the Independent Living
Program, which does in fact have a State option to go to serve
young people up to age 21, does not allow, by statute, for any
of those resources to be used to pay for the boarding care of
youngsters. So that the time-limited demonstration is a
demonstration of an additional kind of economic support for
these youngsters in those circumstances where they have an
independent living plan, they are engaged in the program, but
they need support in order to pay the rent while they are in
vocational training.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. That is true that they are
not allowed to use independent living money for that. In fact,
they are using other money. So we do actually have that model
of a program out there.
Ms. Williams. Sure.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. So I think if we can look
and see how widespread that model is and how it's working, it
would help us to determine whether we need to demonstrate it or
whether we just need to move.
Ms. Williams. We would be pleased to work with you on that.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Then, I did want to ask
you about this transitional living program. Has any thought
been given to just opening up the Independent Living Program to
the group of kids that the transitional living program serves
because most of them, I guess, are homeless. But they are not
in the custody of the State.
But it seems to me that they are appropriate candidates. So
I will raise that with some who follow. But it is odd that we
have two programs that serve very much the same kind of young
people.
Ms. Williams. I think the characteristics of the young
people are very similar, but their relationship to the State
agency is really quite different. We find a very small overlap
between that group of children who are homeless, or immediately
homeless, and the youngsters that are in foster care. So this
is a broader group of youngsters who have left their home for a
variety of reasons, usually familial conflict.
But you are absolutely right, they have not been dependent
children of the court.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. To what degree do you and
the Department of Education coordinate on the programming for
these two groups of children?
Ms. Williams. The Transitional Living Program, authorized
by the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, is also administered in
the Department of Health and Human Services by the Family and
Youth Services Bureau, one of our sister agencies in the
administration on Children, Youth and Families. We coordinate
closely in administering the two programs. For instance, we
have supported joint training activities for Independent Living
Program administrators and Transitional Living Program grantees
and we have jointly supported technical assistance resources.
There is significant collaboration around the two programs at
the State and local levels, as well.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Thank you.
Mr. Cardin.
Mr. Cardin. Thank you, Madam Chair. And thank you very much
for your testimony, and we very much appreciate the
administration's initiatives in this area.
Let me follow up on this pilot program. You are suggesting
that we commit $50 million phased in, I guess, over 4 years.
Ms. Williams. That is correct.
Mr. Cardin. And during that period of time, you have
estimated that about 20,000 children age out of foster care
every year. So during that period, I assume you have somewhere
around 80,000 children that would be aging out of foster care.
You have also indicated that the majority of these children now
are having serious problems in the transition. I am just
curious, with $50 million of resources over the next 4 years,
approximately how many children aging out of foster care would
you expect to receive help under this pilot program?
Ms. Williams. I don't have the exact number before me, Mr.
Cardin. I would be glad to provide that. But quite frankly, it
is small proportion of the children aging out. And we actually
were offering this proposal as a beginning place to really
begin a discussion about the needs of these youngsters for a
different kind of support.
Mr. Cardin. Good. I am glad to hear you say that. I know
that you don't want to wait 4 years while we work on this
problem. We need to move aggressively, as the Chair has
indicated.
We have a lot of information now. We need to know what are
the best ideas in order to help.
We have heard a lot of different problems that children
reaching 18 in foster care have, employment problems, health-
insurance problems, educational opportunity, self-esteem. Could
you tell us what you think is the number-one problem that we
need to confront of that list or whatever list you think is
needed. If we had to pick a priority on the list, or several
priorities, how would you line them up?
Ms. Williams. Let me just say that I think that part of
what we have learned from the Independent Living Program and
its past evaluations is that these youngsters need a number of
skills simultaneously, that the outcomes for them in terms of
employment, in terms of completion of high school, in terms of
their self-esteem, seem to increase better when there is a
constellation of skills that is brought to bear for these
youngsters at one time.
Those skills include education and employment, but in
addition, the need to understand about the management of money,
credit, and consumer activities. Those five skill sets together
seem to promote self-sufficiency in these youngsters.
Mr. Cardin. One of your recommendations is to give the
States the option to cover the foster children aging out under
Medicaid.
Ms. Williams. That is correct.
Mr. Cardin. Do you have any indication as to whether the
States would exercise this option?
Ms. Williams. We have not polled the States at this time. I
think there is a felt concern about continuous health benefits
for these youngsters among the people we work with most
directly, which are the human service administrators. But we
have not polled the States about their willingness to
participate.
Mr. Cardin. I think that might be helpful for us to know
the States' attitude, what tools they would like to have, since
they have--a lot of States have had initiatives in this area.
It would be useful, I think, for us to know what the States
would like to have, for us to give them the eligibility to
include Medicaid and then for very few States to follow up on
it would be offering a little bit of a false hope.
I think it is a good suggestion, but I would like to know
that there is an interest, at least, among the States for us to
expand that issue.
And, last, there will be some witnesses later on that will
be suggesting that we reduce the age for independent living
services to 14, from 16 to 14. Now I am just interested as to
your view since you are testifying first and won't have a
chance to comment later, whether you think that would be useful
for the independent living services to be available to foster
children at an earlier age.
Ms. Williams. I have mixed feelings about it. On the one
hand, I think that preparation for adulthood is something that
we engage in with children throughout the course of their
lives. I think that I would want to continue the focus of the
Independent Living Program on youngsters 16 and over, but also,
simultaneously, focus work with foster care providers and other
care providers to make sure that they are establishing with
kids the building blocks that will allow them to move to
adulthood, at an earlier age.
Mr. Cardin. How they do that if they can't use this
program?
Ms. Williams. Well I think in most familial situations, we
integrate that into the daily care of our children. And I would
like to shore that up with foster parents and other group-care
providers within the context of the programs and the services
they currently provide to youngsters.
Mr. Cardin. I'm not sure I fully understand that. I'm not
sure I know what services--I understand how foster care, the
program, works, but how, if we don't allow the independent
living funds to be used, where would the programming be to help
foster children in that regard?
Ms. Williams. I think that we have underutilized the
opportunity to work with foster parents of children at a
younger point, to make sure they have the kinds of experiences
that prepare them for work in the context of family. We need to
really begin working with those groups of parents before kids
get to be 16, from the time kids are 11 to 12 on, foster
parents could work with them around work issues, school issues,
that kind of thing.
I think it could be a complement to the Independent Living
Program.
Mr. Cardin. And your reluctance to change the age from 16
to 14 is----
Ms. Williams. I think we need to improve both the scope and
the quality of the services that we provide to the older kids.
And it is a limited pot of resources. And so I don't want to
dilute it as we are trying to improve the quality.
Mr. Cardin. Thank you.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Thank you.
Mr. English.
Mr. English. Thank you, Madam Chair. And welcome, Ms.
Williams. I have been listening with interest to your
presentation. We are going to be hearing testimony later today
that many of the skills emphasized in the Independent Living
Program are soft, such as increasing self-esteem or improving
relational skills, as opposed to hard skills, such as getting a
job or getting into college.
In the President's proposal, is there any change in the
menu of services or any priority given to the types of services
that the Independent Living Program should be providing?
Ms. Williams. In our proposal, we have not changed the
priorities. We do clearly expect preparation for work and
continued education, with real expectation around completion of
high school and GED and other vocational training as part of
that program.
Mr. English, I would like to point out that many of these
youngsters have had very disruptive childhoods. They have lived
in various places. They have experienced troublesome
interactions with their own parents and have been abused and
neglected.
Often, the so-called soft skills are skills that are
helpful to them in the workplace, but clearly, our
expectations, even though we have a menu of skills, is around
the transition to adulthood and self-sufficiency.
Mr. English. Well said. The President's proposal will allow
States to extend Medicaid coverage for these youth until their
21st birthday. As I look at that proposal, I wonder did the
administration consider giving States a choice of either
coverage through the CHIP program, the Children's Health
Insurance Program, or through Medicaid?
Ms. Williams. We looked at both of those. Currently, under
Medicaid, children must be covered through age 19--to age 19,
excuse me, through the 18th year. And that is also true of the
CHIP program. We were attempting to provide a broader
transition to these youngsters to age 21. And there is a gap in
terms of those current provisions and what we are proposing.
Mr. English. I guess the other thing that interests me is
probably a rather basic issue. Under the President's budget, he
has proposed a significant increase in funding for the
Independent Living Program, as you have noted, by over $300
million over 5 years. I took a look at the President's budget;
I didn't see any specific budget changes, savings that were
specifically earmarked to cover that increase. Can you give us
any insight and, if it comes down to this Subcommittee's
recommendation, since it is in our jurisdiction, what sort of
changes should be made to generate that $300 million?
Ms. Williams. The President's budget has a number of cost-
saving provisions within it. And we know we have to pay for
this program, that this cannot be just new funds. And we are
prepared to work with this Subcommittee to look at the ones
that are currently in the President's budget and others that we
might want to consider to pay for this.
Mr. English. I thank you for that. And let me say that this
proposal for an increase certainly has a lot of merit and you
have been eloquent in arguing here for it. And I very much
appreciate your testimony here today. We still are going to
have some very difficult decisions to make, but certainly I
hope that we have an opportunity to proceed on this proposal.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Thanks.
Mr. Lewis. OK. Thank you.
Ms. Williams, on this issue of a skills set, I appreciate
your comments, and certainly for this group of kids, the old
law is still relevant. But it is also true that we have kids
coming out of high school who are totally illiterate in terms
of how to use a computer. I don't know how you get into the
work force when you don't--even if you don't take a job that
requires computer training, you just have to have a sense of
technology. So I think we do have to look at the skills-set
issue and what is most important to helping the young person
feel a part of the workplace or feel comfortable in the
workplace they are going to join.
As important as I think what are commonly referred to as
the soft skills are, I think we have to take a little harder
line and also provide more hard skills. I appreciate your
thought about that as we move forward.
Ms. Williams. Yes, you know, I think what we want is
youngsters who can enter the world of work, and that requires
us to address the hard skills, but then to address soft skills
to the extent that they get in the way of their ability to
maintain themselves in the world of work.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Thank you very much.
Pleasure to have you here.
Ms. Williams. You are welcome.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Now I would like to call
to the table some witnesses that we are particularly pleased to
have with us: Elaine Nelson, who is a junior at Texas A&M,
College Station, Texas, on behalf of the Orphan Foundation of
Vienna, Virginia; Reggie Rollins, who is a student at Norwalk
Community College, Norwalk, Connecticut, on behalf of the
Connecticut Youth Advisory Board, and Shauntee Miller, a
student at Baltimore Studio of Hair Design, on behalf of New
Pathways Independent Plus Program, Baltimore, Maryland.
We are very pleased to have you all here today. If there is
one thing we do respect, it's that if we construct a program
and it doesn't help anyone, it's of no value no matter what its
name sounds like on paper or how many dollars go out the door.
So we are pleased to have you all here to share your
experiences and thoughts with us.
And we hope, as we develop this legislation, that we will
be able to get in touch with you if we have questions.
Ms. Nelson.

STATEMENT OF ELAINE KAY NELSON, STUDENT, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY,
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, ON BEHALF OF ORPHAN FOUNDATION OF
AMERICA

Ms. Nelson. Good afternoon, Congresswoman Johnson and
distinguished Members of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee
on Human Resources.
My name is Elaine Nelson. I am 20 years old and a junior
biomedical science major at Texas A&M University. I will begin
applying to medical school after this semester and will
graduate cum laude in May of 2000.
I entered the foster care system in 1990 at age 12. During
my senior year of high school I was advised to attend a 10-week
PAL program, preparation for adult living. This course offered
many benefits and assisted me to visualize independence from
the foster care system. With less than 50 percent of foster
children graduating from high school, I realized that, even
with Independent Living Programs, something is missing from the
system.
Ten weeks cannot make up for the years of little or no
attention given to the preparation for independence. So the
last year in foster care is extremely stressful. For the many
foster kids that leave the system without the aid of a PAL
program, no information on independent living is passed on.
They are forced to leave the system without a support system
and with no information on work ethics or college and
vocational preparation.
Therefore, a primary goal for the entire foster care
system, along with PAL, should be to continually prepare foster
teens for their future.
Texas' PAL provided financial assistance and valuable
adult-living techniques. Over a 10-week course, PAL provided
each participant with $5 at the end of each class session,
which paid for gas to the session and possibly dinner on the
way home.
At the completion of this course, each participant received
a total of $1,500, of which $500 was allotted solely for the
use of buying household or dormitory supplies, such as dishes,
sheets, and things of that manner. The remaining $1,000 was
divided among 4 months, and was for the participant's personal
use.
On top of this, PAL also reimburses college students for
their first two semesters of books and supplies.
The second positive outcome was the actual lessons taught
to the group. Issues such as applying for a job, buying a car,
and balancing a checkbook were discussed. I was fortunate to
have already experienced all of these endeavors, but I realized
the value they held for those that were in need of this type of
assistance.
Although the program had its advantages, it was also in
need of some adjustments. First, more positive reinforcement
should be placed on the students from the instructor. For
example, one young girl's ambition was to become a topless
dancer. Instead of offering suggestions for an alternative
route, the instructor merely half nodded and remained silent.
I have seen countless foster children, including a previous
foster brother, leave the system with absolutely no plans or
goals, leading them to lives filled with sleepless nights,
violence, drugs, and empty dreams.
I believe the ultimate goal of independent living classes
should be to present to the students their many options such as
the Job Corps program, university or community college
enrollment, military service, or vocational opportunities. Once
the student has chose a direction, the program should then be
available to assist them in organizing and constructing their
method for achieving this goal.
Second, the program provided no information on college
admissions, Federal student financial aid, or private
scholarships like the one I receive each year from the Orphan
Foundation of America. I researched this information on my own
instead.
During the summer of 1997, I spoke at a Texas PAL teen
conference about my college experiences. I stressed the
importance of the FAFSA, Federal Application for Financial
Student Aid, and the urgency to complete it by the deadline. I
was absolutely shocked as these high school juniors and seniors
asked me question after question about the form. It was
disturbing that they had never been told about the fact the
FAFSA, a form that plays the most crucial role in college
funding for foster children.
If youth are unaware of the financial assistance that they
are eligible for, they may assume that college is financially
out of their reach and thus will not even apply.
I think I am an excellent example of a student who used her
resources. I have been successful because I took advantage of
what the system and the government offered. For those PAL
participants planning a future in college or vocational school,
more time should be spent utilizing these resources by filling
out applications and financial-aid forms so that they too can
have an increased chance of success.
I do believe that health insurance should be provided for
foster youths until their completion of college or vocational
school. Many former foster children, including myself, cannot
afford a monthly health insurance payment while struggling
independently with rent, groceries, and other bills.
I am fortunate as a student to have a reduced rate at the
student clinic on the Texas A&M campus. However, many are
forced to remain ill for extended periods of time or are forced
to make a decision between going to a physician and paying
their rent. No one should be faced with this type of conflict.
In conclusion, preparation for adult living and other
similar programs are not only beneficial to foster teens but, I
believe, essential. These programs hold enormous potential and
could contribute so much more by including more volunteer
programming, private-sector scholarships, like the Orphan
Foundation of America, and interaction with religious
establishments.
Independent Living Programs should be a principal way for
foster youths to get a taste of a busy and unpredictable world
and a great start to a future that holds enormous opportunity.
[The prepared statement follows:]

Statement of Elaine Kay Nelson, Student, Texas A&M University, College
Station, Texas, on behalf of Orphan Foundation of America

Good afternoon Congresswoman Johnson and distinguished
members of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human
Resources. My name is Elaine Nelson, I am 20 years old and a
junior biomedical science major at Texas A&M University. I will
begin applying to medical school after this semester and will
graduate cum laude in May of 2000.
I entered the foster care system in 1990 at the age of 12.
During my senior year of high school I was advised to attend a
10-week PAL program (Preparation for Adult Living). This course
offered many benefits, and assisted me to visualize
independence from the foster care system.
With less than 50% of foster children graduating from high
school, I realize that, even with independent living programs,
something is missing from the system. Ten weeks cannot make up
for the years of little or no attention given to the
preparation for independence. The last year in foster care is
extremely stressful. For the many foster kids that leave the
system without the aid of a PAL program, no information on
independent living is passed on. They are forced to leave the
system without a support system and with no information on work
ethics or college and vocational preparation. Therefore, a
primary goal for the entire foster care system, along with PAL,
should be to continually prepare foster teens for their future.
Texas's PAL provided financial assistance and valuable
adult living techniques. Over a ten week course, PAL provided
each participant with $5.00 at the end of each class session,
which paid for gas to the session and possible dinner on your
way home. At the completion of the course, each participant
received a total of $1,500.00, of which $500 was allotted
solely for purchase of household or dormitory supplies, such as
dishes, sheets, and cleaning supplies. The remaining $1,000 was
divided among 4 months, and was for the participant's personal
use. On top of this, PAL reimburses college students for their
1st two semesters of books and supplies.
The second positive outcome was the actual lessons taught
to the group. Issues such as applying for a job, buying a car,
and balancing a checkbook were discussed. I was fortunate to
have already experienced all of these endeavors, but I realize
the value they held for those that were in need of this type of
assistance.
Although this program had its advantages, it was also in
need of some adjustments. First, more positive reinforcement
should be placed on the students from the instructor. For
example, one young girl's ambition was to become a topless
dancer. Instead of offering suggestions for an alternative
route, the instructor merely half-nodded and remained silent. I
have seen countless foster children, including a previous
foster brother, leave the system with absolutely no plans or
goals, leading them to lives filled with sleepless nights,
violence, drugs, and empty dreams. I believe the ultimate goal
of independent living classes should be to present to the
students their many options, such as the Job Corps program,
university or community college enrollment, military service,
or vocational opportunities. Once the student has chosen a
direction, the program should then be available to assist them
in organizing and constructing their method for achieving this
goal.
Second, the program provided no information on college
admissions, federal student financial aid, or private
scholarships like the one that I receive each year from the
Orphan Foundation of America. I researched this information on
my own instead.
During the summer of 1997, I spoke at a Texas PAL teen
conference about my college experiences. I stressed the
importance of the FAFSA (Federal Application for Financial
Student Aid) and the urgency to complete it by the deadline. I
was absolutely shocked as these high school juniors and seniors
asked me question after question about the form. It was
disturbing that they had never been told about the FAFSA, a
form that plays the most crucial role in college funding for
foster children. If youth are unaware of the financial
assistance they are eligible for, they may assume that college
is financially out of their reach, and thus, will not attempt
to apply. I am an excellent example of a student who used her
resources. I have been successful because I took advantage of
what the system and the government offered. For those PAL
participants, planning a future in college or vocational
school, more time should be spent utilizing these resources by
filling out applications and financial aid forms so they, too,
can have an increased chance at success.
I believe health insurance should be provided for foster
youth until their completion of college or vocational school.
Many former foster children, including myself, cannot afford a
monthly health insurance payment while struggling independently
with rent, groceries, and other bills. I am fortunate as a
student to have a reduced rate at the student clinic on the
Texas A&M campus. However, many are forced to remain ill for
extended periods of time, or are forced to make a decision
between going to a physician and paying their rent. No one
should be faced with this type of conflict.
In conclusion, preparation for adult living and other
similar programs are not only beneficial to foster teens, but I
believe, essential. These programs hold enormous potential and
could contribute so much more by including more volunteer
programming, private sector scholarship organizations like the
Orphan Foundation of America, and interactions with religious
establishments. Independent living programs should be a
principal way for foster youth to get a taste of a busy,
unpredictable world and a great start to a future that holds
enormous opportunity.

Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Thank you very much, Ms.
Nelson.
Mr. Rollins, it is a pleasure to welcome you here from
Connecticut.

STATEMENT OF REGGIE ROLLINS, STUDENT, NORWALK COMMUNITY
COLLEGE, NORWALK, CONNECTICUT, ON BEHALF OF CONNECTICUT YOUTH
ADVISORY BOARD

Mr. Rollins. Thank you. Good afternoon, Chairman Johnson,
Congressman Cardin, Members of the House Ways and Means
Committee on Human Resources. My name is Reggie Rollins. I am a
21-year-old college student from Stamford, Connecticut.
I came into the care of Connecticut Department of Children
and Families in 1989 at the age of 10. Life as a child was no
fun for me at all.
How did I get to be a State kid. My mother--sorry. I became
involved in the State because my mother was addicted to drugs
and was unable to take care of me, my younger brother and
sister. As my mother got more into drugs, the worse things got
for the family.
At a very young age I was forced to act as a parent in my
household and was responsible for looking out for my younger
siblings. There were many times when there was no food or heat
or electricity because our family income had gone to buy drugs.
It was because of this that the State had to step in to
rescue us. Throughout my life, I have seen the good as well as
the bad. When I went to the care of the Department of Children
and Families, it was very difficult for me and my siblings.
There was no place that could take us all, and we all split up
in different foster homes.
After being responsible for making sure they were always
safe, it was very hard not being able to see them more than
once a month. For the first few years in care, I had a hard
time adjusting to losing my family. I moved from foster home to
foster home, and then when I got older, there was no more
foster care. I began to move from group home to group home.
Luckily for me, quite a few years ago, I was placed at the
Domus Foundation, a group home in Stamford, Connecticut. Domus
rescued me and started me on my path toward independent living.
While at Domus, I learned all the things that would prepare
me to live in the community. For one, the group home had life-
skill classes where I learned about money management,
transportation, cooking, and other skills I would need after I
got on my own--excuse me.
Not only did I have life-skill classes, but our counselors
would also bring in guest speakers from the community to teach
us about life skills and bring us out and taking me for a few
visits to sites where we could use the services.
For example, we learned about money management in classes,
including topics like budgeting, savings, checking accounts,
credit, consumerism, and so forth. Then someone from the
consumer credit company in the community would come in and
teach us about loans and credit. And they we would go visit
local banks and set up savings and checking accounts.
There was always a lot of activities on hands and
experience to help us learn and practice life skills.
Soon I was ready to move from the group home and to
independent living. In Connecticut, we call it the CHAP
Program, or the Community Housing Assistance Program. To be
eligible for the CHAP, you have to be at least 17 years, you
have to be under the State's care, willing to be in a full-time
educational or vocational program, have completed a DCF-
approved life skills program, work at least part time, and be
willing to save at least 50 percent of your income from your
job.
Independent living has been a great experience for me. I
live in an apartment with my roommate Jeff, and we do
everything from paying the bills to washing dishes. The CHAP
Program has given me a chance to practice all of the life
skills I have learned at the group home before I went out on my
own.
I set up a monthly budget with my case manager around rent,
food, utilities, transportation, telephone, personal-care
items, and then the State sends me a check once a month to meet
all of the budget costs.
My case manager stops by to see us a couple times a week to
make sure we are paying our bills, keeping the apartment
together, and making all of our goals. I love being in my own
apartment. Independent living has given me a great opportunity
to become a great member of the community.
Another program I really enjoy is being part of the
Connecticut Youth Advisory Board. Through the advisory board, I
have been able to have my voice heard in many different
functions. I am a member of the southwest's region advisory
board and also am a member of the statewide Youth Advisory
Board that meets with the commissioner.
The regional youth advisory board consists of eight
different youth ages. All come from the southwest part of our
State.
We meet together once a month and we talk about things in
our system we feel should be changed. Our regional group
currently has three projects we are involved with. One is a
youth survey to get feedback from other kids in care as to how
they see life in the system.
Another project is a raffle to raise money to began a
scholarship fund. And finally, we made a video to tell other
young people about the Youth Advisory Board and how to get
involved.
The statewide Advisory Board consists of 10 youth, two from
each regional board. The group meets four times a year with the
commissioner. Commissioner Kris, as we call her, really listens
to what we have to say, and this year she changed two policies
around college tuition and services to teen parents based on
what we had to say.
Not only have I been enjoying a youth leadership role in my
State, but I also attended the National Independent-Living
Conference representing my State. In December, I went to
Florida to do a workshop with the State mental health
commissioners on how to develop a youth advisory board in their
States.
In closing, I want to thank Congresswoman Johnson for the
opportunity to speak with you. I want you all to know that if
you give us the resources and opportunity, we can turn out all
right. Thank you.
[The prepared statement follows:]

Statement of Reggie Rollins, Student, Norwalk Community College,
Norwalk, Connecticut, on behalf of Connecticut Youth Advisory Board

