The Independent Living Program is designed for youth who have been in foster care or any other out-of-home placement for six months or more after their 15th birthday. Children adopted after their 15th birthday also meet the criteria for this program. Youth exiting out-of-home care after the age of 17 years must have an Independent Living Transition Plan developed. Eligibility for services begins at age 15 and continues to age 21. Referrals for youth under age 18 will be made by Racine County Human Services Case Managers; youth 18 - 21, however, may request services from the department at any time.
The intent of the Independent Living Program is to help youth develop the skills necessary to live independently. This is accomplished through three phases of skill development:
- Phase 1: Daily Living Skills Development
Youth involved in this phase concentrate on skill development in the areas of finance/budgeting, consumer awareness, career planning/training, job seeking/job maintenance issues, legal issues, household management, nutrition/health & hygiene, emergency safety skills, transportation, menu planning/meal preparation, shopping, laundry, mending/sewing, household maintenance/minor repairs, and community resources. During this phase, staff complete an independent living skills assessment with the youth and help the juvenile develop a Transitional Independent Living Case Plan. The Case Plan is reviewed and amended as necessary every six months.
- Phase 2: Transition to Self Sufficiency
Six months prior to a youth's anticipated discharge into an independent living arrangement, the youth enters Phase 2. During this time, a discharge plan is developed which contains all information as defined by the DHFS Independent Living Program Standards. In order to move toward an independent living status, the youth must have sufficient income to support an independent living arrangement. The IL Program may provide a limited monthly subsidy to help the youth provided he/she is attending school or other educational alternative for at least 20 hours per week, engaged in a combination of school or community volunteer work for at least 20 hours per week OR is working at paid employment for at least 20 hours per week. The youth must participate fully in the preparation of his/her employment plan and be willing to actively work at addressing areas of deficiency as needed.
IL staff will continue to be available to assist any youth who actively participated in the IL program until the youth turns 21 years of age. IL staff will be available to assist the youth in skill development and in updating the Transitional Independent Living Case Plan.
For more information about the Racine County Independent Living Program, contact Glenn Larson, Delinquency Unit Supervisor.