Foster Care Individuals
Alan Hancock College – Independent Living Program
Contact:
William Salazar, Program Coordinator, 602-355-6113
Target population:
Foster parents and foster children.
Goals:
The primary goal is to increase the number of foster
parents/families who have positive experiences and that result in
successful foster children.
Description:
The Foster and Kinship Care Education Program is designed to offer
education and support to foster parents/families in order to insure
their continuation in foster parenting as well as to increase the
number of foster families in the county. The program offers classes
and workshops on effective foster parenting. The Independent Living
Program is a series of classes for foster children who are beginning
to transition out of the foster care system due to age. Foster teens
are a unique set of students. Fewer then 20% receive any
post-secondary education, many leave the foster care system and
transition to high-risk situations where they frequently end up as
teen parents, on probation, homeless, and/or abusing substances. The
program offers classes that teach them how to live alone or with
other older peers (ex-foster children). The classes are on topics
such as:
· Money management,
· Cooking, and
· Financial aid options for post-secondary education.
Additionally, the program tries to assist the children in issues
such as finding transportation and housing. The portion of the
program administered by the county Department of Social Services
also provides the emancipated foster children with an emancipation
package as they leave care. The package includes items such as
computers, kitchen items, and small appliances. Each package is as
child-specific as possible.
Staffing:
The Foster and Kinship Care Education and Independent Living
Programs are staffed by 5 part-time staff members, two of whom work
the maximum allowed time of 170 days a year.
Facilities, equipment, materials:
Two computers, presentation
equipment and a small office
Costs, funding source:
The Foster and Kinship Care Education Program receives approximately
$100,000 annually from the California Community College Chancellor’s
Office. The Independent Living programs receive approximately
$11,000 from the State and $11,000 from local governments annually.
Outreach and marketing:
There is relatively little marketing necessary as all foster
children must participate in Independent Living Programs and all
current and prospective foster parents/families must complete
pre-placement and continuing training.
Evidence of effectiveness:
Evaluations are administered after each class. The Santa Barbara
County Office of Education tracks graduation rates. Tracking former
foster youth following emancipation is difficult as they often break
contact with the department of social services and move frequently.
These measures in addition to federal and state oversight are used
to evaluate program successes and changes needed.
Suggestions for replication:
It is important to have a large number of people in foster
children’s lives as well as in the foster families’ lives. These
people offer support and act as role models. It is important to
maintain professional development for the foster parents/families.
With more effective parenting and care, the foster child will be
more successful in life.