Good afternoon Congresswoman Johnson, Representative Cardin
and members of the House Ways and Means' Subcommittee on Human
resources. My name is Reggie Rollins and I'm a 21 year old
college student from Stamford, Connecticut. I came into the
care of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families in
1989 at the age of 10. Life as a child was no fun for me at
all. How did I get to be a ``state'' kid? I became involved
with the state because my mother was addicted to drugs and was
unable to take care of me, and my younger brother and sister.
As my mother got more into drugs, the worse things got for my
family. At a very young age I was forced into acting as a
parent in my household and was responsible for looking out for
my younger siblings. There were many times when there was no
food, or heat, or electricity, because our family income had
gone to buy drugs. It was because of this that the state had to
step in to rescue us.
Throughout my life I've seen the good as well as the bad.
When I went into the care of the Department of Children and
Families it was very difficult for me and my siblings. There
was no place that could take all of us and we were split up
into different foster homes. After being responsible for making
sure they were always safe it was very hard not being able to
see them more than once a month. For the first few years in
care I had a hard time adjusting to losing my family. I moved
from foster home to foster home, and then when I got older and
there was no more foster care, I began to move from group home
to group home.
Luckily for me a few years ago I was placed at the Domus
Foundation group home in Stamford, Connecticut. Domus rescued
me and started me on my path towards independent living. While
at Domus I learned all the things that would prepare me to live
in the community. For one, the group home had life skills
classes where I learned about money management, transportation,
cooking and other skills I would need as I got out on my own.
Not only did I have the life skills classes but our counselors
would also bring in guest speakers from the community to teach
us about the skills and then bring us out into the community
for field visits to sites where we could use the service. For
example, we would learn about money management in class,
including topics like budgeting, savings and checking accounts,
credit, consumerism, etc. Then, someone from a consumer credit
company in the community would come in and teach us about loans
and credit, etc. And then we would go visit the local bank and
set up savings and checking accounts. There were always alot of
activities and hands on experiences to help us learn and
practice life skills.
Soon I was ready to move from the group home into
independent living. In Connecticut, it's called the CHAP
program, or the Community Housing Assistance Program. To be
eligible for CHAP, you have to be 17 or older; you have to be
under the state's care; willing to be in a full-time
educational or vocational program; have completed a DCF
approved life skills program; work at least part time; and be
willing to save up to 50 percent of your income from your job.
Independent living has been a great experience for me. I live
in an apartment with my roommate Jeff and we do everything from
paying the bills to washing the dishes. The CHAP program has
given me the chance to practice all of the life skills I
learned at the group home before I'm really out there on my
own.
I set up a monthly budget with my case manager around rent,
food, utilities, transportation, telephone and personal care
items and then the state sends me a check once a month to meet
all of the budget costs. My case manager stops by to see us a
couple of times a week to make sure we're paying our bills,
keeping the apartment together, and meeting all of our goals. I
love being in my own apartment. Independent living has given me
a great opportunity to become a member of the community.
Another program I really enjoy is being a part of
Connecticut's Youth Advisory Board. Through the advisory board
I have been able to have my voice heard at many different
functions. I'm a member of the Southwest region's advisory
board and I'm also a member of the statewide Youth Advisory
Board that meets with the Commissioner.
The regional youth advisory board consists of eight youth
of different ages that all come from the southwest part of our
state. We meet together once a month and we talk about things
in the system we feel should be changed. Our regional group
currently has three projects we're involved in. One is a youth
survey to get feedback from other kids in care as to how they
see life in the system. Another project is a raffle to raise
money to begin a scholarship fund. And finally, we made a video
to tell other young people about the Youth Advisory Board and
how to get involved.
The statewide advisory board consists of 10 youth, 2 from
each regional board. This group meets four times a year with
the Commissioner. Commissioner Kris as we call her, really
listens to what we have to say and this year she changed two
policies around college tuition and services to teen parents
based on what we had to say.
Not only have I been enjoying a youth leadership role in my
state but I've also attended the national independent living
conferences representing my state. In December I went to
Florida to do a workshop with state mental health commissioners
on how to develop youth advisory boards in their states.
In closing, I want to thank Congresswoman Johnson for the
opportunity to speak with you. I want you all to know that if
you give us the resources and the opportunities, we can turn
out all right.
Thank you.

Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Miss Miller.

STATEMENT OF SHAUNTEE MILLER, STUDENT, BALTIMORE STUDIO OF HAIR
DESIGN, ON BEHALF OF NEW PATHWAYS INDEPENDENT PLUS PROGRAM,
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

Ms. Miller. Dear Madam Chair, Mr. Cardin, and other
distinguished Members of the Subcommittee, my name is Shauntee
Miller and I will be 20 years old in 2 days. I live in
Baltimore in an apartment as a resident of New Pathways.
New Pathways is a semi-independent living program that is
helping me get ready for the real world. At the age of 16, I
had my daughter Alexus while living with my mother.
Unfortunately, I had to call protective services when we were
being evicted because it was the only way to keep Alexus and me
safe.
My daughter and I went into two foster homes in a 1-year
period. When I was 17, Alexus and I were separated and placed
in separate foster homes, and it became very difficult for me
to see my daughter. When I was 18, I went to live with my aunt.
But when I was there, it was overcrowded and nobody respected
my space. They wanted too much money for rent, and I always had
to take care of everybody else's responsibilities. I had no
time to take care of my responsibilities. When I turned 19, a
year ago, I decided to move into New Pathways program to help
me become more independent.
After a week, I changed my mind because my brother had just
recently died and it wasn't a great time for me to go out on my
own. So I moved back into my aunt's house.
In January of this year, I made a decision to go back into
New Pathways because I needed to be able to worry about my
responsibilities. These responsibilities are my daughter, my
school, my job, and myself.
New Pathways allows me to be on my own in an apartment
where other people don't put their responsibilities on me. I am
able to feel safe, have my own space and some privacy. I am
able to see my daughter every weekend. I go to cosmetology
school and work nights so that I can save money. I am able to
make my goals a priority.
My goals are to complete school, move out on my own, and
reunification with my daughter, Alexus.
When foster kids turn 18 we still need some support to
manage all of our responsibilities. We don't want everything
given to us, but having assistance with housing money and
medical care while we are in school is very important. New
Pathways allows me to be independent, but at the same time
gives me some support and guidance and an occasional push if I
need it.
It makes me proud that my Congressman, Mr. Cardin, is
responsible for this bill. I want to thank him for his
commitment to young adults like myself who are trying hard to
be successful.
I hope that all of the distinguished Subcommittee Members
realize that we are not looking for a free ride, just a little
assistance while we go to school and try to put away some
money.
Thank you. Thank you all for your time and for this
opportunity to represent young adults like myself.
[The prepared statement follows:]

Statement of Shauntee Miller, Student, Baltimore Studio of Hair Design,
on behalf of New Pathways Independent Plus Program, Baltimore, Maryland

Dear Madame Chair, Mr. Cardin and other distinguished
members of the committee,
My name is Shauntee Miller, and I will be 20 years old in
two days. I live in Baltimore in an apartment as a resident of
New Pathways. New Pathways is a semi-independent living program
that is helping me get ready for the ``real'' world. At the age
of 16, I had my daughter, Alexus while living with my mother.
Unfortunately, I had to call protective services when we were
being evicted because it was the only way for me to keep Alexus
and me safe. My daughter and I went to 2 foster homes in a one-
year period. When I was 17, Alexus and I were separated and
placed in separate foster homes, and it became very difficult
for me to see my daughter. When I was 18, I went to live with
my aunt, but when I was there, it was overcrowded, nobody
respected my space, they wanted too much money for rent, and I
always had to take care of everybody else's responsibilities. I
had no time to take care of my responsibilities.
When I turned 19 a year ago, I decided to move into New
Pathways' program to help me become more independent. After a
week, I changed my mind because my brother had just recently
died and it wasn't a great time for me to go out on my own, so
I moved back to my aunt's house. In January of this year, I
made a decision to go back into New Pathways because I needed
to be able to worry about my responsibilities. These
responsibilities are my daughter, my school, my job, and
myself. New Pathways allows me to be on my own in an apartment
where other people don't put their responsibilities on me. I am
able to feel safe, have my own space and some privacy. I am
able to see my daughter every weekend. I go to cosmetology
school and work at nights so that I can save money. I am able
to make my goals a priority. My goals are to complete school,
move out on my own, and reunify with Alexus.
When foster kids turn 18, we still need some support to
manage all of our responsibilities. We don't want everything
given to us, but having assistance with housing, money and
medical care while we are in school is very important. New
Pathways allows me to be independent but at the same time gives
me support and guidance, and an occasional push if I need it.
It makes me proud that my Congressman, Mr. Cardin, is
responsible for this bill. I want to thank him for his
commitment to young adults like myself, who are trying hard to
be successful. I hope that all of the distinguished committee
members realize that we are not looking for a free ride, just a
little assistance while we go to school and try to put away
some money.
Thank you all for your time and for this opportunity to
represent young adults like myself.

Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Well, thank you very much.
I would have to say I am extremely impressed with each of you,
with what you have done in the face of tremendous odds that
would have defeated many. It is indeed a shocking comment on
our society that we have, over so many years, given adults with
children on welfare stipends, health care, and a lot of
education and counseling support as they faced the transition,
and been so utterly insensitive to what it must have been like
during that last year in a foster home.
So I think one of the things that you have brought out very
clearly is that every child in foster homes needs to have this
kind of support that you all received through the life-skills
program, independent living type program in your State.
What do you think about--two issues. First of all, what do
you think about the inclusion of younger people who are in the
foster care system and who are in foster homes, in the kinds of
meetings that you have been a part of and, therefore,
developing those supportive friendships that are so important?
And what do you think about the kinds of skills that have been
offered.
Your comments, Ms. Nelson, about the lack of attention to
financial resources were very well taken. And when I look at
what Mr. Rollins is doing down there in Norwalk--you know, last
year, we passed this Hope Scholarship Program. Last year we put
more money into higher education subsidies than we have in any
1 year since the GI Bill. But if we don't educate people about
that, how can they possibly know.
Ms. Nelson. Right.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. And a lot of the money
comes through tax credits. So we need to know how do you
combine work and school in such a way that actually you can do
it without building up any debt. But certainly the more tools
we put out there, the more need there is for education and
assistance so that people can see what the opportunities are.
I wonder whether any of you in the programs that you are in
were able to gain particular understanding of what your career
choices were? What it might feel like if you went into one
career versus another career? Were you given any encouragement
in thinking about what your career ought to be.
You know, we all make choices about a career, and then we
change them throughout our lifetimes, but was career education
and exploration very much a part of the programs you
participated in?
Ms. Nelson. It wasn't in mine. They never once talked to
us, [cough] excuse me. They went around the room and asked what
each of our goals were, but no real emphasis--excuse me--was
placed on training for the future. Basically, you know, each
person said their piece and there was feedback from the
instructors.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. How about you, Mr.
Rollins?
Mr. Rollins. No. They just basically asked us what our
goals are and that's about it.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Ms. Miller.
Ms. Miller. Could you repeat the question?
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Did you, for instance,
decide to go into cosmetology because it was something that you
saw other people doing and knew about, or was there any effort
in the program you participated in to expose you to a lot of
different choices and you chose that?
Ms. Miller. Well, they offered me the chance for--well,
cosmetology was something I was good at. So I chose it, and
they are able to help me do it. So----
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Good. I was part of a
program that was trying to help kids see what career options
were available, and when we took kids from my hometown up to
the airport, which is only about 25 minutes away, not one of
them had ever seen the inside of a plane, nor thought about all
the kinds of jobs--that are involved--stewardess, airplane
pilot repair, baggage, tickets--and there is just a whole world
of possible careers in an airport. And there is a whole world
of possible careers if you visit a hospital from physician
right on down to many, many interesting lab careers.
You go out to some of the construction sites, and there are
just all kinds of jobs from entry-level to very high-paying
equipment jobs. You go into manufacturers now and they have
much better training opportunities and high-paying supervisory
jobs on the floor for women and men, earning $50,000, $60,000 a
year.
So, I think that though this is an old program, that we do
need to think. And I hope that, in the next few days, you will
think--what would I really like to have known? What would have
helped me think about what are all the choices out there?
Because of all the kids in the world, those who grew up in the
circumstances you did, need to have a little extra help in
seeing what are the various horizons, what are the roads and
the paths one can choose.
None of us stay necessarily in the path we choose when we
are 18 or 20 or 40 or 60, but you do need to be able to go down
a path with a sense of choice and enthusiasm.
So I appreciate your being here together today. Thank you
all for your excellent testimony. And now I want to recognize
Mr. Cardin.
Mr. Cardin. Thank you, Madam Chair. First, let me
congratulate each of you for what you have been able to achieve
and what you are going to be achieving in your life. I also
want to thank you for coming here to testify. It is not easy.
I don't know if many of us at your age could have had the
poise and had the preparation to be able to come before
Congress and talk about your own experiences. So I want to
thank you for that very much, and really tell you how important
it is for us. We see the numbers, 20,000 children each year in
foster care, but now we see three, and we see the faces and we
see the experiences, and we learn a lot more by your personal
presence here. So thanks for braving the weather, and thanks
for being prepared, and being willing to come forward. It makes
our job a lot easier.
I am curious as to how the three of you would have--what
would have happened to you or people that you know, if there
wasn't a PAL program, or you didn't have the program in
Connecticut, the Domus Foundation, or the program we have in
Maryland, New Pathways?
If those programs weren't available, how would you--what
would you do at age 18? What would happen at age 18 without any
help for housing or assistance? What happens to foster
children?
Ms. Miller. They will probably drop out of high school to
get a job and make it on their own.
Mr. Cardin. So you would have dropped out of school and
done the best that you could?
Ms. Miller. Most likely that is what I see.
Mr. Rollins. I probably would have finished school and
learned experiences as I went on, you know. And whatever
happens, happens from there basically. I would try, you know,
differences, as far as I can get to the value for myself.
Mr. Cardin. What would have happened at 18, if you didn't
have any help?
Ms. Nelson. Well, PAL really--PAL in Texas really didn't
prepare me any more for what I was already, you know, what I
already knew was going to exist. So I think it could be a lot
stronger than it was. It really didn't focus on the skills that
I needed.
Mr. Cardin. Texas has an educational assistance program for
children coming out of foster care?
Ms. Nelson. They have a tuition and fee waiver if you go to
any State-supported public school. And that is just tremendous,
that's a tremendous help. But they don't have an actual--other
than the PAL program, I'm not aware of any other services.
Mr. Cardin. Did you take advantage of that tuition
assistance, or----
Ms. Nelson. Oh yes. I still am. Oh yes. Yes, there is just
a form that my PAL coordinator actually sends me. If it is
updated. She sent me one my freshman year, and I just give that
to the admissions.
Mr. Cardin. Now, if that was not available, what would have
been your educational opportunities?
Ms. Nelson. Well, I still get financial aid from the fact
of filling out Federal aid. It would have been a lot harder to
pay for school. I mean, that is a big chunk money to pay for,
you know, tuition and fees. And so, I think I would have still
been OK with Federal aid, but the tuition and fee waiver is
tremendous.
Mr. Cardin. I understand that Connecticut has a requirement
that you have to save some money?
Mr. Rollins. Fifty percent of your check, income.
Mr. Cardin. Are you doing it?
Mr. Rollins. To some extent. [Laughter.]
Mr. Cardin. You are like all of us, huh? We are trying to
help you save. How about the others? Are you able to save any
money?
Ms. Nelson. Yes. I really don't have a choice, I mean. I
really think it would be great if we had something like that.
It would make us.
Mr. Cardin. Ms. Miller, are you able to save any money?
Ms. Miller. Yes, I am.
Mr. Cardin. Pardon?
Ms. Miller. Yes.
Mr. Cardin. Good. Well, that is important. We want you to
continue. They are good life skills to realize there are going
to be times that you are going to have to go into that savings.
And we expect that we are going to make it easier for you to do
that.
Again, let me just thank you all for being here and sharing
your experiences with us.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Mr. English.
Mr. English. Thank you. And welcome. All of you are the
product of different, Independent Living Programs. What would
you say was the most important single skill you got out of that
participation?
Ms. Miller, is there one single skill that you particularly
prize that you got from participating in this program?
Ms. Miller. Well, New Pathways has helped me to accomplish
my goals or to try to reach them.
Mr. English. A focus, maybe?
Ms. Miller. Yes.
Mr. English. What about you, Mr. Rollins. What was the most
important single skill you got?
Mr. Rollins. Budgeting.
Mr. English. Budgeting.
Ms. Nelson.
Ms. Nelson. I would imagine budgeting would probably be the
best skill they taught me.
Mr. English. Great. Is there anything that you would change
or add to these programs, just off the top of your head? Ms.
Miller. Beyond your previous testimony?
Ms. Miller. Yes. I would add to the program that if we have
children, that they would allow us to have overnight weekend
visits.
Mr. English. OK.
Mr. Rollins.
Mr. Rollins. I probably would change the classes, like I
said before: start at an early age. Try to keep siblings
together too, because, as it happens, they are always split
apart from each other.
Mr. English. Ms. Nelson, you have already given some ideas
of how you would like to see changes, do you want to
encapsulize them or add anything?
Ms. Nelson. Yes. I really think volunteers could make a
huge difference in Independent Living Programs. And I never met
a volunteer until after I graduated from high school, until
after I left the foster care system. And it just kind of gave
me a sense that someone is really going to stay there and help
because if people are being paid to work in the system, you
realize that when you turn 18 they are just going to move on to
the next child; whereas, if a volunteer was part of PAL or any
other Independent Living Program, then they would stay with you
for the rest of your life if you both chose.
So, I think that is a huge--that would make a huge impact.
Mr. English. That is well said. And, again, I appreciate
all of you taking the time to come and share these thoughts
with us.
Madam Chair, I will yield back the balance of my time.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Thank you.
Mr. Watkins.
Mr. Watkins. Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to share with
the panel that I agree with the other Members of Congress who
congratulated you on being articulate and expressing yourself.
I think my colleague from Maryland expressed it. When I was
your age I don't think I knew what a Congressman was, let alone
come before Congress and testify.
But on the last question Mr. English asked. Would you
consider being a volunteer?
Ms. Nelson. Oh, definitely.
Mr. Watkins. After you finish up, you get into the
mainstream? I think you can have a great influence because
you're articulate individuals and through the program you have
gained a lot of experience that you can express and share. It
goes right back to realizing you are a volunteer. You are a
volunteer. You have gone through the program, so to speak, and
you have had good results. Do you feel that strongly about it?
Ms. Nelson. I do. I think, especially, I think we would be
especially good volunteers because we have been through it. And
I think we could contribute so much more.
Mr. Watkins. I would like to encourage you to do so. I
would like to encourage you also not to sell your life short.
Mrs. Johnson was discussing your career. I'm a father of a
foster child. My wife and I had our homes licensed for a number
of years, and whatever money we received from the State DHS, we
kept their dollars in reserve to help each foster child go
through school. For 11 or 12 months and we had a young lady
named Sally that came to us, and we ended up adopting her. She
is 15 years of age. She was part Cherokee Indian. And she has
been a real blessing.
I thought as a daddy--now, all you ladies don't get this
wrong, all right--but I thought as a daddy when she got ready
to go to college, she should go and major in home economics,
you know. [Laughter.]
She couldn't go wrong, right? As a daddy, she couldn't go
wrong with home economics. Sally came home her freshman year
from college and she said, ``Daddy, if you don't let me major
in agriculture, I'm going to quit.''
I didn't know what she was going to do in agriculture as a
young lady. However, I'd like to share with each of you that
Sally is a very professional woman in her own right. She is a
lover of horses. She has given us our first grandchild, named
Rena Cheyenne, and I am very proud of her. She is very, very
professional and doing well in her life. And I just want to
encourage you. She can share a great deal as well as a lot of
you can along the way.
And so when you think about the program you have, I hope
you will share it with others because each of you can be a role
model to help others in life.
You may not have your career just picked out right now, but
I encourage you to go ahead and to continue to seek a
direction, a career. Hey, I majored in agriculture myself, you
know. Here I am from U.S. Human Resources Subcommittee here in
the program, but through the experience I have had in foster
care programs or other programs--and they have advanced now a
whole lot since our Sally came along.
And so, Madam Chair, I am impressed with these young
people, and I think they can have a tremendous positive
influence on the lives of a lot of other people as they walk
through life.
Thank you.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Thank you very much. I
want to just ask one closing question. You know, the proposals
we have before us suggest two different courses. They are not
mutually exclusive, but I just wonder what you think about
them? Some of the programs in the States do provide stipends,
not with Federal money but with State and other money, and
certainly we are going to look at that, opening up the law so
that the money in the Independent Living Program can be used
for stipends. But there is also the suggestion that it might be
used for foster care payments, where the foster care family and
the young person want to stay together so the young person can
continue to live in that home until 21.
Now, do you think those alternatives are equally valuable?
Ms. Miller. Yes.
Mr. Rollins. Yes.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Well, for instance, if you
could have stayed at Domus?
Mr. Rollins. Domus, yes.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. At Domus from 18 to 21,
which I guess you couldn't, right?
Mr. Rollins. No.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Yes. Would that have been
a good thing to do, and over not the whole number of years, but
not having the hammer of age 18 as a cut-off--being able over
those years to transition more slowly from a foster care
setting? Is that useful?
Mr. Rollins. It would have worked. And it would have been
easier to save money, too, that way. And I would have less
bills to pay that way and more time to develop myself too.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Right.
Ms. Nelson. I think it all depends on the situation. I
don't think all foster kids are just--you know, there are those
foster kids that are ready to get out of the system. They are
ready to go live in the dorm at college. And I think those
maybe should be separated from those that really need the time
to adjust.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Right.
Ms. Nelson. So I think it would be a good thing to have the
choice to stay, but I think it really all depends on the foster
parents and the relationship with their foster child.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Well, hopefully, you don't
want the State making this decision for you, and you certainly
don't want us making it for you.
Ms. Nelson. Right. I think there should be an option. If
it's there at 18, you are free to leave, but if you need to
stay--especially, you know, if you are in college and, like she
was saying, the previous speaker, if they do need somewhere to
stay, you know, for the holidays that option is there.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Were you nervous about
testifying today.
Ms. Miller. Yes.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Well, let me tell you. I
am glad you were nervous because I still get nervous before
every debate and every major speech I make. And you know what,
if I didn't get nervous, it would be time to quit. Because you
don't do your best work unless you are a little nervous. It is
like before a football game or any other thing. You gotta get
up for it.
So I am glad you were nervous, I'm glad you were worried,
and I want you to know you did very, very well. And we thank
you.
Ms. Nelson. Can I say one more thing? I think on top of
volunteering and the importance of filling out financial-aid
forms, I think PAL really needs to stress the importance of
private scholarships because the Orphan Foundation of American
truly has been a godsend to me. They are the only private
scholarship organization that helps foster children, the only
one. And I really think the word really needs to be spread
because if they are the only one, then they should be
contacted. All foster children should know about them.
So I think it is very important until other organizations
can go along with them. I think there needs to be at the age of
18 it doesn't just stop even though PAL can lead you up to that
age, but the Orphan Foundation leads you right into college,
and they are there for you, and they have been very, very
important to me.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. That is a very important
point to make. And we will take that to heart. It has also been
interesting to me how you have developed by being involved in
other organizations through the foster care system, and getting
into student leadership positions. Not only do we not do enough
to show you ways to volunteer in your community and thereby get
exposure to career alternatives, but also we need to make sure
that as young people you do get the chance to get involved in
organizations through which you do have leadership
opportunities.
And I have been very impressed with the work that the
Orphan Foundation does to offer leadership opportunities and to
help you develop. And to give you that week here in Washington,
and all the other things they do.
And then, Mr. Rollins, all the wonderful experience you
have had on the youth advisory board.
So I think those things are very important to make sure the
program pushes those barriers for you.
Thank you very much for your testimony today.
Now we will bring forward our last panel. Robin Nixon, the
director of Youth Services of the Child Welfare League of
America; Sharyn Logan, the deputy director of the Bureau of
Specialized Programs at the Department of Children and Families
of Los Angeles; Don MacAllister, the founder and president of
Orange County/California Works from Irvine, California, Bill
Young, the commissioner of the Vermont Department of Social and
Rehabilitation Services, on behalf of the American Pubic Human
Services Association; William Pinto, the adolescent services
coordinator, Department of Children and Families, Hartford,
Connecticut, and Kevin Garvey, community relations manager,
UPS, United Parcel Service, Laurel, Maryland.
Oh yes, I am just going to remind you that your entire
statement will be included in the record, and we would like to
encourage you to keep your remarks to 5 minutes. The yellow
light will tell you when you have 1 minute left, and the red
light means that your time is up.
We do hope to have time for you to add anything that you
really feel an urgency to say thereafter. But in order to have
time to question, I would appreciate your observing the 5-
minute rule.
So if we could start with Ms. Nixon.

STATEMENT OF ROBIN NIXON, DIRECTOR, YOUTH SERVICES, CHILD
WELFARE LEAGUE OF AMERICA

Ms. Nixon. Good afternoon, Madam Chairwoman, Mr. Cardin,
other Members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for having me here
this afternoon. I really appreciate the opportunity. Thank you
for accepting my written statement, and please let it be
entered in the record.
I would like to talk this afternoon, however, I guess, from
my own experience. If I were to describe myself in my role here
today, I would say that I am a youth worker, and I have been a
youth worker for almost 20 years. I have worked in residential
programs out in the woods with teenaged boys. My husband and I,
when we were first married, worked as live-in house parents to
abused and neglected girls.
And most recently, I started and ran a transitional living
program for homeless youth in northern Virginia.
Since I have come to the League, I have had the opportunity
to talk to hundreds of youth-service providers all over the
country every day about the challenges confronting young people
as they leave foster care.
It is a critical issue, and we have a lot of information
here today about the discouraging outcomes for many of the
young people who leave foster care. On the very last page of my
written testimony, there is a chart that describes some of the
research that we have available.
I think I would like to follow on part of a theme that I
have picked up here so far today that the young people that we
are talking about are so courageous, I have so much respect for
them and what they have accomplished. I know so many young
people today that I worked with 9 years ago or 10 years ago
that I am still in contact with and who can still consider me a
person who is there for them and who supports them.
So that tells me that when you ask what the priority is for
these young people, it is having connections that are there for
them for their whole life. That can make the difference between
making it or not.
When you talk about priorities for young people who are
leaving care, we need to really put housing up front. A young
person's ability to learn independent living skills, to learn
employment skills, to complete their education really can't be
met unless they have a roof over their heads and a place to
call home during that time.
We need to help young people finish their education. As
many people have pointed out here today, we would never expect
our own sons and daughters to leave our homes and be completely
self-sufficient at 18. Most young people still are in school at
18 and really need the time and opportunity with concrete
support from the foster care system during that time.
We spent quite a bit of time today discussing independent
living skills versus the foster care maintenance support that
young people can receive. Independent living skills are
available through the Independent Living Program, but there is
no support for room and board, obviously, or for the types of
programs, like the Pathways program or the apartment program
that Mr. Rollins participates in.
Those can really make a tremendous difference to young
people who are trying to make it.
The transitional program for homeless youth is an excellent
model for what needs to be there for young people as they leave
foster care. This very small program, there are only 78 of them
nationwide, represent a safety net for those young people who
do become homeless after they leave foster care.
If that program were opened up to young, completely opened
up to young people to directly transition from care, it would
have to be tremendously expanded because it cannot meet the
current requests for services from young people who are
homeless and not part of the foster care system.
The Independent Living Program itself is one of tremendous
flexibility, that's both its greatest strength and its greatest
weakness. States are able to apply those funds to provide
services to young people 16 and all the way up to 21 in ways
that they feel will best meet the needs of their young people.
However, this may mean in some places that young people attend
a conference once a year, and that is considered meeting their
independent living requirement.
So there needs to be some more accountability for that
program.
As far as extending IL services to children younger than 16
years, young people need to learn independent living their
whole life. I know that my daughter started saying, ``I can do
it myself,'' at 4. And I started paying attention to that at 4.
For the young people who are in foster homes or in other
residential settings, we need to integrate independent living
as part of everything we do, just like we do counseling, like
we do parental training, like all the other services that we
provide.
However, the limited amount of money in the Independent
Living Program should be emphasized for use with those older
kids who are going to be on their own fairly soon. I really
think that H.R. 671 is a great starting place for providing the
support that these young people need and deserve, and I really
look forward to working with you over the course of the next
months to get something done.
And I would like to thank Nick Gwyn and Ron Haskins and
Cassie Bevan for all their effort and just tremendous
cooperation and ability to work with us folks out in the field.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement follows:]

Statement of Robin Nixon, Director, Youth Services, Child Welfare
League of America

Good afternoon Madam Chairwoman and Members of the
Subcommittee. My name is Robin Nixon and I am the Director of
Youth Services at the Child Welfare League of America. CWLA is
an association of more than one thousand public and private
non-profit community based agencies that serve more than three
million children, youth, and families each year all across the
United States. Virtually all of CWLA's member agencies provide
foster care and other services to teens who can not live safely
at home with their families or who are homeless. Over 500 of
our members provide specialized independent living and other
transitional support to young people who will not be returning
to a family and who will be on their own once they leave care.
On behalf of our members, and on behalf of the more than
500,000 children and youth in foster care at this very moment,
I thank you for the opportunity to testify at this hearing on
the challenges confronting older children aging out of foster
care.
I have worked with young people for nearly twenty years.
I've worked as a counselor for abused and neglected youth
ranging from 8 to 18 years old living in residential group care
facilities. My husband and I spent several years as live-in
houseparents to teenage girls in foster care. I have started
and run a transitional living program for homeless youth. Since
1994, my work at CWLA has included supporting program directors
in designing and implementing youth programs, training social
workers, foster parents, and youth workers, and developing
resources for the field of child welfare around youth issues.
I have a tremendous amount of respect for the many young
people who have successfully endured the many hardships of
abuse and neglect, abandonment, and being placed in lots of
different foster homes. Children and youths who have been
abused and neglected and removed from their homes are wards of
the state. I believe that we have a responsibility to offer
them the support they need to lead healthy, productive lives as
adults. What I see today is that we are failing these young
people. We can and must do more to assist youths in foster care
make a safe, successful transition to adulthood.
As a youth worker, I encountered young people who were
experiencing tremendous challenges to self-sufficiency and to
their very survival. I often asked myself how in the world we
could expect these teens, who were barely old enough to drive,
and many of whom were just finishing high school, to be
emotionally and economically self-sufficient. Many of the young
people with whom I worked left foster care at 18 and had been
out on their own for a year or two: despite every effort to
stay employed and make enough money to live on, they found
themselves homeless and with no where to turn. As a youth
program director, I was frustrated by the lack of support that
communities offer these young people.
Adolescents constitute a major segment of the youngsters
the child welfare system serves. Most youths enter out-of-home
care because of abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Others have
run away from home or have no homes. Like our own sons and
daughters, youths in out-of-home care need assistance to make
the transition to independence. Vulnerable young people in
foster care need special help and support. They have histories
of significant abuse, neglect, and multiple placements that
greatly compromise their prospects for successful independence.
These teenagers often find themselves truly on their own, with
few, if any, financial resources; limited education, training
and employment options; no place to live; and little or no
support from family, friends, and community. The resulting cost
to the youths themselves, their communities, and society at
large is unacceptably and increasingly high.
Talking with people all over the country every day, I see
that I am only one of many people asking this question: why
wouldn't we, as communities acting in the capacity of parents
to these children, ensure that adequate resources were invested
in their transition to adult life? We have all seen the many
news articles, media reports, and research studies that make
the situation painfully clear. We must do more to support our
nation's foster children during these challenging years. Most
importantly, what young people themselves have to say about the
transition to adulthood should guide our actions and motivate
all of us to work together for positive change.

WHO ARE ADOLESCENTS AGING OUT OF FOSTER CARE?

At the end of 1996, there were 530,912 children
living in out of home care, family foster care, kinship care,
or residential care.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Child Welfare league of America. (1998). State agency survey.
Washington, DC: Author.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Currently, teens represent approximately 30
percent of the foster care population.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Child Welfare League of America. (1998). State agency survey.
Washington, DC: Author.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Each year, over 20,000 of these older youths ``age
out'' of foster care and must make the transition to self-
sufficiency.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Cook, R. (1992). A national evaluation of Title IV-E foster
care independent living programs for youth, phase 2 final report.
Rockville, MD: Westat, Inc.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

PROBLEMS FACED BY ADOLESCENTS AGING OUT OF FOSTER CARE

Safety

Young people who age out of the child welfare system are
not safe. They experience great risk in terms of their
emotional, economic, and physical safety. They are more likely
to become homeless, to experience early parenthood, and to be
victims of violence than their mainstream peers. Less than half
will have graduated from high school before leaving foster
care, and few will have the opportunity to attend college. This
constellation of challenges to safety and economic opportunity
creates a formidable barrier to young people forced to make it
on their own.
Young people themselves report that the transition to
independence and the expectation of self-sufficiency is often
very rapid, sometimes unplanned for and unexpected, and results
in their feeling ``dumped'' by the system that cared for them.

Permanence

Loss of family connections and multiple foster care
placements hinder the ability of foster youth to achieve
permanence. Many people believe that adolescents are not
adoptable and that children over twelve years old are seldom
adopted. The reality is that thousands of teens are adopted.
Adoption, however, is not an option for many young people. We
must acknowledge the reality of independence for over 20,000
emancipating teens each year who carry the burden of family
rejection and multiple placements with them into adulthood, and
may experience difficulty in attachment to others and to the
community as a result. No matter what the permanency goal is
for a teenager, each foster youth will eventually take on the
responsibilities of independent adulthood; all of them need
extra support and assistance in order to succeed.
Young people report that they need relationships with
people who care about them and who are there for them
consistently. They say that support and services offered during
the critical transitional years make all the difference in the
world to helping them make it on their own.

Well-Being

Young people must develop positive personal and social
functioning, and must have access to health services,
education, and employment to achieve successful adulthood. The
experiences that result in children being placed in foster
care, as well as the experience of foster care itself, can
create barriers to achieving well-being in any or all of these
areas.
Young people who have left the foster care system say that
disruptions in education caused by early emancipation,
insufficient preparation for the workplace, lack of access to
health care, and the immediate struggle for day to day survival
after leaving care make planning and even hoping for a good
future very, very difficult.
When I talk to you about the challenges facing these young
people, I am not just talking about faceless statistics: I am
talking about young people whom I know and care about, like my
friend Rose. Rose was in foster care for most of her life, and
was living in a group home when she turned 18 and had to leave
the program. She is an articulate, caring, intelligent young
woman, and I met her because she was volunteering at the youth
agency where she had last been cared for so that she could help
other foster youth. At the same time, she was struggling
desperately to balance a job, a place to live, and going to
college. I remember talking to her last winter and finding out
that she had been sleeping every night on the bathroom floor
because that was the only place the heat worked in the
apartment she was living in. I remember her asking me if she
should drop out of college and just work because she was so
tired and having trouble keeping up with class work. It's young
people like Rose that deserve more of our support and effort to
ensure that they have a chance to attain positive life goals.

Attachment One: Summary of Outcomes for Youth Formerly Served By the Foster Care System Child Welfare League of America 1999
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Study Homelessness Education Employment Incarceration Early Parenthood Cost-to-Community
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barth (1990).................... 30% reported At follow-up, 45% 75% were working, 31% of youth had 40% reported a Almost 40%
This study documents the having no housing of 21 year olds with an average been arrested pregnancy since received AFDC or
experiences of youth who or having to move had completed income of while 26% had discharge, most general
emancipated from foster care.. every week.. high school. $10,000.. served jail time.. were unplanned.. assistance funds.
Cook (1991)..................... 25% reported at 54% had completed 38% maintained No data reported.. 60% of the women 40% were a cost to
The study examined the impact of least one night high school.. employment for had given birth.. the community.
independent living services on of homelessness.. one year..
enhancing the ability of foster
youth to be self-sufficient,
2.5 to 4 years post-discharge..
Alexander & Huberty (1993)...... The average number 27% had some 49% were employed, Almost 42% had No data reported.. 14% received
The study was conducted with a of moves during college or compared with 67% been arrested. assistance in the
sample of former foster youth the last five vocational of 18-24 year form of food
from The Villages in Indiana, years was 7.4.. training.. olds in the stamps, general
with an average age of 22 years. general assistance, and/
population.. or AFDC.
Courtney & Piliavin (1998)...... 12% reported At 12 to 18 months 50% were employed, 18% experienced No data reported.. 32% received
The study looked at foster youth living on the post-discharge, & the average post-discharge public
transitions to adulthood, 12 to street or in a 55% had completed weekly wage incarceration. assistance.
18 months post-discharge.. shelter since high school.. ranged from $31
discharge.. to $450..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PROGRAMS AND PRACTICES THAT HELP

There are existing policies, programs and services at the
federal, state and community levels that make a difference for
emancipating foster youth and for youth who have left the
foster care system. We must be able to extend these critical
services and replicate successful program strategies in order
to ensure that all youth leaving foster care have the
opportunity to succeed. Expanding the time over which services
can be delivered to age 21 would make it possible for more
youth to be served by these and similar programs.
Some states have implemented policies for serving youth
over 18 that include guiding criteria for a discharge plan and
services to be delivered during the transitional period. The
Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the states of Michigan,
Maryland and New York have all established policies to ensure
that many youth needing services beyond age 18 will receive
them, and that emancipation occurs with support. More states
must be encouraged and supported in establishing similar model
policies that help youth emancipate safely. California, for
example, which serves over 100,000 foster children each year,
is only able to offer support through age 18.
Improved policies and extended services have resulted in
more successful outcomes for children who emancipate from the
foster care system.
One of the few available research studies to
capture post-emancipation experiences of foster children was
conducted by the Westat corporation in 1989-1990. This study
showed that youth who received support in order to attend post-
secondary educational and vocational programs were more likely
to obtain living-wage employment. Youth who received extended
assistance were also less likely to become pregnant as
teenagers, less likely to become involved in the criminal
justice system, and less likely to become homeless or to join
the welfare rolls after leaving care.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Cook, R. (1992).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In New York, the Children's Village's Work
Appreciation for Youth (WAY) Scholarship program offers work
experience, individual counseling, work ethics training,
tutoring, financial incentives for saving, and a five-year
commitment to teenagers in foster care. Over the past 15 years,
this program has provided comprehensive support to the highest
risk foster youth in residential treatment. Longitudinal
evaluation of the one-to-one support and intensive aftercare
provided by WAY has shown that more than 75% of participants
graduate from high school or complete a GED, and over half go
on to post-secondary education. It is important to note that
foster youth enrolled in this program usually need more than
four years to complete secondary education. WAY Scholars have
very low rates of arrest in early adulthood (8%), and none of
the 300 youth who have been through the program is on
welfare.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ Children's Village, Evaluation of WAY Program.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For less than ten dollars per day per youth, WAY makes a
substantial difference in young people's ability to complete
high school, obtain living-wage employment, and achieve a safe,
successful transition to adulthood.
The Workforce Strategy Center in New York has been
working with communities all over the U.S. to strengthen
support for disadvantaged youth to complete high school and
attend post-secondary educational programs. Their research has
shown that even one to two years of community college can make
the difference between economic self-sufficiency and
poverty.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ Gruber, D. (1999). Education Pays. The Workforce Strategy
Center: New York, NY.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Edmund Mech, a researcher specializing in
studies of older children in foster care, was able to
demonstrate that young people who participate in supervised
apartment-based independent living programs are more successful
in learning independent living skills.\7\ We need more
apartment programs, like the one operated by Lighthouse Youth
Services in Cincinnati, that give foster youth a chance to
learn and practice skills in real-life settings. The Bridges
program in Los Angeles also offers apartment living,
counseling, and life skills training to young people both
before they leave foster care and for some time after. To
complete the web of support, we need programs like Living
Independently for Tomorrow (LIFT), run by Residential Youth
Services in Alexandria Virginia, that offer transitional living
services to youth who find themselves homeless after leaving
foster care.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ Mech, E., et al. (1994) Life skills knowledge: A survey of
foster adolescents in three placement settings. Special issue:
Preparing foster youth for adulthood. Children and Youth Services
Review, 16 (3-4), 181-200.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Programs like the California Youth Connection, the
Independent Living Youth Advisory Board in Maryland, and the
Foster Care Youth Partnership in New York City provide crucial
opportunities for youth to participate in developing
independent living programs and to have their voice heard about
the issues that concern them. Opportunities for youth to be
involved in these activities not only give them a chance to
learn important leadership skills, but also contribute toward a
stronger system of foster care and independent living services
in the state.
Young people report that family or family-like
ties are critical, even if they are unable to live with family
members. Services that help establish lifetime connections, or
that support re-establishing or strengthening family ties are
an important part of a comprehensive approach to supporting
emancipating youth. Examples of promising programs in this area
include a demonstration project funded by the Department of
Health and Human Services that was implemented by Four Oaks of
Iowa in Cedar Rapids. This program helped young people who were
unlikely to return home establish strong youth-adult
relationships with either extended family members or another
involved adult. Another promising practice has been modeled by
the Casey Family Program and Casey Family Services, both of
which provide family foster care and commit to serving and
maintaining relationships with foster youth up to at least age
25.
Young people say that an adult mentor who is there
for them when times get tough, and who is a consistent source
of support, make one of the most important contributions to
their ability to achieve successful adulthood. My friend Alfred
in California can attest to the truth of this. For several
years, Alfred spent each Christmas walking back and forth
across the Golden Gate Bridge--he did not have family to spend
the holiday with. Since that lonely and difficult time, Alfred
has become very close to the director of his independent living
program, on whom he can depend for advice, support, and a seat
at the table for Christmas dinner.
Increasing interest and emerging proposals present a
significant opportunity for us to work together and effect
changes that will make a positive difference in the lives of
our foster youth--and that will help to create a future where
they have the chance to make a difference in the lives of
others.

CWLA POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

The federal government plays an important role in ensuring
that young people exiting foster care make a successful
transition to adulthood. Congress passed the bipartisan
Adoption and Safe Families Act in 1997 to ensure that more
children in foster care would have safe and permanent homes.
While most children and youths in foster care can eventually
return to their biological families, many can not. ASFA makes
it easier for many children to move more quickly into permanent
adoptive homes or other permanent living arrangements.
Adoption, however, is not always possible for many older
children in foster care. Congress should now address our
obligation to these youths. We should do all that we can to
help these youths achieve self-sufficiency.
The ``Transition to Adulthood Program Act of 1999,'' H.R.
671, recently introduced by Rep. Ben Cardin (D-MD), addresses
many of the issues. We support this bill and urge Congress to
pass this bill this year. This legislation offers access to
critical foster care maintenance and other supports to youths
up to age 21; makes assistance available to promote education,
training or employment; promotes interagency collaboration to
advance self-sufficiency of youths aging out of foster care;
updates funding resources, asset limits and the distribution
formula for the Title IV-E Independent Living Services program
and provides tax credits to employers who hire former foster
children.
President Clinton's budget also address the needs of these
youths. The budget proposes $280 million in new funding over
five years to support an initiative to help the more than
20,000 children who reach age 18 and leave foster care each
year. The Administration's initiative would increase funding
for the Title IV-E Independent Living program, establish a new
competitive grant program for states to help youths with their
living expenses, increase support for the Runaway and Homeless
Youth Transitional Living Program and give states the option of
providing Medicaid coverage to children leaving foster care up
to age 21. We support the Administration's initiative and think
it takes a major step in the right direction.
We are grateful that both the Administration and Congress
have begun to address the needs of these youths. Our
recommendations outlined below support additional resources and
other improvements to better address the needs of these young
people.
The Child Welfare League of America recommends that all
states extend Title IV-E assistance to youths up to age 21.
Current policy for Title IV-E Foster Care Maintenance and
Administration allows reimbursement to the states for eligible
youth up to age 19. Medicaid coverage for children receiving
foster care assistance generally ends at age 18. Many foster
youth are forced to leave care at age 18, while they are still
in high school, because they will not graduate by their 19th
birthday. Many others find themselves unable to sustain stable
housing and employment because they do not have any adult
support during these critical years.
In order to ensure that young people have a fair chance to
achieve productive citizenship, we must invest in their care
during the transitional years. An extension of Title IV-E
assistance would result both in reduced human cost for youth
who are abandoned by their only source of support and in
reduced financial burden to the homeless, welfare, mental
health, and health systems. This extension would also ensure
that these youth would maintain their Medicaid eligibility.
H.R. 671, the Transition to Adulthood Program Act,
gives states the option of extending Title IV-E assistance to
former foster youth up to the age of 21 as long as they are
working or enrolled in educational activities and have a plan
to become completely self-sufficient. Funds could be used for
programs designed to promote the education, training or
employment of the child. At a state's option, these youths
would maintain their eligibility for Medicaid.
The Administration's FY 2000 budget proposes a new
capped mandatory program of competitive grants for states to
support living expenses of youth who otherwise lose Title IV-E
assistance at age 18. The proposal includes $5 million for FY
2000 increasing to $20 million by 2003. The Administration's
budget also provides $50 million to give states the option to
extend Medicaid coverage for these youths up to age 21.
CWLA recommends that funding for the Title IV-E Independent
Living program be increased to match current foster care
populations and to ensure that states have adequate resources
to provide the skills training that young people must have to
succeed.
In addition to meeting children's basic needs for food,
shelter, and care, we must ensure that young people receive
training and support for acquiring the knowledge, skills, and
attitudes needed for independence. Funding to meet this need
has been available under the Title IV-E Independent Living
program since 1987. This program provides specific support for
independent living skill development, job training, and
preparation for employment. This program has been shown to
increase the ability of foster youth to manage their money,
access community resources, and find a job.
Funding for the Independent Living program, capped at $70
million, has not kept pace with the population of youth
eligible to receive the services. Current allocations to the
states remain based on their 1984 population, and overall funds
have not been increased since 1992. Increasing the funding for
this program will allow services to be offered to more of the
youth who are supposed to receive them. We support at least a
50% increase in funding to the states for independent living
services. Consensus exists to update the allocation formula for
distribution of funds to states that takes foster care
population changes into consideration. The current formula
relies on figures from 1984 and does not meet the needs of many
states which now serve many more youth. No state should lose
funds through the reallocation process.
In addition, funding should support the completion of
longitudinal research to determine self-sufficiency outcomes of
youth leaving care.
The Administration's FY 2000 budget proposal
increases funding from $70 million to $105 million for the
Title IV-E Independent Living program.
H.R. 671, the Transition to Adulthood Program Act,
updates funding resources, asset limits and the distribution
formula for the Title IV-E Independent Living Services program.
CWLA recommends that funding for the Runaway and Homeless
Youth Transitional Living program be increased so that those
foster youth who do become homeless are able to get help when
they need it the most.
The Runaway and Homeless Youth Transitional Living Program
provides critical safety net support services for homeless
youth, including many foster care youths. Current funding
allows 78 programs nationwide to provide a variety of services
to homeless youth age 16 to 21, including residential care for
up to 18 months; information and counseling in basic life
skills; interpersonal skill building; educational advancement;
job attainment skills; and physical and mental health care.
The Administration's FY 2000 budget proposal to provide $20
million for FY 2000 for this program, an increase of $5
million.
CWLA recommends that safe, stable, affordable housing be
made available to each youth emancipating from care.
No young person should be emancipated from foster care to
homelessness. Forty percent of the nation's homeless are former
foster youth. Young people who leave foster care and go to
college should have access to housing during holidays and over
summer breaks. Other youth who are still pursuing their high
school education or who are entering the world of work should
also have access to stable living arrangements during the
transitional period. We recommend that the Department of
Housing and Urban Development work in partnership with the
Department of Health and Human Services to strengthen housing
programs and services to help this vulnerable population of
foster children. The investment of funds to support these youth
through life skills programs, independent living programs and
transitional apartment programs would more than pay for itself
in reduced future dependence on government assistance.
H.R. 671, the Transition to Adulthood Program Act,
promotes interagency collaboration to ensure that the housing
needs of these youths are addressed.
We strongly urge the Committee to take decisive action to
help these young people right now. The challenges facing
children and youths who emancipate from the foster care system
are challenges that we have an opportunity and an obligation to
help them overcome. It is in their best interests, and it is in
the best interests of each one of us for young people to make
healthy, safe, contributing transitions to adulthood. Thank you
for all of your hard work so far, and we look forward to
working with you as you consider this important legislation.

Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Thank you very much.
Ms. Logan.

STATEMENT OF SHARYN L. LOGAN, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF
CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

Ms. Logan. Good afternoon, Chairwoman Johnson and
Subcommittee Members. Thank you for the opportunity to address
you.
I am not going to repeat what is in my statement, but I
would like to focus on three programs that we have in Los
Angeles County for emancipated and foster youth.
The first program. In Los Angeles County, every year,
approximately 1,000 youth emancipate from foster care. The
first program I would like to talk about is our scholarship
program.
On the previous panel, one young lady was discussing
scholarships in Texas. In Los Angeles County we guarantee that
every child who emancipates from foster care who wants to
attend college is guaranteed a scholarship. That was quite a
promise and quite a commitment, and the way we meet that
commitment is to raise private funds. We raise private money
from United Friends of the Children; KLOS, which is a radio
station, an ABC affiliate, which has helped us raise almost a
quarter of a million dollars in scholarships for our young
people, Wells Fargo Bank, the Teague Family Foundation and many
others. We use our money and the ILP money as seed money to
draw down other scholarship funds.
And we have staff who spend a lot of time researching the
available scholarships and college programs so that any young
person in Los Angeles County who emancipates and want to go on
to college is able to do so.
The second program that I want to talk about is housing. As
Commissioner Williams mentioned, you cannot use ILP money for
board and care, and it was also just mentioned you cannot have
a program for emancipated foster youths without housing.
What we have done in this regard is to develop housing,
including the first apartment building built just for the use
of emancipating foster youth. Our partner in this has been the
county Community Development Commission which acquires and
rehabilitates property for us. The way we were able to do that
is with two other sources of funding, which are very important.
One is private dollars and the other is HUD money. We would not
be able to do this without HUD. In 1992, we applied for and
were granted a HUD grant for the needs of emancipating foster
youth. And since that time, we have received 11 additional HUD
grants.
We also have raised, with United Friends of the Children, a
tremendous amount of private money. The Weingart Foundation has
donated almost $11 million just to deal with the needs of
emancipating foster youth because we cannot use ILP money for
that, and the kids must have somewhere to live.
We actually own six apartment buildings within Los Angeles
County, and we also rent scattered-site apartments. We consider
that to be hands-on, independent living skills because once
they get into their apartments, they have to actually put into
practice what they have learned in those classes. And it is not
easy, as the mother of a teenager, to teach teenagers how to
plan a menu, how to prepare the meal, how to budget, how to do
the laundry so your clothes don't all come out pink.
But those are the practical lessons that we teach kids, and
how to keep that apartment clean, which again, as the mother of
a teenager, is not always that easy.
We have children scattered throughout Los Angeles County.
We have 200 beds for emancipated youth. They all have a
roommate; they all must have a job; they can go to school if
they like, but they must have a job; they also pay us 10
percent of their income, whatever that is, for rent.
And the reason for that is that we are trying to get them
used to the idea of paying rent, and paying their obligations.
At the end of their time in the program, which is up to 18
months, we give them that money back as a savings account. They
are also required to have a savings account into which they
must deposit funds while living in our housing.
We are very proud of that, and we have over 200 beds, as I
said, in Los Angeles County, including an apartment building
built especially for these youth.
The third program that we have in Los Angeles County is an
alumni resource center. As you heard the young people say
before, it is very lonely when you leave foster care, even if
you are in college, even if you are going to a vocational
school. You still need a place to come that is yours, where
people are still going to help you. And with money from the
Weingart Foundation, we have an alumni resource center with an
800-number. So no matter what happens, no matter how far they
go or what happens, they can always call us toll-free and we
will try to find them housing. We will help them with
scholarships. We will help them with low-cost or free legal or
medical care. Whatever they may need.
So it is very important that we use private dollars and HUD
dollars. I want to emphasize HUD has to be a partner on this.
And they have been very useful to us.
There were a couple of questions that were asked before
about lowering the age for independent living services. We have
a program, which is in my testimony, called Early Start to
Emancipation which is for youngsters age 14 and 15. We do that
with State money because they are not eligible for ILP funds.
And what we have found is that you have to start before 14 and
15.
What that program focuses on is children who are 2 or 3
years behind in their reading and math skills because if they
can't read and they can't do math, they can't finish high
school and they are not going to be successful.
So we use that program to get them ready to go into the
Independent Living Program.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement follows:]

Statement of Sharyn L. Logan, Deputy Director, Department of Children
and Family Services, Los Angeles, California

BACKGROUND

The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family
Services is responsible for over 65,000 children. Every year
between 750 -1000 of these youth leave foster care because they
have completed high school or turned age 19.
The existing Title IV-E foster care program provides foster
care payments to children who, for their own safety and
protection, must reside in out-of-home care. While efforts are
made to reunify them with their families or provide them with
permanent alternatives to foster care, for some children, there
are no options. Many youth must emancipate from foster care
when they are no longer eligible for these Title IV-E funds.
Title IV-E eligibility criteria is based upon two factors:
age and attendance in high school. The specific eligibility
requirements allow youth to receive aid after their 18th
birthday so long as the youth continue to reside in foster care
placement, and continue to attend high school or the equivalent
level of vocational or technical training and the youth may
reasonably be expected to complete the educational or training
program before his or her 19th birthday.
These youth come from homes which have been so neglectful
or so abusive that they were unsafe for the children.
Unfortunately, they are not model families. Some of these
families are unstable, the parents unable to parent. The
children, as a result, fall behind in their school programs. In
still other situations, the youth have been moved from one
placement setting to another, perhaps several times, another
factor which contributes to their falling behind. Schools
cannot accommodate these changes, transcripts get lost,
children are not appropriately placed in classes at grade level
until the records arrive, school district schedules may differ.
The net result is that some youth do not graduate from high
school before they turn 19. These youth are not allowed to
remain in foster care even though we know that a high school
diploma increases lifetime earning power seven fold and that it
significantly decreases the youths chances of welfare
dependency, homelessness and other negative outcomes.
And oddly enough, in California, youth who are
educationally handicapped may remain in high school until they
are 21. But if you are a foster child and educationally
handicapped, you would not be allowed to remain in foster care
after you turn 18.
We believe that the long term benefits of extending
eligibility for foster care until these youth complete high
school or an equivalent level of training, or turn 21,
whichever comes first, has an incalculable payoff for the youth
and for society. These are not the majority of our foster
youth, they are only a small proportion. The investment would
have a return that even Wall Street would envy.

PROBLEM

1. Characteristically, youth in out-of-home care have
histories of abuse, neglect and exploitation that compromise
their abilities to live independently.
2. For adolescents who are not psychologically ready for
discharge from foster care, emancipation can be a time of fear
and pain.
3. This population has been found to be at high risk for
poor outcomes as young adults.
4. Adolescents in out-of-home care represent approximately
35-40% of placement caseloads and often need assistance in
making the transition from a dependency status to self-directed
community living.
5. These youth tend to remain in foster care for longer
periods of time and increasing numbers plan to live
independently, rather than return to families.
6. Many of these children do not have the emotional or
financial support of family that children not leaving foster
care experience.
7. Research has found that they experience deficiencies in
areas of job preparation, money management, and finding a place
to live.
8. Often they lack financial, emotional and social support
networks as well as consistent family ties.
9. Studies have consistently found that many foster youth
have emotional, behavioral, psychological and physical
impairments that present obstacles to independent living and
many need remedial training.
10. The 1990 Westat Inc. evaluation of Independent Living
Programs found youth exiting from foster care had a number of
significant problems and needs that interfered with their
ability to lead productive adult lives, including: lack of
educational achievement; limited job skills and experience;
physical and mental health issues; and housing needs.
11. Homelessness and joblessness appear to be a frequent
result of aging out of foster care, with as many as 30-40% of
the homeless population having histories of foster care.
12. Numerous studies and reports indicate that adolescents
in foster care transition less well than adolescents not in
foster care.
13. Studies consistently demonstrate that failure to equip
youth with the necessary skills for self-sufficiency increases
risk for poor outcomes, including homelessness, joblessness,
welfare dependency and incarceration.
In summary, youth preparing for emancipation from foster
care represent a high risk population with particular needs and
deficits that make entry into adult society a serious
challenge. However, we are capable of addressing many of these
needs and deficits through focused transitional services
related to education, employment and housing.

Los Angeles County Emancipation Program

In Los Angeles County we believe that no youth should leave
foster care without preparation for independence. We further
believe that once youth age out of foster care our
responsibility for their transition to independence has not
ended.
To make our beliefs a reality we have developed several
programs. The development of these programs required us to
develop new partnerships, strengthen existing partnerships,
utilize our experience as parents, and most important--listen
to our youth about their needs.
The components of Los Angeles County's Emancipation Program
are as follows:

EARLY START TO EMANCIPATION PREPARATION (E-STEP)

The goal of the Early Start to Emancipation Program (E-
STEP)is to motivate foster youth ages 14-15 to begin preparing
for eventual discharge from the foster care system and to
identify academic and life skills that need enhancement.
Emancipation Preparation Advisors meet with youth and care
providers to assess youth readiness for emancipation.
Areas of assessment include basic skills and school
performance, career goals, daily living skills, survival
skills, and interpersonal skills and social development.
Special events, such as ``Independence City,'' allow youth to
practice these skills. In Independence City youth are given
play money and must purchase everything they need to live, from
housing to car insurance, in a lawful and orderly way.
Important components of the E-STEP program are tutoring for
youth who are three (3) years or more behind in math and
reading levels and exposure to college campuses and various
careers.
This program is funded with State monies.

JOBS SECTION

In January 1994, the Los Angeles County Department of
Children and Family Services (DCFS) established a JOBS section.
The primary focus of the JOBS section is job recruitment for
emancipating foster youth. The staff in this section conducts
Job Fairs throughout Los Angeles County and works with various
County departments and private sector businesses to identify
jobs for foster youth. Additionally, the Los Angeles County
Board of Supervisors established a County policy whereby 5% of
all unfilled entry level positions are filled by youth
emancipating from foster care. This program also enrolls over
1500 youth annually in federally funded youth employment
programs such as Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) and
L.A. Youth at Work.
This program required the Department to establish
partnerships with the primary Job Training Partnership Act
(JTPA) agencies in Los Angeles County. Both the County of Los
Angeles and the City of Los Angeles have allocated specific
slots for summer youth employment jobs for foster youth.
The goal is that every foster youth who emancipates from
Los Angeles County has had two (2) work experiences. This
provides the youth with a work experience, teaches them the
value of work, how to manage money, how to deal with adults in
a work environment, and how to integrate work into their life
routines.

TRANSITIONAL HOUSING PLACEMENT PROGRAM

This housing program is an innovative transitional
placement alternative for youth under the supervision of the
Department of Children and Family Services. This program is
designed to further the goals of the Independent Living
Program. It serves as a bridge to ensure foster youth are
properly trained, learn how to achieve affordable housing
arrangements to integrate into the community when emancipated
from foster care. It targets 17-18 year olds in their senior
year of high school. Youth selected for this program have
demonstrated significant maturity in handling responsibilities
in school and current placements.
Participants in this program learn how to live with a
roommate, cook, clean, shop for clothes and groceries, utilize
community resource and learn skills that promote self-
sufficiency.
Youths in this program live in apartments in the community
which are supervised by community-based agencies under contract
with the Department.
This program is funded by a combination of State and County
funds.

INDEPENDENT LIVING PROGRAM

The Independent Living Program (ILP) is a federally funded
program designed to assist and prepare youths with a history of
out-of-home care, age 16 and older, in making the transition
from dependency to adult self-sufficiency. ILP has become a
linchpin in emancipation planning by linking DCFS teenagers in
out-of-home care with resources that prepare them for
responsible and productive adult lives.
Independent living skill classes are integral part of this
program. Each youth attends classes that focus on life-skills,
self-esteem, handling past losses, and developing effective
social skills. The 27 hour classroom curriculum is conducted on
local community college campuses. These classes are conducted
in a manner that is sensitive to the skill and developmental
levels of the participants. ILP Coordinators refer youth to the
departmental and extra-departmental programs that can provide
special assistance, such as the JOBS Program, Transitional
Housing Program, Job Corps, and the California Conservation
Corps.
Fees for college applications, pre-admission tests and
special preparatory classes can be paid or reimbursed by ILP.
As youth emancipate from foster care, ILP provides ongoing
college and vocational school financial assistance for youth
enrolling in post secondary training. ILP also supports foster
youth and ex-foster youth organizations such as California
Youth Connection in providing peer support, information, group
activities, advocacy and referrals.

THE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

The DCFS Scholarship Program provides financial support to
youth who complete high school requirements and wish to attend
college and vocational schools. Consistent with the DCFS
commitment to provide financial assistance to every youth who
wants to attend college, this program is open to every youth
who emancipates. Last year, we assisted over 500 youth with
scholarship funding. This is the result of contributions and
fund-raising efforts of many child advocates, including United
Friends of the Children, Teague Family Foundation, Youth
Opportunities United, KLOS-ABC (a local radio station), Wells
Fargo Bank, Southern California Edison, and many others.

TRANSITIONAL HOUSING PROGRAM

In 1989, a report by UCLA's School of Social Welfare Center
For Child and Family Policy Studies indicated that of the 1,000
foster youth emancipated from the Los Angeles County Department
of Children and Family Services (DCFS) annually, 450 were at
risk of becoming homeless. Under State regulations, foster
youth are no longer eligible for services after the age of 18
(age 19 if they are still in high school). With no family
members to care for them and no resources, these youth usually
ended up on the street.
Foster youth enter the child welfare system as a result of
being victims of abuse. The overwhelming response of child
welfare agencies is to remove children from biological
families. Often, these children are not returned to their
families and are in essence reared by the government. Unlike
real families, the government terminates this relationship when
the youth turns 18 or 19. Without additional assistance upon
termination from foster care, many of these youth join the
ranks of the homeless.
In response to this problem, in 1992, the Los Angeles
County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS),
applied for and received the first Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) grant awarded nationally for homeless foster
youth. With the receipt of this grant, the Department also
developed a unique partnership with the Community Development
Commission (CDC), the local housing and redevelopment agency.
DCFS has been awarded 11 HUD grants and renewals of the first
two (2) HUD grants. CDC has purchased several apartment
buildings for the exclusive use of emancipated foster youth.
United Friends of the Children (UFC) Bridges, a volunteer
non-profit organization, is an equal partner in the effort to
solve the problem of homelessness among foster youth. In 1996,
this collaboration between DCFS and UFC was enhanced by the
addition of the Weingart Foundation. The Weingart Foundation
awarded $10.7 million dollars to UFC Bridges to fund services
to assist in solving the problem of homelessness among
emancipated foster youth.
The program provides housing and supportive services to
emancipated foster youth who would otherwise be homeless or
living in marginal housing situations. Residents live in
apartments rented by the program or in buildings purchased and
rehabilitated by CDC. Apartments are leased in safe areas with
access to public transportation, shopping and grocery stores.
The average age of the residents is 19.5 years.
All residents are required to work, attend school or
vocational training. No resident receives public assistance.
Each resident pays 10% of their income as rent which is placed
in a savings account and returned to the resident when they
leave the program. Youth may stay in the program up to 18
months. At the end of their stay, youth are assisted with
finding affordable, permanent housing.
Each youth is assigned a social worker who assists with job
search, school enrollment, and use of community resources. The
worker also helps the youth develop in the areas of food
purchases, food preparation, laundry, house cleaning, job
readiness skills, and finding affordable medical and dental
care.
This program utilizes the different but complementary
skills of two public agencies, a volunteer non-profit
organization and a private foundation to solve a visible and
preventable social problem. This problem is the number of
younger homeless on the street previously in foster care.
Two public agencies without a tradition of working
together, child welfare and housing, have come together to
solve this problem. Both the non-profit sector and a private
foundation are equal partners with the public agencies. Without
the fund-raising ability of the non-profit partner and the
foundation, this program would not be possible.
The current and potential beneficiaries of this program are
youth who emancipate from foster care but have no viable
housing options. The program provides services to homeless
young men, women and teen parents who are between the ages of
18 and 21, who have recently aged out of the foster care
system, who are or would otherwise become homeless.
Youth in this program benefit from stable housing and
supportive staff that provide age-appropriate support in
several areas which include: educational and vocational
attainment; employment opportunities; medical and dental care;
individual and group counseling; and planning for permanent
housing.
The youth participants and Los Angeles County residents
directly and indirectly benefit from this program. The direct
benefit to youth is safe and stable housing with various
supports for learning how to function self-sufficiently,
independent of public assistance. Indirectly, youth develop
competence is managing their own affairs and contributing to
their communities.
In a direct sense, the benefit to communities results from
fewer homeless youths on the streets. Ongoing research by
Children's Hospital of Los Angeles has found that 61% of the
over 300 homeless youth interviewed in Los Angeles County
reported having lived in foster care. Characteristically, many
of these youth resort to crime, drugs, and reliance on public
assistance for their survival. In an indirect sense, the
examples provided by communities of working adults often serve
as positive models for youth to emulate in constructing
positive lifestyles. Both the youth and adult models benefit
from the interaction.
Since 1992, DCFS and United Friends of the Children-Bridges
have raised over $20 million in federal and private funds,
exclusively for the needs of emancipated foster youth.
Since 1992, the County Community Development Commission has
spent over $10 million to acquire and rehabilitate property for
the exclusive use of emancipated foster youth.

THE ALUMNI RESOURCE CENTER

The Alumni Resource Center (ARC) provides services to youth
age 18-21 who have emancipated from foster care. ARC offers
both ILP follow-up support and a drop-in center for computer
access and specialized training classes. The goal of ARC
services is to equip youth emancipating from out-of-home care
with the skills and resources needed for self-sufficient adult
living. The Alumni Resource Center provides ILP follow-up
support services to youth who enroll in educational or
vocational training.
Services related to ILP follow-up are rendered on a need
basis and may be offered up to age 21. These services include:
staff outreach, college and vocational tuition assistance,
financial assistance for school-related fees and supplies,
clothing stipends, transportation fare assistance, and
scholarships.
The ARC is primarily funded by United Friends of the
Children-Bridges through a grant from the Weingart Foundation.
An important component is a five year longitudinal study
conducted by the Research Center at the University of Southern
California School of Social Work. This study will evaluate the
program's effectiveness in preventing emancipated youth from
becoming homeless, relying on public assistance, developing
substance abuse addictions and related criminal behaviors, and
practicing unhealthy and inappropriate sexual behavior. It will
also seek to correlate several critical personal
characteristics and skills of the participants with outcomes
related to self-sufficiency.

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Continue Title IV-E funding until youth complete high
school or equivalency on approved vocational program; or turn
21 whichever comes first.
2. Continue Medicaid funding until age 21.
3. Encourage a partnership between the federal departments
of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) to develop joint Notices of Funding Activity
for service-enriched housing for emancipated foster youth.
4. Encourage the States with incentives to develop programs
for pre and post emancipating foster youth.
5. Increase the federal funding of the Independent Living
Program (ILP) to allow for more services to youth. Make ILP
services mandatory for youth.

Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. That's excellent. I am
going to take Mr. MacAllister because he is supposed to be out
there ready to go to the airport at 3:30, but since we are a
full-service Subcommittee staff, we are also going to call the
airline and see if his plane is going to fly. [Laughter.]
Ms. Logan. Could you see if United is leaving for Los
Angeles? [Laughter.]
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Write it down, and we will
check that because I think the chances are that they are not
going out. So write down your flight number and we will do
that.
Mr. MacAllister.

STATEMENT OF DONALD I. MACALLISTER, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT,
ORANGE COUNTY/CALIFORNIA WORKS, IRVINE, CALIFORNIA

Mr. MacAllister. Good afternoon. Thank you, Madam Chairman
and Mr. Cardin for allowing me the opportunity----
Mr. Cardin. You want to use that microphone?
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Yes, sorry.
Mr. MacAllister. Good afternoon, Madam Chairman and Mr.
Cardin. Thank you for allowing me this opportunity this
afternoon to present my view concerning independent living
skills legislation. My name is Don MacAllister, and I was a
foster care youth. I am now the founder and president of Orange
County/California Works, which is a nonprofit youth employment
network based in Orange County, California.
I would like share briefly with you my experiences. My life
was a struggle because of the death of my mother and other
problems within our family. I was placed in foster care for
about 6 years. After emancipation, I spent the next 2 years
living life as a homeless person, and during that time I
realized that the only chance for me to get out of that
predicament was to find and keep a job.
Because of these experiences, I have chosen to assist kids
in similar situations so that they can successfully make the
transition from foster care to productive living, to living a
productive life. Again, as we have heard today, the statistics
show that more than 50 percent of the kids that leave foster
care become homeless, end up in prison, or apply for welfare.
And 60 percent of the girls are becoming unwed teen mothers.
This is sad.
All these kids at this critical stage in their life, having
to face this potentially dismal future. We as a society must do
a better job. We must help foster teenagers become self-
sufficient.
Clearly in life, there is a large set of skills necessary
to succeed. My purpose here today is to speak about those
skills which are in need of special emphasis.
Based on my personal experiences and my current work, I
believe it is imperative that employment-related skills be
taught to all foster care teenagers. Those skills should
include how to prepare for and conduct oneself during an
interview, how to perform on the job, also, essential skills,
such as computer and Internet literacy.
We must help foster care teenagers have a chance to succeed
in today's everchanging world.
I propose that the independent living skills legislation be
amended so that employment-related skills are taught to all
foster care teenagers during the 2 years prior to emancipation.
This will not only help these teenagers at this critical time
in their life to be able to obtain a job, but it is also going
to help them so that they avoid crime or becoming dependent on
welfare.
I'm also proposing that for-profit and nonprofit
organizations receive independent living skills funds and
thereby compete on equal footing so that they both may fully
help foster care teenagers to make that transition.
These additional changes will provide foster care teenagers
and their caregivers with more choices for effective training,
which can only be beneficial.
My third proposal is that all independent living-skills
providers be required to achieve certain performance standards
to receive funds. This will provide incentives so that
independent living-skills providers will operate more
effectively and cost-efficiently.
In my written testimony, the evidence is provided to
demonstrate how effective and cost-efficient an alternative
approach can be as embodied by the organization that I run,
Orange County/California Works Youth Employment Network.
By implementing these proposed amendments, not only will
foster kids be assisted to make this--to be better prepared to
make the transition, but significant and far-reaching impact
will also result in the following areas: a reduction in welfare
and other socially related costs, and a reduction in crime and
costs associated with the criminal-justice system.
Subcommittee Members, the benefits of these changes cannot
be overstated and will help make our society a healthier and a
better place to live in.
Thank you, Madam Chairman and Mr. Cardin for allowing me
this privilege of speaking before this honorable body today.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement and attachments follow:]

Statement of Donald I. MacAllister, Founder and President, Orange
County/California Works, Irvine, California

Background

My name is Don Mac Allister and I spent six years growing
up in the foster care system. I left foster care and began my
adult life on ``the streets'' with a $100 loan from my group
home. I had no idea how to find and keep a job so that I could
become financially self-supporting. One of my ``street''
friends finally took me to a telephone sales ``boiler room''
where I secured my first job. As I was fired from a series of
jobs I realized that because of my life circumstances, I had
gained the perception that I was a ``victim.'' This mindset
caused me to seek shortcuts in life. Fortunately one of my
supervisors pointed out the changes which I needed to make and
educated me as to how to perform on the job so that I could
stay employed. And unlike so many others, I escaped from the
aloneness and dangers of living on ``the street.'' Because of
this painful experience, I have endless motivation to help
others who are facing a similar struggle.
If I had received job readiness training and had acquired a
part-time job while in high school, I would have been better
prepared to obtain a full time job upon graduation.
Would not all parents be horrified at the thought of having
their 18-year old end up on ``the street'' without money,
housing, or support? Yet this is the fate of over 10,000 foster
youth each year.
What happens to these suddenly ``independent'' teenagers?
Statistics show that more than 50 percent of children who leave
foster care either become homeless, end up in prison or on
welfare, and 60% of the girls become unwed mothers within 18
months.
Why do foster care teenagers suffer this fate? This is
because they have not been prepared with essential job
readiness skills to succeed at ``independent living.'' Being
trained and gaining work experience while still in high school
would contribute greatly to their becoming working, productive
members of society, and thereby avoid turning to crime or
relying on welfare to survive.
The ``Orange County WORKS'' program (a privately funded
California non-profit organization) which I founded, provides
job readiness training, job placements, and assists in finding
higher paying jobs after the initial placement, for foster
care, probation and other at-risk teens.
The mission of ``Orange County WORKS'' is to provide the
lowest possible cost-per-placement system to help at-risk teens
throughout Orange County break the cycle of dependency on
government programs, and become productive members of the
community. This means that at-risk youths become employed,
financially independent, and give something back to the
community.
``Orange County WORKS'' is achieving a higher rate of
placement of foster care and probation teens in jobs, while
doing so at the lowest cost-per-placement of any Independent
Living Skills program in California, as indicated below:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OC WORKS CA ILS Gov. Program
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percentage of trainees placed in jobs......................... 45% 17%
Cost per placement............................................ $740.00 $3,833.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Note: The above figures are for calendar year 1998, and are derived from California's Annual Independent Living
Program Statistical Report, and ``Orange County WORKS'' Annual Youth Employment Report.)

At ``Orange County WORKS,'' we use performance standards to
measure our success. We also use these performance standards as
financial incentives to motivate our staff, so that they
continually strive to achieve a greater number of job
placements. Additionally, when seeking funding, we present our
results to our local business/donor community. They provide
funds to ``Orange County WORKS,'' because we help at-risk
youths obtain jobs, and thus avoid a life of crime or welfare
dependency. This results in a reduction in crime and other
social ills, which benefits our entire local community.
Clearly, the approach used by ``Orange County WORKS'' is
successful, and proves that a high rate of placement can be
achieved at a lower cost, and helps improve our society.

Conclusion

First, I propose that the Independent Living Skills
legislation must provide training of essential job-related
skills (including basic computer and internet skills training).
Foster teens must receive these skills during the two-year
period, prior to emancipation. Second, I propose that for-
profit as well as non-profit training organizations be allowed
to receive Federal Independent Living Skills funding. The need
is for the best training at the lowest cost. Excluding for-
profit trainers from consideration can only hinder this. The
current language of the Independent Living Skils legislation
does exclude the hiring of for-profit Independent Living Skills
trainers with Federal Independent Living Skills funds.
Third, I recommend that Independent Living Skills providers
receive funding based on performance standards similar to those
utilized by ``Orange County WORKS,'' including:
Number of youths trained in job related skills.
Percentage of trainees placed in jobs.
Number of youths placed in jobs.
(The adult welfare employment program operated by Lockheed
Martin for the Private Industry Council in Dallas, Texas, is a
successful example of this approach, which perhaps should be
emulated.)
By having Independent Living Skills funding allocations
based on performance standards, the number of foster youths
trained and placed in jobs will significantly increase. And,
this will greatly encourage Independent Living Skills
organizations to operate in a more cost-efficient manner.
By incorporating these proposed changes to the Independent
Living Skills Act, foster teenagers will be better equipped to
obtain employment at a crucial phase in their lives. Also,
costs for training, and for placing foster youths in jobs
should be reduced.
Additionally, by adopting our proposal, there will be other
significant benefits for our society. Costs related to both
welfare and to other social services programs will be
substantively reduced, as well as costs associated with the
criminal justice system. Clearly, the impact of these changes
cannot be overstated.
Thank you for your consideration of my proposals.

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Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. I thank you very much, and
I think it is very impressive that growing up as you did and
leaving the system in the totally unstructured and really
hazardous circumstances that you did, that you have not only
succeeded in founding and running a business, but also in
giving back to the system that served you only partially.
Mr. MacAllister. Thank you.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. We will turn to Mr.
Garvey.
Mr. Garvey.

STATEMENT OF KEVIN M. GARVEY, COMMUNITY RELATIONS MANAGER,
UNITED PARCEL SERVICE, LAUREL, MARYLAND

Mr. Garvey. Good afternoon, Madam Chair, and thank you for
the opportunity to appear before your Subcommittee today. As
you know, my name is Kevin Garvey, and I am the community
relations manager for United Parcel Service in metro DC. And
that district covers northern Virginia, Washington, DC, and
surrounding Maryland metropolitan counties.
Over the last few years, I have been directly involved in
some key areas. I have focused on work force development. And
up until August 1998, most of those efforts zeroed in on
school-to-work and welfare-to-work initiatives.
But in August 1998 that changed, and I became directly
involved with the foster care population of Maryland, when we
formed the UPS Partnership for Youth in Foster Care. The UPS
Partnership for Youth in Foster Care is a community program.
And it is facilitated by the Living Classrooms Foundation and
is funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
The partnerships objective is to engage young people from
Maryland's foster care system in a work-and-learning experience
at UPS, a work-and-learning experience that expands their
opportunities for career and academic success in the future.
In 1999, the partnership has a goal for transitioning 75
foster care children to a quality workplace and learning
experience. And the partners enjoy the following goals:
Number one, to prepare youth in foster care for employment
through general and UPS-specific work readiness training. Two,
identify qualified and interested youth in foster care,
including youth from Living Classrooms fresh-start program for
the UPS opportunity. Three, facilitate the placement of youth
in part-time positions at UPS facilities in Burtonsville and
Landover, Maryland. The youth start at $8.50 to $9.50 an hour
and they enjoy full medical benefits and can take advantage of
our onsite college classes as well as use our computer learning
facility. Four, schedule career and academic goal-setting
sessions with a UPS mentor for youth in foster care that are
working at UPS. And five, maintain close daily contact with
those youth in foster care after they are hired to best ensure
their success on the job.
This partnership, in my opinion, is unique in the broad
scope of the partners themselves. They are the Annie E. Casey
Foundation, the State of Maryland Department of Human
Resources, Bridges to Work, the Glen Arden Campus of
Opportunity, Living Classrooms Foundation, Anne Arundel County,
Baltimore County, Baltimore City, and Prince George's County
Department of Social Services.
In our involvement with this partnership, we have learned
five valuable lessons. First, it doesn't matter what the
initiative is called, school to work, welfare to work, and so
forth., if it prepares and transitions folks to society's
available work force, then it is work force development.
Second, different initiatives target specific population
segments. However, all of these segments share similar and like
societal barriers. For instance, low-skill levels, lack of
transportation, child-care issues, an underdeveloped work
ethic.
Third, the foster care population bridges the spectrum of
most, if not all, current work force-development initiatives.
Fourth, more companies would engage ongoing efforts if
third-party participation were expanded and an emphasis placed
on the measurement of outcomes.
And fifth, and last, we have enjoyed the expertise provided
by the Annie E. Casey Foundation with the foster care
population. And for those of you who don't know, the Annie E.
Casey Foundation is a UPS-funded philanthropy.
And the painful lesson, the fifth and last painful lesson
that we have learned, is how severe the need is for employer-
driven efforts to serve this population. And if Congress
chooses to allocate additional funding to support transitional
training for foster care children, we urge you to screen the
funding to civic organizations that have the ability to impact
the foster care population directly.
I believe effective civic organizations will be those that
can provide one-stop solutions that overcome an employer's
reservations about hiring someone either through school-to-work
or welfare-to-work or a foster care program.
For example, in Maryland, the Workforce Services Corp.,
formerly known as the Prince George's Private Industry Council,
is setting a standard for providing solutions to difficult-to-
serve populations.
Another example is a local private nonprofit called the
Living Classrooms Foundation, and they are located in
Baltimore. The foundation has extensive experience developing
and implementing educational intervention for disadvantaged and
at-risk youth. Every year, they serve tens of thousands of
students and foster care children.
The UPS foster care initiative relies heavily on this
organization for not only work force preparation but for
program and system assessment. And currently they are helping
us develop a management-training program for our frontline
management folks to make them more sensitive to some of these
societal issues.
I thank you again for the opportunity to be here this
afternoon, and would entertain any questions either in writing
or orally.
[The prepared statement follows:]

Statement of Kevin M. Garvey, Community Relations Manager, United
Parcel Service, Laurel, Maryland

PATHWAYS to SUCCESS: The UPS Partnership for Youth in Foster Care

The UPS Partnership for Youth in Foster Care is a community
program facilitated by the Living Classrooms Foundation. The
partnership's objective is to engage young people from
Maryland's foster care system in a work and learning experience
at United Parcel Service (UPS) that expands their opportunities
for career and academic success in the future. In 1999, the
partnership has a goal of transitioning 75 foster care children
to a quality workplace and learning experience. The partners
work to achieve goals:
By preparing youth in foster care for employment
through general and UPS-specific work readiness training
By identifying qualified and interested youth in
foster care, including youth from Living Classrooms' Fresh
Start Program, for the UPS opportunity
By facilitating the placement of youth in Part-
Time positions at UPS's Burtonsville and Landover, Maryland
facilities. Youth start at $8.50-$9.50/hour with full medical
benefits and on-site college courses
By scheduling career and academic goal setting
sessions with a UPS School-to-Work mentor for youth in foster
care employed at UPS
By maintaining close contact with youth in foster
care after hire to best ensure their success on the job
This partnership is unique in the broad scope of the
participants (partners). They are: United Parcel Service, The
Annie E. Casey Foundation, State of Maryland Department of
Human Resources, Bridges to Work, The Glenarden Campus of
Opportunity, The Living Classrooms Foundation, and Baltimore
City, Baltimore County, Anne Arundel County, and Prince
George's County Departments of Social Services.

PATHWAYS to SUCCESS: Welfare-to-Work

Welfare to work efforts have been a part of UPS for the
past quarter century. We have some 40 Welfare to Work programs
with local governments and organizations in 40 locations across
the country. And in 1997 alone, we hired more than 10,000
former welfare recipients.
UPS is a founding member of the national The Welfare to
Work Partnership, a national alliance of businesses engaged in
programs which help people leave welfare. UPS employees also
participate on several state and local task forces, which
develop creative employment and transportation solutions for
supporting the success of School-and Welfare to Work
participants.
Those jobs pay above-average compensation for entry-level
employees. The benefits package covers the worker's families
and includes full health care coverage, hospitalization,
medical, dental, and vision. In addition, our benefits package
includes short-term disability, accidental death insurance,
life insurance, tuition assistance, paid vacations and
holidays.
We believe in community responsibility. We give our money
and our time to charity, while we know the difference between
charity and business. When we hire people--that's business. And
a business-like approach is needed to remove the barriers that
block increased hiring of welfare recipients.
President Clinton recently noted that 94 percent of welfare
recipients do not have automobiles. There's no doubt about it--
this is a major barrier, because most jobs are located away
from neighborhoods where welfare recipients live.
Public transportation would seem to be the answer. But a
recent Department of Transportation study in Boston of welfare
recipients and jobs found the following: only 14 percent of
potential employers could be reached by public transit within
an hour. . . only 33 percent within 1 and \1/2\ hours. . . and
just over 50 percent of the jobs could even be reached within
two hours. I suspect similar situations exist around the
country.
The transportation situation cries out for a collaborative
effort. We need community activists to cobble together--one by
one, community by community--programs that address the
transportation issue. We need the assistance of community
activists who build databases and work with local government,
labor and business.

RODNEY CARROLL: UPS Loaned Executive, Welfare-to-Work Partnership

Let me share the experiences of one of our executives who
is on loan to The Welfare to Work Partnership. His name is
Rodney Carroll. In his capacity, Rodney reaches out to
businesses and encourages them to get involved in Welfare to
Work initiatives.
As the former manager of UPS's air hub in Philadelphia,
Rodney knows firsthand the challenges and benefits of hiring
former welfare recipients. He started that city's program by
actively recruiting from local welfare offices. He even
organized transportation for welfare recipients living across
the river in Camden, NJ who wanted to work at UPS but had no
way to get there. The UPS bus system became so heavily used
that the New Jersey Transit system took over the route and now
operates it on a full-time basis.
Through more than 40 Welfare to Work programs across the
country, UPS collaborates with government agencies, faith-based
groups, and non-profit organizations to develop, train and
mentor qualified candidates for positions at UPS and other area
businesses. Since January of 1997, UPS has hired well over
15,000 welfare recipients.
Former welfare recipients hired by UPS earn the same pay
and benefits as other employees holding the same job. They also
gain the advantage of working for a company that pays above-
average compensation for entry-level employees and provides an
especially strong benefits package. For example, this package
covers the worker and their family and includes medical,
dental, and vision coverage. What's more, there is ample
opportunity for advancement, because UPS has a policy of
promoting from within.

Susan Miller, UPS Training Supervisor--In Her Own Words

Susan Miller is an example of someone overcoming enormous
obstacles to return to the workplace. As the single mother of
three small children, Susan knew that she wanted to set a good
example for them by getting off welfare. She was hired by UPS
in 1996 as a package sorter and quickly gained the admiration
and trust of her managers and co-workers. As a result, Susan
was promoted to a supervisor position. She now trains all new
UPS hires in our Atlanta Pleasantdale Hub on how to do their
jobs quickly and efficiently in order to provide the quality
service which UPS's requires.
In her own words, Susan states:

``I was on public assistance for almost four years before I
started working at UPS. Now I am working everyday to make a
better life for my children and myself. Having a job builds
your confidence and your self-esteem, which makes you want to
do an even better job. My children recognize my new confidence
and know that it is due to my job at UPS.''
``I knew one day I would be able to find a job like this. I
just didn't know where to start looking. I was introduced to
UPS when my mother saw a postcard that UPS was hiring. That was
over three years ago and I am still just as happy to go to work
everyday as I was the day I started.''
``Let me tell you a little about my job at UPS. As a part-
time supervisor, I receive a good monthly salary and full
health care coverage, hospitalization, medical, dental, vision,
short-term disability, accidental death insurance, life
insurance, tuition assistance, paid vacations and holidays. One
thing you might not know is my family is covered under UPS
benefits as well. I no longer have to worry about how I'll
afford to send my children to the doctor when they get sick.''
``Contrary to popular belief, welfare recipients want to
work. They are responsible people who, if given the right
opportunity, will be committed employees. They want to provide
a better life for their families. They want to take home a
paycheck every week. But, they need jobs that can provide good
wages and benefits that do not make them question their
decision to get off public assistance.''
``When I started working at UPS I had a lot of questions.
Questions about the job, transportation, childcare and my
future at the company. As I have grown with the company, my
supervisors have been very supportive and have taught me a lot.
It is very important for employers to provide resources to
employees hired off welfare so that they do not get frustrated
and quit. Sometimes just knowing there is someone you can go to
who will answer your questions and be on your side is the
difference between failure and success.''
``I work hard everyday for my children. They are the future.
I want my kids to know that their mom worked as hard as she
could to make a better life for them. I hope that I can offer
my life challenges as an example to others that you can make
life better off of welfare. It is hard in the beginning, but
encouragement and motivation is the key to a new, successful
life.''

PATHWAYS to SUCCESS: School-to-Work

American businesses have learned firsthand that many young
people leave high school--and college--ill prepared for jobs.
Some don't have even the basic skills they need to become
viable employees. School-to-work programs are helping to close
the gap between skills students have when they leave high
school and the skills they need to keep up in today's changing
workforce.
UPS became a partner in the School to Work initiative
because it adds very real business value to our company.
Because of our ever-growing need for part-time workers, we
have actively participated in programs to bring students and
young people into our workforce for more than 25 years. Those
early initiatives weren't called ``School to Work,'' and
weren't aimed necessarily at high school seniors, but the
concept was similar.
The School-to-Work initiative provides many young people
their first exposure to the workplace and their first
opportunity to tackle the challenges of work. Interacting with
successful adults in the workplace gives students a vivid
picture of many exciting career paths. High school students who
never thought they could finish school suddenly have a reason
to learn. Many are inspired to pursue advanced degrees.
Programs like this ease the transition between school and
work for all students, but especially for at-risk and
economically disadvantaged students. Young people who have
never seen an adult go to work are able to connect learning
with ``real-life'' working experiences. And most importantly,
they also gain responsibility, self-esteem, and a sense of
accomplishment. How else do we know the School-to-Work program
is working?
Numbers tell part of the story. We hired 1,169 high school
seniors at the beginning of the 1997/1998 academic year. Only
91 have dropped out--that's a retention rate of nearly 93
percent. And a total of 36 students have been promoted to part-
time supervisors in the various locations where the programs
operate.
Next fall the numbers will be even larger. In Chicago, the
program began in 1997 with 30 students. Now we have more than
200.
In Louisville--where seniors work at the UPS Air Operation
facility during the daytime--it has also been successful in
attracting students even though it has the most stringent
guidelines. In the fall of 1996, the Louisville School-to-Work
program began with about 60 students. In the fall of 1998, it
will have 300 students participating--and they were chosen from
more than 500 interviewees.
Another proof of success is that the number of those
students who maintain a better than C average has also
increased steadily in all of our locations
School-to-work students have been some of our best--and
most motivated--employees. We also find these students have
less absenteeism and tardiness compared to other employees--and
they are more safety conscious--a very important factor for us.
All of these things have a direct impact on us and our ability
to be a successful company.
The official School to Work program is aimed at high school
seniors, but UPS's efforts have gone beyond the official
definition. Innovative partnerships are allowing us to take
school-to-work concept beyond high school graduation.
An excellent example of what partnerships can do will
happen when our new Hub 2000 opens in Louisville. We will be
faced with a critical shortage of part-time workers when the
Hub opens. That problem is being solved through partnerships
with the University of Louisville, several other community
colleges and with local and state governments.
The ``Hub of the Future'' will double the capacity of UPS's
current Louisville facility and it will require an additional
6,000 workers. UPS worked with Kentucky's leaders in education,
business and government to come up with a plan to attract new
part-time workers in an overwhelmingly tight job market.
Some of our current School-to-Work students in Louisville
will find they can go to college full time, while they continue
their UPS job and employment with full benefits. They may even
want to live in the specially designed dormitory, which will
cater to students who work and take classes at night and have
to sleep during the day.
If School and Welfare-to-Work programs are going to
succeed, community partnerships will be even more important--
just like they were for us in Louisville for the Hub 2000
project. Government, non-profits, business and education each
have a specific role to play.
Government should provide the public funding to match the
private corporate and foundation funding for successful non-
profit organizations. Also, government must be more supportive
in the area of transportation and public facilities, which only
they can make available.
Educational institutions should teach employability skills
and ease the transition to work. They should also provide:
Flexible scheduling
Academic credit for work experience
Counselors for transition
On-site instructors (teachers) where applicable
Internships
Recognition of School-to-Work graduates
Collaborative links with business
And, of course, businesses must provide good jobs and on-
the-job training.
We believe the success of School-to-Work programs will
continue to depend upon partnerships with key community players
including government agencies, educators, non-profit
organizations and businesses.
UPS's School to Work programs incorporate classroom
training and real world work experience to help students
successfully transition from high school or college to
employment. These programs not only provide students with
essential skills for job success and help boost self-esteem;
their contributions to a productive work force in turn benefit
their surrounding community. School to Work programs are
coordinated in partnership with government agencies, non-profit
organizations, local school systems, and institutions of higher
education.
UPS's School to Work programs operate in Chicago, Dallas,
Louisville, Ky. and Washington, D.C. The programs provide
students 17 and older with the opportunity to earn college
credit while working part-time at UPS. Many students involved
in the program graduate from high school with three or more
college courses already under their belt plus experience at one
of the country's top corporations. And, should they choose to
go to college, UPS has a tuition assistance program for which
they may be able to qualify if they continue to work part-time
at the company.
UPS's newest School to Work program began in September 1998
in Louisville, Ky., the headquarters for the company's air
operations. While Louisville continues to have its traditional
School to Work program for high school students, it has also
launched Metropolitan College, a ground breaking program for
college students.
A result of combined efforts by UPS, the state of Kentucky
and three area colleges, Metropolitan College offers students
part-time employment at UPS and eligibility for free college
tuition. Metropolitan students earn competitive wages and full
employee benefits; work shifts are scheduled to accommodate
daytime classes.
In all UPS School to Work programs, students are assigned a
UPS mentor who is responsible for monitoring their progress in
school and work. Those who excel in school are rewarded with
incentive programs. ``We offer advice to students and try to
show them the correct way to balance their responsibilities,''
said Melissa Smith, a mentor in the Louisville facility. ``We
don't solve their problems for them. We just give them the
tools they can use to help themselves.''

CONCLUSION

If Congress chooses to allocate additional funding to
support transitional training for foster care children, we urge
you to stream the funding to civic organizations that have the
ability to impact the foster care population.
I believe effective civic organizations will be those that
can provide one-stop solutions that overcome an employer's
reservations about hiring someone through School-to-Work, from
welfare or foster care programs. For example, in Maryland, the
Workforce Services Corporation formerly known as the Prince
George's Private Industry Council, is setting the standard for
providing solutions to difficult-to-serve populations.
Another example is a local private non-profit called The
Living Classrooms Foundation located in downtown Baltimore. The
Foundation has extensive experience developing and implementing
educational interventions for disadvantaged and at-risk youth.
They serve over 50,000 students per year. The UPS Foster Care
initiative relies heavily on this organization for workforce
preparation, program assessment, and development of management
training programs.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony
regarding the ``Challenges Confronting Older Children Leaving
Foster Care.''

Thank you, Madam Chair, Congressman Cardin.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Thank you very much, Mr.
Garvey. That was extremely interesting and I commend UPS on
their leadership.
Mr. Pinto, it is a pleasure to have you.

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM PINTO, ADOLESCENT SERVICES COORDINATOR,
DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT

Mr. Pinto. Good afternoon, Chairman Johnson, Rep. Cardin,
and the distinguished Members of the House Ways and Means
Subcommittee on Human Resources. My name is Bill Pinto and I am
the adolescent services coordinator for the Connecticut
Department of Children and Families. I am a social worker with
over 20 years experience in child welfare.
I started out as a protective service worker, children's
protective service worker in the city of Hartford, serving
gang-involved youth and older youth in out-of-home care, and
for the past 10 years I have been developing Connecticut's
Independent Living Program. In addition to my State hats, I am
also one of the founders and past presidents of the National
Independent Living Association, which is now comprised of over
200 members nationwide.
To me, the story about independent living in the United
States is one of tragedy and triumph. The tragedy is that far
too often graduates of the American child welfare system become
America's homeless, prisoners, public-assistance recipients,
and psychiatric patients. What little research there is on the
outcomes of foster care graduates has produced startling and
depressing data.
What is more depressing is that numbers have not changed in
the last 15 years. The research shows that only half complete
high school, less than half are employed, 38 percent maintain a
job for over a year, 60 percent of the women have at least one
child, 25 percent of the males spend time in prison, 25 percent
are homeless at least one night, only 17 percent are completely
self-supporting, and most experience high levels of depression
and discouragement.
Furthermore, over half of the foster care graduates say no
one helped them make plans for being on their own. The focus in
the child welfare system has been on protecting and finding
permanent living arrangements for children. Sadly, it has
neglected providing youth with the services they need to
acquire the social, emotional, and basic life skills necessary
for the transition to adulthood and independence.
For most young people in America, leaving one's home to be
on your own means voluntarily giving up the security of the
family. You leave when emotionally and economically ready for
independence. The move coincides with a positive event, such as
getting married or landing that first big job. When setting up
the first apartment, mom has saved silverware and dishes, Aunt
Millie has the pullout couch in the basement, and dad may put a
fresh coat of paint on the walls.
Most importantly, underneath it all, is the security of
knowing that if it doesn't work out you can always go back
home.
And don't all the parents of young adults in this room know
that they often end up back at our front door. It is vastly
different for kids that have grown up in foster care.
In foster care, you exit the system or you pass from care.
You leave the custody of the child welfare system because you
have reached that statutory age for release, that magical,
mystical age of 18. You are off on your own, ready or not,
expected to enter the community life and self-sufficiency
without the aid of a family or a social service delivery
system.
Young people in out-of-home care who frequently faced
abuse, neglect, and rejection, often have a weak sense of
identity. They are less resilient and less confident in their
abilities. Not only must they face independence in this fragile
state, but they usually face it alone.
The triumph part of the independent living story describes
what is possible when you support these young people. They have
the potential; they need the skills, the guidance, and the
assistance.
In Connecticut, we have seen the positive results of an
Independent Living Program that supports our youth before and
after they move out on their own. We offer a continuum of
services from life-skills-in-education training, transitional-
living programs, subsidized-apartment programs, and after-care
services.
You heard from Reggie Rollins, a 21-year-old from Stamford,
Connecticut, one of our many shining stars. Reggie's life, as
with our other youth, has not been easy by any stretch of the
imagination, and his journey to independence has not been
smooth, but Reggie is making it.
While Reggie deserves the lion's share of the credit, I
must modestly acknowledge that our Independent Living Program
has been with him all along the way. When Reggie turned 21 last
month, we did not say you are on your own now, good luck.
Reggie continues to live in a subsidized apartment and will
complete this educational year. This is only because the
Connecticut Department of Children and Families commissioner,
Kristine Ragaglia, made a commitment to help our young adults
like Reggie until they complete their college education.
She believes it is only right.
My goal is for all States in the country to adopt the
supports for older youth that we have in Connecticut. That is
why I am urging the Federal Government to mandate that States
provide a continuum of independent living services. That
continuum should include community-based life skills,
education, and training for youth in foster and kinship care,
transitional group homes and apartments for young people who
need 24-hour structure and supervision, which can provide
intensive follow-up in areas of life skills, health, mental
health, education, and vocation.
Subsidized, supervised community housing options to enable
young people to live on their own but with continuous support
and assistance with budgeting and other issues.
As my friend and colleague, Marc Croner, says, independent
living without an apartment is like a driver's license without
a car.
And finally, after care, a network of community-based
helpers to provide assistance as youth transition to a
productive community life. These services should emanate from a
comprehensive treatment plan developed with youth, based on
their individual strengths and needs. The plan should prepare
for the young person's transition to the community, should
manage that transition, and provide follow-up after the
transition.
I have spoken to the board of directors of NILA and other
colleagues around the country to gain their insight on the core
elements necessary for the Independent Living Program. Many of
these components are covered in H.R. 671. They are as follows:
The recommended changes in Title IV-E will provide States
not providing services to youth past age 18 an incentive to do
so, and will reward the States that have dedicated State funds
to independent living maintenance programs for young people up
to age 21.
It addresses the issue of assets allowable to foster care
youth. Most Independent Living Programs allow participants to
have savings plans which promote savings and investment and
also provide program graduates with an adequate nest egg to
begin life on their own.
ILP graduates who have contributed to personal savings
plans should not be penalized by becoming ineligible for title
XIX and other social services.
And finally, the bill also contains a much needed plan to
promote collaboration within Federal agencies to promote the
Independent Living Program.
In addition to support for H.R. 671, there is also
consensus for four other areas. One, lowering the eligible age
for independent living services from age 16 to 14. Age 16 is
too late. The earlier the young person becomes involved in an
independent living preparation and specialized case management
services, the more positive the outcome.
Two, providing incentives to States that allow youth to
leave voluntarily at age 18 to re-enter the system if requested
by the young person anytime prior to the age of 21.
Third, promoting positive youth development in Independent
Living Programs, especially youth-empowerment and youth-adult
partnership. Rewards and incentives should be provided to
States that have developed local and statewide youth advisory
boards.
In Connecticut, our youth advisory board has been
invaluable in giving upper management, including the
commissioner, ideas for better serving our teens in care.
And finally, funding for research and evaluation. For the
Independent Living Program to progress effectively, we must
understand where we are and learn from the graduates of our
services, how to plan for the future.
In closing, I want to remember a young man named Willie
Palmer. The case of Willie Palmer v. Mario Cuomo was the
genesis of the national independent living movement. We need to
remember his tragic life, how he was found out on the street
with no more than his State suitcase, that plastic garbage bag
carrying his few possessions. And how he died a violent death
on the streets trying to stay alive.
We must never forget the Willie Palmers. At the same time,
we must remember with the right support, preparation, and
opportunities, we will see more young adults like Reggie
Rollins go on to take their rightful place in society. These
young people have suffered enough. We need to make sure that
they are not victimized by the system established to provide
their care.
In Connecticut, we have seen first-hand the success that
these young people can achieve when given the support they
need. We can help them turn their lives from tragedy to
triumph. It is only right.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement follows:]

Statement of William Pinto, Adolescent Services Coordinator, Department
of Children and Families, Hartford, Connecticut

Good afternoon Congresswoman Johnson, Representative Cardin
and distinguished members of the House Ways and Means'
Subcommittee on Human Resources. My name is Bill Pinto and I am
the Adolescent Services Coordinator for the Connecticut
Department of Children and Families. I am a social worker with
over 20 years experience in child welfare. Ten years were spent
as a child protective services worker in the city of Hartford,
serving gang-involved youth and older youth in out-of-home
care. For the past 10 years, I have been developing
Connecticut's Independent Living Program (ILP). I am also one
of the founders and past presidents of the National Independent
Living Association (NILA), which is now comprised of over 200
members nationwide.
To me, the story of Independent Living in the United States
is one of `tragedy and triumph.' The tragedy is that, far too
often, graduates of the American child welfare system become
America's homeless, prisoners, public assistance recipients,
and psychiatric patients.
What little research there is on the outcomes for foster
care graduates has produced startling and depressing data. What
is more depressing is that the numbers have not changed in the
last 15 years. The research shows that:
only half complete high school;
less than half are employed;
38% maintain a job for over a year;
60% of the women have at least one child;
25% of the males spend time in prison;
25% are homeless at least one night;
only 17% are completely self supporting; and
most experience high levels of depression and
discouragement.
Furthermore, over half of foster care grads say no one
helped them make plans for being on their own.
The focus in the child welfare system has been on
protecting and finding permanent living arrangements for
children. Sadly, it has neglected providing youth with services
they need to acquire the social, emotional, and basic life
skills necessary for the transition to adulthood and
independence.
For most young people in America, leaving one's home to be
on your own means voluntarily giving up the security of the
family. You leave when emotionally and economically ready for
independence. The move out coincides with a positive event,
such as getting married or landing that first big job. When
setting up the first apartment, Mom has saved silverware and
dishes, Aunt Millie has that pull-out couch in the basement,
and Dad may put a fresh coat of paint on the walls. Most
importantly, underneath it all is the security of knowing that
if it doesn't work out, you can always go back home. (And don't
all the parents of young adults in this room know that they
often end up back at our front door?)
It's a vastly different story for kids who have grown up in
foster care. In foster care, you ``exit'' the system or you
``pass'' from care. You leave the care or custody of the child
welfare system because you have reached the statutory age for
release, the magical age of 18. You're off on your own, ready
or not, expected to enter community life and self-sufficiency
without the aid of a family or social service system. Young
people in out-of-home care who have frequently faced abuse,
neglect and rejection, often have a weak sense of identity.
They are less resilient and less confident in their abilities.
Not only must they face independence in this fragile state, but
they usually face it alone.
The `triumph' part of the Independent Living story
describes what is possible when you support these young people.
They have the potential. They need the skills, the guidance,
the assistance. In Connecticut, we have seen the positive
results of an Independent Living Program that supports our
youth before and after they move out on their own. We offer a
continuum of services, from life skills and educational
training, transitional living programs and subsidized apartment
programs, and aftercare services.
You will hear from Reggie Rollins, a 21-year-old from
Stamford, Connecticut--one of our many `shining stars.'
Reggie's life, as with our other youth, has not been easy, by
any stretch of the imagination. And his journey to independence
has not been smooth. But, he is making it. While Reggie
deserves the lion's share of that credit, I must modestly
acknowledge that our Independent Living Program has been with
him all along the way. When Reggie turned 21 last month, we did
not say, you're on your own now, good luck. Reggie continues to
live in a subsidized apartment and will complete this
educational year. This is only because the Connecticut
Department of Children and Families' Commissioner, Kristine
Ragaglia, made a commitment to help our young adults, like
Reggie, until they complete their college education. She
believes it's only right.
My goal is for all states in the country to adopt the
supports for older youth that we have in Connecticut. That is
why I am urging the federal government to mandate that states
provide a continuum of independent living services. The
continuum should include:
community based life skills education and training
for youth in foster and kinship care;
transitional living group homes and apartments for
young people who need 24-hour structure and supervision, which
can provide intensive follow-up in areas of life skills,
health, mental health, education, and vocation;
subsidized/supervised community housing options to
enable young people to live on their own, but with continuous
support and assistance with budgeting and other issues. As my
friend and colleague Mark Kroner says, ``Independent Living
without an apartment is like a driver's license without a
car;'' and
aftercare--a network of community based helpers to
provide assistance as youth transition to a productive
community life.
These services should emanate from a comprehensive
treatment plan developed with youth, based on their individual
strengths and needs. The plan should prepare for the young
person's transition to the community, manage that transition,
and provide follow-up afterward.
I have spoken to the Board of Directors of NILA and other
colleagues around the country to gain their insight on the core
elements necessary for the Independent Living Program. Many of
these components are covered in H.R. 671. They are as follows.
The recommended changes in Title IV-E will provide
states not providing services to youth past age 18 an incentive
to do so and will reward the states that have dedicated funds
to Independent Living maintenance programs for young people to
age 21.
It addresses the issue of assets allowable to
foster care youth. Most Independent Living Programs allow
participants to have savings plans which promote savings and
investment, and also provide program graduates with an adequate
nest egg to begin life on their own. ILP graduates who
contribute to a personal savings plan should not be penalized
by becoming ineligible for Title XIX or other social services.
This bill also contains a much-needed plan to
promote collaboration within federal agencies to promote
Independent Living.
In addition to support for H.R. 671, there is also
consensus on four other areas:
lowering the eligible age for Independent Living
services from age 16 to 14. Age 16 is too late. The earlier the
young person becomes involved in independent living preparation
and specialized case management services, the more positive the
outcomes.
providing incentives to states that allow youth
who leave voluntarily at age 18 to re-enter the system if
requested by the young person any time prior to age 21.
promoting positive youth development in
independent living programs, especially youth empowerment and
youth/adult partnership. Rewards/incentives should be provided
to states that have developed local and statewide youth
advisory boards. In Connecticut, our Youth Advisory Board has
been invaluable in giving upper management, including the
Commissioner, ideas for better serving our teens in care.
funding for research and evaluation. For the
Independent Living Program to progress effectively, we must
understand where we are and learn from the graduates of our
services how to plan for the future.
In closing, I want to remember a young man named Willie
Palmer. The case of ``Willie Palmer vs. Mario Cuomo'' was the
genesis of the national Independent Living movement. We need to
remember his tragic life--how he was found with no more than
his `state suitcase' (the plastic garbage bag that carried his
few possessions), and how he died a violent death on the
streets trying to stay alive. We must never forget the Willie
Palmers. At the same time, we must remember that with the right
support, preparation and opportunities, we will see more young
adults like Reggie Rollins go on to take their rightful place
in society.
These young people have suffered enough. We need to make
sure that they are not victimized by the system established to
provide their care. In Connecticut, we have seen first-hand the
success these young people can achieve when given the support
they need. We can help them turn their lives from tragedy to
triumph. It's only right.
Thank you.

Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Thank you very much, Mr.
Pinto.
Mr. Young.

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM YOUNG, COMMISSIONER, VERMONT DEPARTMENT OF
SOCIAL AND REHABILITATION SERVICES, ON BEHALF OF AMERICAN
PUBLIC HUMAN SERVICES ASSOCIATION

Mr. Young. Madam Chairman, Congressman Cardin, good
afternoon. My name is William Young. I am the commissioner of
the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services in
Vermont, the State's child protection agency and also here on
behalf of the American Public Human Services Association to
talk about the issue of preparing older children leaving foster
care for adult life.
I want to begin by thanking you both for your interest in
these issues, and I know, Chairman Johnson, that for you child
welfare is a matter of longstanding concern. And I applaud you
both for your interest in this important issue.
Children leaving custody are particularly vulnerable.
Unlike some people, who left loving but poor families and went
out on their own at age 18 and succeeded, these children often
have little or no resources. They may not have a family that
cares or is willing to offer any kind of support for them, and
often carry a tremendous weight of personal pain and loss as a
result of sometimes horrendous histories of child abuse,
histories that some of us may have in this room, but most,
gratefully, do not.
In my own State of Vermont, we refer all youth in custody
between the ages of 15 and 21 to regional coordinators, who,
after an initial screening, provide such services as
independent living preparation classes, assistance in
employment exploration, finding and maintaining housing, and
accessing community services, including substance abuse and
mental health counseling.
There are also opportunities for community participation
through service projects on such activities as local and a teen
advisory board that give these youth a direct line of
communication with me. We try to use all available existing
services and programs, but we are not able to meet the needs of
each youth who requires help.
Why do we think this kind of assistance is necessary and
important? Aside from the obvious reason, it helps to create
capacity for economic self-sufficiency rather than welfare-
dependence, and successful citizenship, rather than involvement
with corrections and child-protection systems as an adult.
There is not a one-size-fits-all solution. In Vermont, we
have made significant progress in many areas of social well-
being on outcomes, engaging local communities in planning and
developing specific programs to achieve those outcomes and
providing flexible fiscal support. This approach, which I would
recommend to you as a model, would target badly needed Federal
investments on the outcomes you desire for these children.
Give the States and local communities the flexibility
required to design effective services, provide feedback that
allows for change to occur if services in a given area are not
delivering, and require accountability for achieving the
desired outcomes.
As an example, and I know you have a chart, I think. This
approach has resulted in a record 31-percent decline in child
abuse in Vermont since 1992. Even more impressively, a 62-
percent decline in child sexual-abuse victims, and a 43-percent
decline in physical-abuse victims between the ages of zero to
6.
An effort to address the unmet needs of very high-risk
young people leaving custody doesn't, of course, take place in
a vacuum. Child welfare today is at a crossroads with States
struggling to provide to all children and families, early
identification and services to those who need it, and child
protection services where it is necessary to assure child
safety, permanency, and well-being.
We are implementing the Adoption and Safe Families Act and
the additional requirements it imposes, the Court improvement
project efforts, efforts to improve our adoption systems, and
many others. It is a daunting task, but it is a task that we
welcome. We believe that we are producing results, but it is
clear that we need assistance and a sound partnership with the
Federal Government.
The needs of the children sometimes outstrip our capacity
to respond. We believe that it is vital to maintain the
existing entitlement structure for IV-E but strongly support
additional flexibility within that structure to target
resources where they need to go.
We understand the constraints you are under to meet tight
budget caps. However, we would unfortunately have to oppose any
legislation that uses the TANF for social services block grants
or the repeal of the child-support, hold-harmless provision or
match rates as funding sources. The association has convened a
work group to develop recommendations regarding changes in
Federal child welfare financing tied to flexibility, capacity
and outcomes. And we do look forward to sharing those
recommendations with you in the near future.
We are deeply appreciative of the Subcommittee's interest
and the interest on the part of you both, particularly in that
vulnerable group of young people leaving custody for adult
life. If they are particularly at risk, they also possess a
characteristic common to children the world over, and that is
the capacity to rise above tragedy and to succeed.
And in closing, Madam Chairman and Congressman Cardin, I
guess I would just say, I do personally and strongly believe
that in their success lies a real nugget of hope for all of us
in this society, and in their failure and our failure, if we
don't correct it, I think lies some very destructive seeds for
this Nation.
And so I applaud both of you for your leadership and
interest in this area, and we look forward to working with you
as an association and developing specific policy and funding
proposals to address these needs.
Thank you very much.
[The prepared statement follows:]

Statement of William Young, Commissioner, Vermont Department of Social
and Rehabilitation Services, on behalf of American Public Human
Services Association

Madam Chairman, Congressman Cardin, members of the
Committee, good afternoon. My name is William Young. I am the
Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Social and
Rehabilitation Services, the state's child protection agency. I
am also here today on behalf of the American Public Human
Services Association to talk about the issue of preparing older
children leaving foster care for adult life.
APHSA is a bipartisan organization of public human service
agencies and individuals concerned with human service policy
and its delivery.
I want to begin by thanking Chairman Johnson and
Congressman Cardin for their interest in these issues. I know
that for many of you, including Chairman Johnson, child welfare
is a matter of long-standing concern.
Children leaving custody are particularly vulnerable.
Unlike some of the people who may be in this room who went out
on their own at age 18 and were successful, these children
often have little or no resources, may not have a family that
cares or is willing to offer any kind of support to them, and
often carry a tremendous weight of personal pain and loss as a
result of sometimes horrendous histories of child abuse--
histories that some of us may have but most do not.
In my own State of Vermont we refer all youth in custody
between the ages of 15 and 21 to regional Transitional Services
Coordinators who, after an initial screening, provide such
services as independent living preparation classes, assistance
in vocational exploration, finding and maintaining housing, and
accessing community services, including substance abuse and
mental health counseling. There are also opportunities for
community participation through service projects and such
activities as local and a state-wide Youth Advisory Board,
which give these youth a direct line of communication with me.
We try to use all available existing services and programs,
but we are not able to meet the needs of each child who
requires help.
Why do we think this kind of assistance is necessary and
important? It helps to create capacity for economic self
sufficiency rather than welfare dependence and successful
citizenship rather than involvement with the Corrections and
Child Protection systems as an adult.
There is not a ``one size fits all'' solution. In Vermont
we have made significant progress in many areas of social well
being by focusing on outcomes, engaging local communities in
planning and developing specific programs to achieve the
outcomes, and providing flexible fiscal support.
This approach, which I would recommend to you as a model,
would target badly needed additional federal investments on the
outcomes you desire for these children, give the States and
local communities the flexibility required to design effective
services, provide feedback that allows for change to occur if
services in an area are not delivering the desired results, and
require accountability for achieving the desired outcomes.
As an example, this approach has resulted in a record 31%
decline in child abuse in Vermont since 1992. Even more
impressive is the 62% decline in sexual abuse victims between
the ages of 0 to 6, and the 43% decline in physical abuse
victims 0 -6.
This effort to address the unmet needs of a very high-risk
group of young people does not take place in a vacuum. Child
Welfare today is at a crossroads, with States struggling to
provide support to all children and families, early
identification and services to those who need it, and child
protection services where it is necessary to assure child
safety, permanency and well-being. We are implementing the
Adoption and Safe Families Act and the additional requirements
it imposes, the Court improvement efforts, and the need to
improve our adoption systems.
It is a daunting task, but one that we welcome. We believe
that we are producing results, but it is clear that we need
assistance and a sound partnership with the federal government.
The needs of the children sometimes outstrip our capacity to
respond.
We believe that it is vital to maintain the existing
entitlement structure for IVE, but strongly support additional
flexibility within that structure to target resources where
they need to go.
Madam Chairman, we understand the constraints this
subcommittee and the Congress are under to meet the tight
budget caps set in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. We
understand the initiatives we have been discussing will require
a commitment of new federal resources. However, we urge the
subcommittee not to reduce current or future federal support
for critical human service programs to fund this new
initiative. For example, if any reductions in the TANF or
Social Services Block Grants or the repeal of the child support
hold harmless provision or match rates are use as funding
sources, then APHSA would be in the unfortunate position of
opposing this legislation.
Over a year ago the Association convened a Work Group of
state human service administrators and state and local child
welfare directors to develop recommendations regarding changes
in federal child welfare financing tied to flexibility,
capacity and outcomes. We look forward to sharing those
recommendations with you in the near future as they are
finalized.
We are deeply appreciative of the Committee's interest in
that particularly vulnerable group of young people leaving
custody for adult life. If they are particularly at risk, they
also possess a characteristic common to children the world
over: the capacity to rise above tragedy and to succeed.
And we look forward to working with you to develop specific
policy and funding proposals to address this issue.
Thank you.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T1777.001

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T1777.002

Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Well, first of all, let me
say we do look forward to the results of your working group
thinking through on the issue of flexibility, capacity, and
outcome. I got involved in this in part many, many years ago as
the chairman of the child guidance clinic in my little
community. And so I, as a State senator, visited many, many of
the facilities that provide services to our children, both
child protective services and services for delinquent youth.
And I introduced the first bill to provide parent aid in
Connecticut. But the system has been very, very slow to be able
to look at prevention, to be able to look at integration, to be
able to take a holistic approach. And, indeed, as I have
listened to you and the young people today, it is really quite
staggering that we have now come so far in welfare reform, and
looking at the plight of a woman on welfare and how right the
decision was to make her stay on welfare if she couldn't get
health care for her children any other way. And now how we have
changed that, how we have focused services and broadened the
network to support transition.
And a number of us are working on a bill--we passed it out
of Ways and Means last year, we are going to improve it this
year. It looks at disabled people and the need for them to get
back in the program if they need help, the need for them to be
able to retain health services while they get out there and
start working until they get a job that has health services.
And indeed, it is really quite astounding how we have
failed to understand the enormity of the challenge of becoming
fully on your own from 1 day to the next at age 18. So we do
take the testimony that we have heard here very seriously. In
my past years on this Subcommittee, when I was first on it 6
years ago, I don't think we ever had--Ron and I were trying to
remember--we may have included independent living as a part of
a hearing, but I don't think we have ever had an entire hearing
on the Independent Living Program.
And I think this is the right time. We just know so much
more about how to support realistically and how to help. But I
do think that the issue of the younger people needs to be
addressed; years ago Bill knows we have talked about this
program for a long time, and in visiting it, they would say to
me, ``But my sister needs to be in this, no, my younger
brother.'' And we really do need to take a whole different
attitude because these kids whether they are 10, 11, or 12, are
going to face a whole different imperative at 18 than any child
that I ever raised, or any child, frankly, I ever knew.
So I think we really have got to think through how do we
prepare them for independence at 18 when our society doesn't do
so. So you have given us a lot of good suggestions and really a
lot of good information.
I did want to mention two things--get your input on two
things. First of all, it does seem to me, that we are doing
these kids a terrible disservice not to really focus to some
extent on this sort of life skills business at 14, so by 16
they get a part-time job and we work with them through that
interview. Not many hours a week, but a few hours a week
because, for their education, that is every bit as important as
getting their high school certificate, to know how to succeed
in earning money.
And, many kids start working part-time at 16, but they
don't have any guidance in finding a job that might look good
on their resume or that they can learn from that has skills
that are applicable. So I think we should be rethinking what
the goal of independent living is along the way, not
interfering with school, but complementing it.
And then the other thing I do want to bring up is your
experience with key relationships. You know, the literature is
very clear that a key relationship can make all the difference.
So is there any way in your experience as administrators that,
you could assign primarily more seasoned workers to this. A
worker would be in contact with a person from age 14 and would
be their key person.
When I visited a group called the Bridge, over Christmas,
one of the kids said to me, ``Why can't we choose our foster
families?''
Well, it is not a bad question actually. Not a bad question
at all. So if you can foster that relationship of interviewing
and choice, working with that worker, and then you have the
same worker all the way through, and life skills as a part of
it, and job readiness, and job experience, you know, the whole
thing, then that person is your person till 21.
So we just have to create continuity and a breadth of
support that we just haven't even been thinking about.
So those issues of younger kids, of key relationships, of
the role of work are all things I will certainly have on my
mind as we go forward.
I am going to yield to my colleague, Mr. Cardin, because it
is late, and we will give you each a chance for any comments
you want.
Mr. Cardin. Well, let me first just agree with the
Chairman's observations. I think you have stated it well, and
we are certainly going to work together on these issues.
Mr. Garvey, I particularly appreciate you mentioning the
Living Classrooms, quite a resource we have in Maryland, which
has grown dramatically over the last several years, starting
basically from scratch just a few years ago. And the number of
clientele that they reach every year is amazing.
I hadn't thought about its role in foster care, for
children coming out of foster care. And I appreciate your
bringing that connection. I have also visited UPS and seen what
you have done first-hand, and congratulate you for your
corporate citizenship in working with us. We need more of that.
It just seems, as I listen to all of your testimonies, that
there is a common theme here. And that is that children
reaching the age of 18 need skills in order to be independent,
and that we need to work with them to get those skills as early
as possible. But even if we are very successful, for most
children reaching the age of 18, they are still going to need
some assistance for their housing. They are going to need some
help. They are going to need some protected environment, some
assistance to be able to become successful, even if they have
the skills already.
So that we need to have a more aggressive program. Now you
have mentioned many programs in your States because of State
initiatives or private initiatives or your ability to go get
money from HUD, which I think is marvelous. I will have to
encourage my State of Maryland to be more aggressive in that
area. I am going to go back and talk to them.
And also I just really wanted to emphasize the point that
Mr. Young and, I know, Ms. Nixon with the Child Welfare League,
have been very vocal on, and that is there are a lot of related
issues here, and one of them is the commitment we made to you
in TANF on funding. And that if we start to cut back on that
commitment, it is going to make it more difficult for your
budgets to be able to deal with protecting children. So we
shouldn't be misled to think that if we make progress here, we
had better not lose progress in other areas in order to have
the financial wherewithal for our States to be able to provide
these types of help.
Mr. Pinto, you have given us some good suggestions on
improvements that we could make on the initiatives. I hadn't
thought of some of the additional points that you made, I just
really wanted to compliment you on that.
And let me throw on the table two areas that we haven't
talked too much about. One is that in the legislation that I
propose, we expand the tax credits for employers to make it
easier for foster children to have job opportunities. That
hasn't really been talked about much today. And second, some of
you have alluded to savings; the legislation would increase the
eligibility for children to be able to save more from $1,000 to
$10,000 and not lose their Title IV-E eligibility, you may want
to just comment whether either of those tools that are allowing
children to save more or the tax credits could be useful in
helping you place children in independent circumstances.
Ms. Nixon. Chairman Johnson, I think you have really,
really hit on a key concept when you said something about
continuity. And I think that is another theme that has run
through everything that has been said here today, that there
needs to be continuity for young people as they approach
adulthood in their ability to make connections with adults that
care about them, and connections to the world of work, and
connections to education that allow them to achieve an
educational goal.
When we talk about housing, there needs to be continuity.
Young people need to have the ability to move from a foster
home or a group home to an apartment program, to a community
program and have flexibility in the amount of supervision,
according to what they need, and the amount of support that
they need.
Absolutely, I think that tax credit is a good idea,
especially if there is education and information that is made
available to employers and to community-based programs that
serve young people about accessing those tax credits.
And we really think the savings issue is a critical one.
There was a lot of feedback to us from the States about sending
young people out on their own with only a thousand dollars in
the bank that can't even help you make a security deposit in
the first month. And people are having to spend too much time
trying to think of ways to secure things instead of allowing
young people to have savings that would help them get out there
and establish themselves.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Ron reminds me, we ought
to just ask you, Ms. Logan, how hard has it been to coordinate
funding with HUD?
Ms. Logan. Well, we began in 1991----
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Slippery.
Ms. Logan. What?
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Slippery, huh? [Referring
to the microphone.] [Laughter.]
Ms. Logan. You saw my smile, right?
Well, we began in 1991, a lot of lobbying, a lot of
providing information to HUD. It took about 2 years to convince
HUD that emancipated foster youth was a specific, defined
population who were homeless on the street or who were at risk
of being homeless. So somewhere between 2 and 3 years, we also
met with members of our Congressional delegation, talking to
people high up in HUD, using everything we had to get to the
people at the top of HUD.
And so it took 2 to 3 years, and at the end of that 3-year
period, they did say that this was a specific class of citizens
who were at risk of becoming homeless. And then we applied for
one grant in 1991. We didn't get it.
We applied for another grant in 1992, and we were
successful. And since that time, we have taken the HUD money,
and with the assistance of the Community Development Commission
(CDC), the local agency that gets the HUD money, we have
combined the HUD supportive housing money from CDBG funds and
private dollars. And that is how we are able to get apartments,
able to build apartment buildings in Los Angeles.
So I would say that it was a lot of hard work in the
beginning, but now they are recognized as a specific
population, and, like I say, we have 11 HUD grants now. We have
learned a lot.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. That is very interesting
and very helpful to us. Is there anything that any of you wants
to add before we----
Ms. Logan. I just wanted to add one thing about a specific
person to provide continuity inside the department. In our
department, we have hired almost a hundred former foster youths
as full-time county employees. And they are known as
emancipation assistants and youth workers because they are
still, some of them are still teenagers and they are very
young, they are the ones who call our other teenagers to
convince them to participate in independent living and some of
the other voluntary programs that we have. And they are our
best advocates because they have lived through it.
And like I say, we have a hundred of them, and they are
full-time county employees.
And the only other thing I wanted to add is about jobs. It
is really important that young people have a work history. So
both the city and county of Los Angeles have set aside summer
youth employment jobs from the JTPA, Job Training Partnership
Act, money just for foster youth. So there are certain set-
asides just for our young people so that when they leave foster
care they will have a work experience and a resume that at
least has two jobs. So they at least know what it means to go
to work, get up, get to work on time, and to get along with
people in the work environment.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. I appreciate that, and
that's a very important thing. I think if we do our job right,
foster care kids can start in part-time jobs at 16 and really
get the experience that they need. We are not preparing them
for that. So, they need to work.
Mr. Young. I do think that trying to look at the programs
that work and offer real successes with very specific outcomes
is very important. I also agree with comments earlier that
there are some fundamental shortfalls like a transition plan to
a homeless shelter, which I caught one of my folks doing not
too long ago. You know, it's just crazy. And there is a real
need for support, and the States need to stand up for their
responsibilities too.
But there is a need for some fundamental support while we
are working on some of these other critical issues for these
kids. And I don't want to lose sight as we talk about some of
the good work I have heard today about some fundamental
shortfalls, that a child has to have a place to stay and food,
and just as we need to expect them, just as we do, I think,
with many of our own kids about, you know, what are you doing
to help the family along, while you transition to adult life.
We need to do that too, but we shouldn't shy away from the
fact that there are some fundamental shortfalls I think that
States are really struggling with, some doing a better job than
others. But I think across the country--you have correctly
identified some real issues that we need to address.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Mr. Garvey, UPS does this
with a Casey grant. If we gave companies like yours a tax
credit, would that be enough, or do we have to put money into
private sector participation?
Mr. Garvey. Well, I can't really answer that question
directly. I can share a thought with you. And the thought is
this. I think it is very similar to school-to-work and welfare-
to-work. I don't think that folks, with all due respect, and
please, I want it to be taken that way, folks from the public
sector can go out to the private sector and sell a program. I
think that there are so many programs that come beating on
private industry's doors that they almost become numb to it.
However, when someone from private sector speaks to their
counterpart within this private sector, another organization,
their words have weight and meaning. Now, the perfect example
is the welfare-to-work initiative going on throughout this
country right now, and the welfare-to-work partnership where
you have tens of thousands of employers engaged because other
private-sector representatives have gone to them and solicited
their help and showed them the benefits and the rewards for
being involved in these types of activities.
So, I guess I skirted your question. Would tax credits do
that? I don't know. I do know that the private sector is more
likely to listen to their counterparts in the private sector
when talking about these types of issues and engaging these
types of issues.
And if I may there is one other point----
Mr. Cardin. But on that point, let me just interrupt.
Sometimes we get their attention because of the--it's not only
good policy for the country, it makes good economic sense for
the business, and, by the way, there are some incentives to
move in this direction. We take away some of the risks.
So I think you are right. It's tough for us to get in the
door to make the sale. You do a much better job at it. But we
also have to provide the climate and the incentives to make it
work.
Mr. Garvey. Please pardon me. I was not discounting the
thought at all. I was not answering the question because quite
frankly I don't have an answer. I don't know.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. I mean one of the things
we really need to think more about is how do we incentivize
States to get the business community involved, to get the much
more flexible job training capability--those dollars involved.
How do we get them to really look at HUD and HUD's programs,
and our extraordinary capacity to develop affordable housing
through the low-income housing tax credit. There is a lot of
stuff out there. And there is a lot happening, but it actually
isn't touching on this population. They don't get thought of to
get into it.
And so I think some way of incentivizing States is
necessary because the agencies that run these programs are
really under a lot of pressure.
Mr. Garvey. There is an inherent danger that we have seen
with welfare-to-work and I'm sure you have seen it on a much
broader scope than I have. This is an observation that when you
apply tax credits as an incentive, it can draw undesirable
types to the table also because there are folks that follow the
dollar and economics of it.
And I guess if there were a fire wall to protect the
children and the tax credits from that type of organization
that is seeking just the tax credits and the sheer economics of
it----
Mr. Cardin. That is a very interesting point. And it may be
that we ought to put the burden on the States to develop sort
of a business group that we are doing that, and then there
would be money freed up if they were able to do that because
that is a really terrible thought.
Mr. Young. I really think that one of the things, and we
kind of have a bee in our bonnet in Vermont just because we
have had some real success and that is a way of bringing all of
the people, all of the players in the community to the table,
is this business of combining both flexibility about funding
with clear outcomes tied to local efforts, not even statewide
efforts, but local efforts.
And we are developing outcomes across human services by
school--we don't do it by counties, we do it by school
supervisory unions--so that we can look at a whole host of
outcomes. For example, for communities, and I think somewhere
in this packet I have a booklet that we give to each
supervisory union across a whole range of outcomes in human
services, among them that, you know, youth transition to
adulthood successfully. And some of those we have very clear,
measures, and some we don't. But we find that when we can
challenge local communities and tie it to some assistance, that
they come up with plans that we would never think of that are
much better than if I said, you know, as we used to do, here's
this program and it has to look exactly like this in every one
of my regional offices.
They think of things we would never think of, and they are
invested because it is their plan. So I do think having--
whatever we can do to encourage that kind of flexibility but
tied to really clear outcomes, where there is a continuous
process of assessing. ``Are you achieving what we want to
achieve?'' It does engage local businesses and schools and
faith communities and a whole host of folks who usually, well
not usually, but often are at the table in helping us out. Any
approach that----
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Certainly the study that
looks at what we have done in welfare does demonstrate that
those States that have been able to generate exactly that kind
of attitude toward welfare and involvement and so on are doing
much better than the rest. So any thoughts you have would be
welcome, and we look forward to working with any of you on how
we can assure that flexibility and the accountability. But
also, if we do this right, we have a chance actually to change
foster care from a child dependence program, particularly from
14 to 18, to the kind of child development program that it
really needs to be.
Were you pulling the microphone over?
Mr. Pinto. I just wanted to make one statement as someone
who has spent the last 10 years making many, many trips to
Washington to speak about independent living and the needs of
older youth in foster care and more than likely getting a
handshake and a 20-second meeting and being shown the door,
other than Mrs. Johnson, who has given me ample time to get on
my soapbox and speak about this. But as someone who has
dedicated his professional life to older kids in foster care
and independent living, I can't thank you enough for today. It
was very exciting, it makes me extremely optimistic, and I
really feel that finally we have some folks here that
understand the issue, and understand the need of these kids.
And we are talking about a segment of our population,
adolescents as a whole, that is kind of viewed as dangerous
rather than endangered.
And I think today was dialog to begin to change that
notion, and I thank you very much.
Chairman Johnson of Connecticut. Well, thank you all for
your testimony, and we look forward to working with you.
[Whereupon, at 4:13 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
[Submissions for the record follow:]

Statement of Mark E. Courtney, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Today I am going to share with you some results from a
study conducted by myself, Irving Piliavin, and Andrew Grogan-
Kaylor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison of the
experiences of foster youths who aged out of the Wisconsin
foster care system in 1995 and 1996. I will also share with you
our recommendations for improving government support for
persons making the transition from the care of the state to
independence.
Our study is following foster youth from before they left
the system until three years after they exited. Thus far we
have interviewed 141 of them once while they were in care and
113 of those, or about 80 percent, 12 to 18 months after they
were discharged from the system. The youths had been in care at
least 18 months, an average of over five years, and therefore
we believe that the system had a clear responsibility to
prepare them for independence. I will focus today on selected
findings regarding the experiences of our respondents 12 to 18
months after they left care.
The youth were asked a number of questions about their
preparation for independent living. We asked whether they had
been trained in a number of areas specified in law and
regulations. The average percentage of sample members reporting
that they had been ``trained'' in a given area was 76 percent.
However, far fewer had actually been provided concrete
assistance in carrying out essential tasks associated with
independent living. For example, fewer than one fifth had
received any job training, participated in a mock job
interview, been told how to apply for public assistance,
received help finding a job, or help obtaining housing,
personal health records, or health insurance. Not surprisingly,
over one-quarter of the former foster youth felt either not at
all, or not very well prepared in a number of important areas
including getting a job, managing money, obtaining housing,
knowledge of community resources, parenting, and living on
one's own.
Almost a third of the youths were at or below an eighth
grade reading level when we first contacted them. Not
surprisingly, given their educational deficits, by 12 to 18
months past discharge 37 percent of the young adults had not
yet completed high school, 55 percent had completed high
school, and only 9 percent had entered college.
The former foster youths had significant unmet health and
mental health needs. Forty-four percent of them reported having
trouble obtaining medical care most or all of the time. Of
these, 90 percent reported that this was due to a lack of
health insurance coverage or care costing too much. Nearly half
of our respondents had received mental health services in the
year prior to our interview with them while they were in out-
of-home care. Nevertheless, in spite of no change in their
overall mental health status, only about one-fifth had received
any mental health services in the year prior to our second
interview, after they had left care.
Achieving self sufficiency was difficult for a large
percentage of the former foster youth. Fewer than half had at
least $250 when they were discharged from the system. Only
three-fifths were working when we interviewed them 12 to 18
months after discharge. Even those employed earned on average
slightly less than a full-time minimum wage worker. All told,
44 percent of the group had either been homeless, incarcerated,
or received public assistance since leaving the care of the
state.
What do we believe should be done. First, the unmet health
and mental health needs of youth aging out of foster care are
considerable. Common sense calls for extension of Medicaid
eligibility to these youth through the age of twenty-one.
Second, additional funding should be made available for
concrete assistance to youth making the transition to
independence. Currently, most services focus on education about
independent living skills while providing limited if any
``hands-on'' experiences for youth. What is lacking are
adequate opportunities for former foster youth to return to the
system for help when that help is most needed and appreciated.
This would include various kinds of concrete assistance in
dealing with obstacles to self sufficiency and, perhaps most
importantly, transitional housing. We believe that extension of
the Title IV-E entitlement to twenty-one would be the easiest
way to accomplish this. Moreover, our research suggests that
the cost of doing so would not be as much as might be expected
since former foster youth who are reasonably self sufficient
would not take advantage of the entitlement. At a minimum,
substantial targeted funding should be made available to
develop and evaluate such programs. Third, funding regulations
should be changed to require independent living programs to
help youth to maximize the potential, and minimize the harm, of
their relationships with their families of origin. One-third of
our respondents lived with kin after leaving the care of the
system and most maintain significant contact with their
families. Social support appears to be the best predictor of
self sufficiency for these young adults, a much better
predictor than the amount of independent living training they
received. It is time to stop pretending that foster youth do
not have families. Lastly, current and future independent and
transitional living programs must be subjected to much more
thorough outcome evaluation. Our nation has spent over one
billion dollars on these programs over the past decade while
learning almost nothing about what works for whom.

Statement of Sister Mary Rose McGeady, D.C., President, Covenant House

Introduction

Covenant House is very pleased that the President and the
Congress have placed the issue of aging-out foster care youth
on the national agenda. We would like to thank Congresswoman
Nancy L. Johnson for taking the leadership on this matter by
holding hearings on this very important issue.
This hearing presents us with the opportunity to have a
long overdue dialogue about a segment of our population that is
often overlooked in many of our social programs, namely young
adults between the ages of 18 and 21. There will be volumes of
information presented to this Subcommittee on the challenges
facing older youth leaving foster care. We would like to offer
the Committee a description of our Rights of Passage program as
a model for meeting some of the challenges facing this
population.
In the United States today, we often think of a person who
is 18 years old as an adult. At 18, a young person has the
right to vote, to defend our country in wartime and is expected
to make critical decisions about his/her life. As parents we
might give our children more responsibility at 18 than we would
at 16 because we want them to begin to behave more adult-like.
In fact, many of our federal, state, and local social programs
for children and youth often end when a young person reaches
the age of 18 because we expect that, at this age, an
individual should be able to adequately provide for him/
herself. But we also know that under ``normal'' circumstances,
children at this age struggle to meet these expectations, even
with the assistance of a loving, caring, and supportive family
environment. These children still rely on their parents for
guidance and financial support as well as their network of
friends and colleagues to assist along the way. In fact, many
middle class parents would agree that their children do not
really begin to approach adulthood until they graduate from
college, obtain their first ``real'' job and find their own
housing, which might not happen until age 25.
But what about young people who do not have this kind of
support system? How do they successfully make the transition
from adolescence to adulthood? How does the homeless youth, the
youth who has been orphaned by AIDS or substance abuse, and the
youth leaving the supportive environment of foster care begin
to create a life for him/herself? Almost thirteen years ago
Covenant House pondered these questions. We realized that we
had to create a support system for these young people to help
them become productive adults. Consequently, we established and
implemented one of our most successful programs for homeless
and at-risk emancipated youth, our Rights of Passage (ROP)
transitional living program. We believe--and our experience has
proven--that this program encompasses the components necessary
to successfully move emancipated youth into adulthood. These
important components include access to housing, vocational
training and jobs, educational programs, access to daycare,
access to medical care, and most importantly, access to caring,
supportive individuals such as program staff and mentors.
Covenant House is the country's largest privately funded
childcare agency providing services to homeless, runaway, and
at risk youth in 14 cities across the nation. Last year our
programs provided food, shelter, clothing, counseling, medical,
educational, and vocational services to over 41,000 youth in
our residential programs, community service centers, and van
outreach programs in the United States. Sixty-five percent of
the youth we serve at Covenant House are between the ages of 18
and 21. About 40 percent of these young people have been in
foster care. Many of them are estranged from their families
while others have no families at all. Consequently, they often
become residents in transitional living programs like Rights of
Passage. The Covenant House ROP program serves as a model that
we believe can transform the lives of young people so that they
become independent, self-sufficient adults.

Case Histories

After Ohio Children's Services removed him from an abusive
home, George spent his adolescence in a foster home with a
loving and supportive foster mother. Although she would have
been glad to allow him to continue living with her when he
turned 18, he had to leave because there were younger foster
children in the home. George had dropped out of school but was
working. His job, however, did not provide enough money for him
to maintain an apartment, so he decided to join the crew of a
carnival that traveled around the country. After several
months, George came to Florida with the carnival and decided he
did not want to continue that tough, wandering life. He called
the Nineline (1-800-999-9999), Covenant House's national
hotline for youth and families, and was referred to Covenant
House Florida in Ft. Lauderdale. He spent several months at our
Crisis Center, where he obtained his GED and completed several
components of our ROP program that prepares older adolescents
for the world of work.
David lived in foster care in New York City from age 11 to
18. At 19 he moved to South Carolina to live with his
grandfather, but this arrangement did not last long. During his
stay with his grandfather, David got a job and soon after moved
into an apartment of his own. Six months later, David was laid
off from his job, was unable to pay his rent, and lost his
apartment. He turned to his family for help to no avail.
Finally, an uncle living in New York City agreed to help David
and he returned to New York. This living arrangement did not
last long because David was having difficulty finding a job and
was asked to leave his uncle's house. David came to our Crisis
Center because he did not have a place to stay. He worked with
the job developers at Covenant House and was employed within a
month. He moved into ROP and is currently employed at Staples
earning $6.50 per hour. He has been at ROP for six months and
we believe he will be ready to move into his own apartment in
another six months.
Dionne entered the California foster care system at age 13.
Following placement in several different group homes, she came
to Covenant House California when she aged out of the system.
After several attempts, she successfully entered the Right of
Passage program, completed all three phases of the life skills
curriculum, and graduated into a supportive apartment. Dionne
is currently employed full-time at another social service
agency in Los Angeles. She also volunteers at Covenant House as
a peer counselor on the outreach van. One of her goals is to
attend college to study early childhood development so that she
can help others who have come through the foster care system.
John is a 20-year-old male who initially came to Covenant
House Washington (CHW) at the age of 18 seeking assistance to
obtain a GED. After being in the District of Columbia foster
care system from the age of 12 to the age of 18, John decided
that he no longer wanted to receive foster care services
because he did not like the restrictions the system placed upon
him. During that time he was in four separate foster homes. In
his last two placements, he was separated from his biological
brother and sister. Initially, John bounced from place to place
and sometimes lived on the streets. His attendance at CHW was
sporadic and his behavior ranged from cooperative and studious
to disruptive and inattentive. With the continued encouragement
of CHW staff, John has moved into shelter where he is living
presently. In the meantime, CHW is assisting John with
counseling, meals, GED studies, employment, and emotional
support.
Mary is a young woman from our program at Covenant House
New Orleans. She entered the foster care system and was placed
with a number of families, some good and some bad. Finally, she
was placed in a group home setting where she remained until age
18. As she states in her own words:

I left with good behavior, but it hurt because once again I
was leaving a home. So then I started running away too scared
to get close to anyone and afraid to let anyone help and it
messed me up. I was leaving good and bad places, having
nothing, no one and no place to go, sleeping outside or
anywhere I lay my head. Being in the custody of the State was
hard for me all the way even though it bettered me in so many
ways. I had people to love and care for me. It gave me the
opportunity to go to school and become somebody. If I were with
my parents I would not be who I am today. Though it hurt me to
get taken away from my family, it saved my life from failure.
What happened to me was painful but people go through worse.
The pain and troubles don't stop at age 18. The State needs to
expand the after care program into programs like this one
[Covenant House]. When you get out of States Custody you
shouldn't have to fall homeless and then get help because some
people fall and don't get up. It should already be set before
we make 18 to go to a transitional program. When I left States
Custody I had to fall homeless and get back up. It's like after
18 you're on your own and life is going to fall into place.
That's not how it always works. At the age of 18 life gets
harder and you have to deal with it alone. Transitional
programs should be there for the extra schooling, work, or
parenting classes--the structure, guidance, and discipline that
teens need.''

These stories are representative of many young people who
come to our Covenant House sites. Some are running away from
abusive or neglectful situations; some have been thrown out of
their homes due to pregnancy, unemployment, or incarceration,
and some are escaping domestic violence and substance abusing
parents. Many of these young people have tried to make it on
their own, but were unsuccessful. For many of these youth,
Covenant House is their last chance.

Rights of Passage

The Rights of Passage (ROP) program began 13 years ago at
our New York site as a response to the increasing numbers of
youth we were seeing who had no place to call home and who were
having a difficult time making it on their own. Covenant House
currently operates eight ROP programs across the country. ROP
is a long-term transitional living program which provides a
unique opportunity for homeless young men and women, aged 18 to
21, who are motivated to take control of their future. It
offers a safe and stable living environment, where young people
are able to focus on pursuing their educational and vocational
goals and prepare for the responsibilities of adulthood. ROP is
a unique collaboration of a broad range of individuals, from
staff and volunteers to mentors and private sector business
people, working together to help our youth approach their long
term goal of independent living.
Our primary objective in ROP is to help youth adjust to the
world of work. However, daily living in the program presents
each young person with a variety of challenges including
interaction with peers, management of time and money,
negotiating social systems, learning responsibility to self and
others, setting priorities, and focusing on realistic goals.
ROP is a community of people working together to foster growth
through positive relationships. Staff and youth share meals,
recreational activities, and other aspects of daily living.
They also hold special activities such as group meetings,
workshops, retreats, camping trips, and other excursions. In
many ways ROP can be seen as a school for positive independent
living. Participants are presented with the opportunity to
learn through counseling, daily interaction with staff and
peers, facing challenges, and accepting and correcting
mistakes.
ROP operates on the premise that stable employment is the
key to true independence. To this end the program has three
major components to assist our young people overcome barriers
to gainful employment. They include a vocational/job placement
program, an educational program, and a mentor program.

Vocational/Job Placement

The Vocational Training Program provides job-specific
training, educational support, and direct placement upon the
successful completion of the training. Course areas include
building maintenance, office assistant, business technology,
culinary arts, desktop publishing, home health aide, medical
receptionist, metal and marble restoration, nurses aide,
landscaping, and silk screen printing. All training programs
are joint ventures with private sector businesses, and are
taught by in-house staff and volunteer professionals from each
industry. ROP staff also refer participants to training
programs offered by other providers in the community when
appropriate.
We are constantly seeking varied opportunities for youth to
gain access to employment. Ezekiel's Cafe is an earned income
project managed by our Covenant House New York site, which
employs our young people directly. The cafe offers a creative
approach to preparing our young men and women for the job
market. Two new earned income projects, desktop publishing and
silk screen printing, are currently being developed and
implemented. At Covenant House New Orleans, White Dove is
another such project which trains our youth for jobs in
landscaping. White Dove has secured contracts to care for areas
as diverse as community gardens to sections of the city's
highway.
Job Placement Services develop employment opportunities for
young adults. Clients meet with counselors, attend vocational
workshops, prepare resumes, and take assessment tests to
determine their skill and academic level. Our job development
staff initially work to secure entry-level jobs from private
sector partners. In New York City, for example, the Covenant
House job bank has grown to over 655 companies that employ our
youth in a wide range of industries from banks to building
maintenance. We cannot overestimate the importance of getting
private businesses involved in any endeavor designed to help
youth transition to adulthood. Youth need an economic base from
which to build in order to reach independence, and employment
is the key to that base.

Educational Program

The Educational Program, sometimes directly and mostly
through collaboration with other agencies, provides day and
evening classes, volunteer tutors, and computer-assisted study
programs to offer courses that include Adult Basic Education,
English as Second Language classes, General Education Diploma
preparation, and assistance to students in accessing higher
education. At Covenant House we understand that as our young
adults improve their educational skills, they also increase
their chances of getting a higher paying job which takes them
closer to permanent housing and independence.

Mentor Program

The Mentor Program matches each resident to one of a select
group of professional men and women who have volunteered to act
as advisors and role models for these young people. For many of
our young people it is the first time in their lives that they
will experience a supportive, one-to-one relationship with an
adult. Our mentors play an important role in providing our
youth with employment and career advice. Mentors are an
integral part of Rights of Passage. Our graduates consistently
rate mentors as a key factor contributing to their success.

Other Essential Services

In addition to the three major areas of ROP outlined above,
ROP residents also have access to other services that are
essential to their success while in the program. They are able
to have their health care needs met directly through our free
clinics and through collaborations with local hospitals. Upon
leaving ROP, however, many young people find themselves without
access to medical services. They sometimes do not have jobs
that offer them medical benefits and often do not qualify for
Medicaid or other state run health programs because of their
age or income. Unfortunately, these young people then become
part of the large population of uninsured working families in
America. We fully support the President's proposal to extend
Medicaid benefits to this age group and hope the Congress will
join us.
Young women with children make up about 30 percent of our
ROP residents. They are some of our most motivated and
responsible ROP participants. They tend to be more focused and
driven to accomplish their goals. While the mothers reside at
ROP, they have access to safe affordable daycare for their
children. We encourage all our mothers to apply for subsidized
daycare upon entering our program so they will have it upon
graduation. However, far too many of them do not get daycare
because there are not enough slots available. This situation
has been worsened by the competition between working mothers
and mothers on welfare who have been given priority for daycare
slots. Consequently, some of our young mothers are unable to
fulfill their job commitments because they have no stable
daycare arrangements and as a result of increased absenteeism,
become unemployed. With no income, they lose their apartments.
Some of these young women end up on welfare in order to
survive. We need to increase funding to the Childcare Block
Grant to States in order to expand daycare opportunities. This
will prevent many young women from having to choose welfare
over work.
One of the most important aspects of our program is helping
our youth find a permanent home of their own. Access to
affordable housing is one of the biggest challenges facing our
young people leaving the ROP program. Many of our sites have
apartment programs to assist our young people with housing. We
also seek collaborations with low-income housing providers in
order to secure affordable housing for our youth. More
opportunities must be created so that young people can gain
access to affordable housing.

Conclusion

Over 60 percent of ROP participants graduate to independent
living. This means that after they leave the program they
continue to be employed and are living in a stable environment.
While we are proud of this success rate, naturally we continue
to search for ways to improve. We are also very cognizant that
we cannot do this work alone as evidenced by the public and
private partnerships and collaborations outlined earlier.
The most important challenge that we face in helping young
people make the transition to adulthood is the lack of adequate
programs like ours available to assist them. Covenant House
operates eight transitional living programs across the country
with an average daily census of 296, and still we have long
waiting lists. Clearly, there is a need for more programs for
our young people to help them successfully transition to
adulthood. We hope that the Congress will increase the funding
to provide much needed programs like these for aging-out foster
care youth.

Statement of Louis H. Henderson, President, National Association of
Former Foster Care Children of America

My name is Louis H. Henderson. I am the President of the
National Association of Former Foster Care Children of America.
NAFFCCA is a nonprofit organization that manages services for
the Children and Family Service Agency. The services offered by
NAFFCCA cover the scope of providing housing through its
Independent Living Program which obtain housing in various
apartment complexes within the community for young foster care
individuals between the ages of 17-21 years old who are in the
custody of CFSA.
Today I bring before this committee my personal story, and
a thorough understanding of the foster care industry and
specific recommendations for how the system and the foster care
service delivery model should change. This testimony is
presented for the purpose of enhancing the credibility for the
need to support changes in a system which has for too long not
benefitted from refreshing paradigms truly designed for real
impact.
I entered the foster care system at the age of two (2) and
for sixteen (16) years I was treated to what seemed like an
endless series of insensitive moves from home to home, foster
parent to foster parent, and from one unstable condition to
another. Throughout this ordeal of being sent, assigned, and
moved, the most unfortunate reality was that at no time was any
attention paid or any inquiry made relative to my personal
wants, dreams or desires. The system designed to advocate for
me was most to blame for making me feel like an economic clog
in the government-backed wheel. Fundamentally what the system
lacks is a focus on the personal outcomes of the individual.
The totality of this sixteen-year ordeal represents a blur
of frustrations largely associated with the loss of my
personhood, dignity, and my conviction that adults with
influence could and would really work for and with my best
interest. The fundamental breakdown was the lost of trust in
anything other than what I knew I would do for myself. It is my
hope that whatever comes from this hearing will support the
restoration of trust that foster children have in adults with
power.
What we do with our past experiences either supports or
debilitates our future potential to make a contribution that
supports our own lives and the lives of others.
I've made a personal life commitment to supporting real
change in the foster care system. Clearly this industry faces
many challenges. It is my opinion that two critical changes
must be a part of the national solution. I make these
recommendations with the affirming benefit of dialogue with
influential and experienced city leaders, with a close
examination of the research and with the perspective of my
first-hand experience.

Recommendations:

That local block grants be expanded that will
support local efforts deigned around local partnerships
including corporations, universities, business working with
social services agencies, and that each initiative has an
evaluation component.
That each new initiative has the policy support
that incorporates clear lines of accountability that ties
dollars to outcomes determined by an action-research assessment
of whether or not the foster child services were designed and
did in fact have a successful impact.
NAFFCCA believes that theory and practice must be the
operating model for any new change design. It is for that
reason that the National Association of Former Foster Care
Children of America has joined with the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy
Institute of Washington, D.C. and the Ed-Tech Educational
Corporation to implement a new model of one stop shopping which
provides each fosters care child with a complete continuum of
services from independent living to education, to the
evaluation of the individual's personal outcomes for success.
It is important to note that this model is currently meeting
with great success in significantly increasing the number of
people and resources to support the objectives of the foster
care system. With this new model this local area (District of
Columbia) now, clearly has more people working on problem-
solving.
Additionally the National Association of Former Foster Care
Children of America's mission has found a supportive meeting of
mission with the Points of Light Foundation. This powerful
organization has generously inserted its willing spirit and
proven track record toward supporting the foster care cause.
Their support for our goals should not go unrecognized as an
exemplary model of what can happen when organizations join
together to wrestle a social problem that has historically been
approached in isolation. The Points of Light Foundation with
it's spirited and devoted national leadership has modeled for
us the positive outcome of what happens when partnerships and
mergers are formed to advance the lives of children. This union
of support is already showing great promise for replication
(ability) with applications in other urban and rural
communities. The merits and success of these two partnerships
working to support NAFFCCA have given the nation a big push
forward in our pursuit of knowing and implementing what really
works.

Statement of National Network for Youth

Background

The National Network for Youth is a 24-year-old privately
supported, non-profit membership organization committed to
advancing its mission to ensure that young people can be safe
and grow up to lead healthy and productive lives. Through its
relationship with 10 regional networks across the country, the
National Network represents over 1,500 constituents, primarily
community-based youth-serving agencies located in all fifty
states. The majority of our members work with runaway and
homeless youth through a comprehensive array of programs
including temporary emergency shelters, long-term transitional
living services and street outreach programs.
As the Subcommittee on Human Resources considers testimony
and policy recommendations regarding the challenges confronting
older children leaving foster care and the expansion of the
Independent Living Program, the National Network for Youth
would like to highlight, as a model for this expansion, the
Transitional Living Program. For over a decade the Transitional
Living Program has served as a bridge for homeless young people
by assisting them to successfully transition to adulthood.

The Transitional Living Program

Funding and Administration

The Transitional Living Program is one of three programs
funded by the federal government through the Runaway and
Homeless Youth Act, Title III of the Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention Act. In fiscal year 1999, $14.949
million was appropriated for the Transitional Living Program.
The President's budget for fiscal year 2000 provides $20
million for the Transitional Living Program, an increase of $5
million. The Program is administered by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, Family and Youth Services Bureau,
which allocates funding through a competitive grant process to
community-based organizations serving homeless youth. Funding
priority is given to organizations that have experience working
with runaway and homeless youth and an in-depth understanding
of the issues that confront them. In 1998, seventy-eight
programs across the country were funded through the
Transitional Living Program.

Overview of the Transitional Living Program

Most young people learn the skills necessary for successful
transition into adulthood by caring parents, guardians, other
family members and through school. However, a large number of
youth who are homeless in this country do not have caring
adults in their lives to help them learn these skills and,
oftentimes, they are disconnected from schools. Often, these
young people experience tremendous hardship in their ability to
secure stable housing, educational opportunities and employment
and, as a result, are confronted with an increased risk of
long-term homelessness, physical or mental illness, dependency
on welfare and other difficult challenges.
The main goal of the Transitional Living Program is to
guide, encourage and assist runaway and homeless youth to
successfully transition to self-sufficient adulthood. The
Transitional Living Program provides homeless youth, ages 16 to
21, with long-term shelter, a structured environment and other
services designed to promote transition to self-sufficiency and
``to prevent long-term dependency on social services.'' The
young people who receive services from Transitional Living
Programs are not able to live with their families because of
safety concerns and they have no other safe living
arrangements. In addition, the Transitional Living Program
often serves as a safety net for young people who either age
out of, or who do not qualify for services in the Child Welfare
System. The Program also works with system youth who have been
shuffled from one foster home to another and eventually run
away from such unstable care. In short, these young people are
disconnected from their families, schools, communities and
other systems.
In Transitional Living Programs, young people learn basic
life skills such as money management, budgeting, consumer
education and responsible use of credit. In addition,
Transitional Living Programs promote educational advancement,
teach young people to become proficient in securing and
maintaining meaningful employment, and connect young people to
opportunities and supports available in their communities.
In order to participate in a Transitional Living Program, a
young person must maintain employment and/or be enrolled in
school--high school, community college, university, vocational
training or a GED program. Program participants are also
responsible for paying rent, maintaining a savings account,
contributing to household chores and activities, setting both
immediate and long-term goals and working to achieve those
goals.
A guiding principle in providing services through the
Transitional Living Programs is Youth Development. Youth
Development is an approach to working with young people that
connects them to supports and opportunities within their
communities and actually involves them in decision-making and
leadership roles. By involving young people in this way, they
become more invested in what they learn, more committed to
attaining their goals and, in the process, develop valuable
leadership skills and experience. These skills and experiences
are instrumental in a young person's ability to become self-
sufficient, to develop positive family and social relationships
and to become a productive, contributing member of his/her
community.
The Effectiveness of Transitional Living Programs

A recent study conducted by Covenant House New Jersey
demonstrated that Transitional Living Programs are effective in
assisting young people to transition from homelessness to self-
sufficiency.\1\ In a survey of all seventy-eight federally
funded Transitional Living Programs conducted from November 1,
1998 to January 8, 1999, Covenant House New Jersey found:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Covenant House New Jersey. 1999. The Runaway and Homeless Youth
Law Project. New Jersey: Author.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Programs reported that, as of the date of their
responses, 78 percent of young people in Transitional Living
Programs were employed; most of these youth were employed full-
time.
2. Sixty-five percent of Transitional Living Programs
residents attended school.
3. Eighty-five percent of Transitional Living Program
residents did not receive any direct government subsidies, such
as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Medicaid.
4. Remarkably, of the programs which reported on outcomes,
74 percent of residents were discharged to stable housing.
These same programs reported that 78 percent of TLP graduates
remained free of all direct government aid six months after
discharge.
In another comprehensive evaluation of Transitional Living
Programs conducted by CSR, Incorporated under contract to the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on
Children, Youth and Families, the author concluded that youth
who participated in the Program were faring better than their
non-TLP counterparts.\2\ According to the study, after six
months of program participation, the overall positive outcomes
of the evaluation were:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Department of Health and Human Services. 1997. Evaluation of
the Transitional Living Programs for Homeless Youth. Washington, D.C.:
CSR, Incorporated.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
More participant youth said their health had
improved;
More participant youth had savings;
More participant youth were employed;
Fewer participant youth were dropouts;
More participant youth were in college;
More participant youth were both employed and
attending school.

The Real-Life Experiences of Youth Served by the Transitional
Living Program

``I was born and raised in Chicago. My mom has a drug
problem and my dad is an alcoholic. They separated when I was
little. I lived with my mom, my aunt and her four children. One
day my mom left. I didn't know where she was. Soon, things
didn't work out with my aunt, so I left and lived on the
streets. I stayed in school the whole time. I didn't tell my
teachers or friends about this, but I wrote a poem about
homelessness. One of my teachers read it and said I had to know
first-hand from what I'd written. I was referred to Teen Living
Programs [funded through the federal Transitional Living
Program.] I am proud that I graduated from high school and the
TLP. Now I'm working full-time, have an apartment, and I'm
going back to college.''--Kim, age 26
``Two years ago, I was homeless. I was in and out of foster
homes until I was 16, when the state took me away for good from
my mom and my stepfather, because of physical and emotional
abuse. I had a foster family for two years, but I had to leave
when I turned 18. I tried technical college, but that didn't
work out. I tried to join the Army, but I didn't get in. I had
no money and no place to go. I stayed for a while with my last
foster family and they helped me find the Transitional Living
Program at the Youth Services Bureau, in Montpelier, Vermont.
Now, I have my own apartment and I'm in college part-time. I'm
going full-time this August.'' Stacie, age 20.

Conclusion

For over a decade the Transitional Living Program has
effectively served as a bridge for homeless young people as
they transition from adolescence and adulthood by providing not
only safe shelter, but access to critical opportunities and
supports such as education and employment. Many young people
who have graduated from the program are self-sufficient, active
members of their communities which points to the success of the
Program. We strongly believe that the Transitional Living
Program can serve as a model as you work to expand the
Independent Living Program.
If you would like further information about Transitional
Living Programs around the country or if you have any questions
about this written testimony, please do not hesitate to call.

New Pathways, Inc.
Baltimore, MD 21212
March 8, 1999

The Honorable Nancy Johnson
2113 Rayburn H.O.B.
Washington, D.C. 20515

Re: Support for H.R. 671

Dear Madame Chair,

I am writing this testimony in support of H.R. 671 as a
representative of New Pathways, Inc., a private non-profit agency in
Baltimore, MD. Our agency provides independent living services to
transition-aged youth in the foster care system, who are between the
ages of 17 and 21. These youth have typically been in the foster care
system for the majority of their lives due to some degree of abuse,
neglect and/or abandonment by their biological families. We provide
housing, case management services, job training and support, as well as
independence skills training for 50 clients in our Independence Plus
program, and for 6 young mothers and their babies in our Second
Generations Program.
We are lucky in Maryland that our State has made a financial
commitment to these transition-aged foster care youth who are making
efforts to better themselves in spite of their difficult histories,
whether it be through continued higher education or work experience. As
long as a continued effort is made, the foster care system supports
these individuals up to the age of 21. I have personally witnessed many
achievements by these young adults after leaving our program,
maintaining successful careers and relationships, and some even having
saved enough money to purchase a home. These are areas in which these
same individuals would likely not have been successful if they had no
support during these challenging years.
The most important point I feel that I can make is that these young
adults are much more similar than they are different from kids growing
up with their biological families. I believe that most parents would
agree that their 18-year-old kids are not completely ready for the
``real'' world, and even if they are living on their own, are not truly
independent from their parents until they are in their twenties. It is
unrealistic to expect 18-year-old foster children, who have grown up
with little or no family support, to be independent when the majority
of middle class children rely to some degree on their families well
into their twenties.
The Foster Care System is the closest thing that many of these
children have to an extended family, and it is the responsibility of
the System to assist in the process of transitioning to adulthood,
rather than cut off any assistance at the age of 18. By doing this, it
would greatly reduce the risk of these foster kids being reliant on the
System as an adult.
Mr. Cardin should be commended for introducing legislation that
takes such a proactive, prevention-minded approach to meeting a very
important need within our society. I fully support this legislation and
strongly urge that this legislation be passed.
I would be happy to talk to or meet with any legislators or their
staff who may be interested in seeing first hand, how an independent
living program such as New Pathways can truly impact the lives of these
young adults.

Respectfully,
Kevin M. Keegan
Executive Director

Statement of Eileen McCaffrey, Executive Director, Orphan Foundation of
America, Vienna, Virginia

My name is Eileen McCaffrey, I have been the Executive
Director of the Orphan Foundation of America (OFA) since 1991.
OFA was founded in 1981 by a man who spent 18 years in foster
care and knew too well the loneliness and challenges youth face
when they ``age out'' of the foster care system at age 18 or
with high school graduation.
OFA's mission is to improve the quality of life for older
foster youth by assisting them to become productive, self-
reliant adults. This is achieved through the provision of post
secondary scholarships and low interest loans, teen leadership
training, sponsoring youth community service projects, support
and encouragement through volunteer mentors and scholarship
sponsors, and advocacy and public education programs. OFA is
the only national scholarship program serving foster and former
foster youth attending college and vocational school.
Since 1991, OFA has awarded nearly $700,000 to 1053
students in 39 states. To date it has received no federal or
state funds and is primarily a volunteer organization. Through
our scholarship application process we have learned a great
deal about the foster teens hopes, dreams and promise as well
the obstacles they have overcome and the challenges they face
transitioning to adulthood.
OFA wholeheartedly supports increasing the Title IV-E
budget to expand and improve Independent Living Programs (ILP)
nationwide and services to runaway and homeless youth programs.
However, we hope that rather than just appropriating money, a
national dialogue can begin focusing on how communities will
raise foster children and provide the necessary resources so
they can become contributing members of the community.
The bleak statistics show that too many foster teens fall
through the cracks, nearly 50% do not graduate from high school
and at some point, more than 40% will be homeless. Systemic
change is necessary to help the 25,000 foster teens who reach
the age of majority or emancipation annually. The goal of every
single person involved in the foster youth's life should be to
help him or her prepare for a productive and successful
adulthood.
Independent Living Programs must be seen as a continuum of
care that works in tandem with the foster family or group care
provider, social workers, a volunteer mentor or adult friend,
and an employer or community service agency. All licensed
Social Service Agencies and foster parents must be taught how
to provide youth with age appropriate Independent Living
preparation.
Because ILP programs differ greatly in the scope of
services provided as well as the population served it is not
possible to generalize and dictate a precise format for
success. Some programs offer comprehensive support services
while other simply offer workshops. Keys For Life, the
Washington, D.C. ILP program has a job bank that actually
places youth in paid and unpaid positions, it pays for college
tuition and related expenses including books, travel and fees.
The ILP coordinator in Colorado logs hundreds of miles weekly
visiting her youth in their rural homes. The specifics of what
a program can and should provide varies greatly depending on
their geographic location, amount of federal and state funds
available, number of eligible youth participating and the
specific needs of the population.
Despite the differences in programs, I believe all ILP
programs must be more individualized and participatory by
engaging youth with mentors, local employers, civic, church and
community resources. Well-designed and fully funded programs
managed by trained staff are the least we should provide our
parentless youth, but I do not think that is enough. In
addition to helping teens learn specific and tangible skills
associated with independence, ILP programs must position
themselves to be a bridge between foster youth and the
community.
Foster teens need relationships with adults who represent
life beyond the ``system.'' Similar to a child not listening to
his or her parents, many foster teens reach an age where the
more traditional format of a social service worker or agencies
conducting a workshop has little impact. For too many youth ILP
classes are abstract or too basic. ``The packet of worksheets
they gave me was simple, and I already know how to wash my
clothes and car, so I just didn't do it. I thought my homework
was more important.'' said 20-year old Jenna from Pennsylvania.
ILP programs must reach into the community for donations of
time and expertise. Local bankers can teach money management
classes, parents of college age students can help foster teens
with the college application process, a local chef can talk
about food preparation and culinary arts as a profession, and
job fairs can be organized by a local civic or church
organization. Real life experience must augment materials
developed by ILP specialists and for-profit publishers.
Additionally, ILP programs should access existing resources
in the community and partner up with other non-profit
organizations. Not only does this maximize resources and
program effectiveness but it would also engage others in the
lives of foster teens and give program participants numerous
adult role models to emulate. Despite limited budgets, ILP
programs can provide an innovative and dynamic program by
involving volunteers and existing community resources.
Consistently, youth say ILP programs should assess their
participants' Independent Living (IL) readiness level in an
effort to serve their needs rather than teach a curriculum
carved in stone. Jason Fiorilla aged out of the Utah State
foster care system in 1993, he received an undergraduate degree
from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and will graduate
from Stanford Law School in May 1999, he wrote ``In particular,
my ILP counseling was nothing more than a basic living course
which re-educated seemingly intelligent individuals on the
rudimentary processes of daily life. Washing clothes, opening a
bank account, shopping for groceries, and other essential,
albeit obvious details were trumpeted as difficult barriers
which could only be overcome through understanding and much
repetition. Although these concerns are vital, they could all
be covered in about 10 minutes, far shy of the 6-week course
presented in my home state. What about standardized tests, AP
courses, college financing, the admissions process? These
topics were not even broached by my counselor. They had already
determined that none of us were college bound anyway, and
consequently ruled it out as a subject meriting attention.
Indeed, nearly every class began and ended with the familiar
phrase, `Graduating high school is all we ask.' ``
Consistently, foster teens tell OFA the expectations placed
on them are too low. Jason Fiorillo believes ``Although the
individuals running the Utah State IL program seemed to be
generally good intentioned, they lacked the ability to cognize
and implement long term planning strategies with foster youth.
Rather than focusing on graduation from high school as a step
which facilitates the transition to adulthood, they presented
it as an end in and of itself. In the myopic view of the ILP
counselors, high school graduation was the final goal, the mark
of success for a foster youth. While it is very true that High
School graduation is very important, and often difficult for
many youth (foster and otherwise) in helping an adolescent
prepare for the future one should not cease planning upon the
receipt of a diploma.''
Stephanie McDonald a freshman at Univ. of Connecticut said
``my ILP program took us to museums, plays and the movies but
never talked to us about college or any other sort of
training.'' OFA does not believe that college is the
appropriate goal for every foster youth. Some wish to join the
work world as soon a possible and need to be directed to jobs
and companies with growth potential that pay a living wage with
benefits. Other are interested in a trade program and could be
encouraged to join the federally funded Job Corp Program to
learn the trade at no cost, while others can attend a
vocational school or community college. The whole of the foster
care system must work with ILP programs to become much more
outcome focused. All foster teens need help developing hard
skills as well as soft social skills and each must be engaged
in the process of clarifying goals and establishing a realistic
life plan.
Homelessness is a problem facing former foster teens. Many
leave the system with no place to go and end up on the streets
after months of bouncing from pillar to post. ILP programs
should be given resources to prevent the cycle of homelessness
that can begin within the first year of independence. Federal
and state agencies such as HUD should issue Section-8 housing
vouchers (or enrollment in an appropriate housing program) to
ILP programs nationwide. The ILP program could then place youth
in this housing as a transitional step for 1-2 years. Hundreds
of youth could be cycled through these housing arrangements.
This would allow youth to implement ILP skills such as
budgeting, housekeeping, and keeping a job or completing a
training program while in safe and affordable housing. By
placing the voucher in the ILP program's name rather than
granting it to individuals, public housing will remain a short-
term transitional step for 18-21 year old foster youth.
Additional components of a good independent living program
might include a community service project and internships or
job shadowing with local businesses. Youth who volunteer have
greater self-esteem and have a sense of empowerment; rather
than being on the receiving end many foster teens want to give
back to society. Internships would expand a youth's vision of
the work world and might inspire them to set higher goals in a
newly introduced career field. All efforts must cumulate with
helping the teen paint a realistic picture of what their life
can be, complete with milestones, options and consequences.
Annually OFA receives hundreds of applications from foster
teens nationwide who want an education or training beyond high
school. Most realize that by preparing for the competitive work
world of the twenty-first century they can to break the cycle
of homelessness, underachievement, violence and poverty that
made them wards of the state. Many of them can and do succeed
while others fail for lack of a support system. Every foster
youth should have access to resources that address their
specific needs and highlight their talents. Like a parent, the
foster care system and its many components must recognize the
promise and potential of each youth and commit itself to
helping them all achieve independence and a successful
transition to adulthood.