YOUTH VILLAGES INC

<p>Youth Villages' <strong>Transitional Living (TL) program&nbsp;</strong>has a <strong>14-year track record</strong> of helping young people, ages 18 &#8211; 22 leaving the foster care, juvenile justice and mental health systems, with the intensive support they need to successfully transition to adulthood. <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>National studies estimate that when young people &#8220;age out&#8221; of the foster care system at age 18: <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p >&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;over 33% will experience homelessness; <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p >&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;45 % will be in trouble with the law; </p> <p ></p> <p >&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 45% will leave care without a job and/or high school diploma/GED </p> <p ></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>These&nbsp;young people leave state custody unprepared to live independently. Without support from family; few, if any, financial resources; and often coupled with mental health issues, these youth face almost double the rates of homelessness and unemployment than those who have not been in the foster care system. <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Youth enter the TL program voluntarily. The typical length of service is 7 to 9 months. TL counselors provide them with immediate stabilizing services and evaluate each youth as to&nbsp;physical, mental and emotional health, educational/job status, housing situation, parenting status, etc., and (with the youth's input) develop an individual treatment plan, including goals and timetables. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The objectives of the Transitional Living program are for each young participant to:</p> <p >&#183;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; obtain/maintain safe, stable housing </p> <p >&#183;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; participate in an educational/vocational program </p> <p >&#183;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; earn a high school diploma/GED</p> <p >&#183;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; secure/maintain employment</p> <p >&#183;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; remain free from legal involvement</p> <p >&#183;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; develop life skills and practice a healthy lifestyle</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; access needed community services </p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Youth Villages&#8217; Transitional Living program is participating in a <strong>five-year randomized clinical trial.</strong> The study is being conducted by the national research group MDRC, led by Dr. Mark Courtney, senior researcher at the Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago and national expert on youth and social services. <strong>This study of Youth Villages&#8217; model is the nation&#8217;s only clinical trial being conducted for programs that serve youth aging out of foster care and state custody.</strong> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p >The study includes 1,600 youth, making it the largest random assignment evaluation of this type of program for young people in this critical transition phase; sixty percent of the youth in the study were randomly assigned to receive TL services and the remaining 40% were provided information on other community services that are available to them. The purpose of the study is to critically and objectively evaluate if the Transitional Living program is achieving the long term goals as intended. Participants will be followed for 5 years post discharge to assess their long term success in the community.&nbsp; Preliminary results will be announced in 2014. <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>For many years, Michelle tried to get out of her father&#8217;s home and take her brother and sister with her. Regular channels weren&#8217;t working. Then Michelle&#8217;s sister divulged their father&#8217;s sexual abuse of her, saying it had been going on for five years. Michelle took her brother and sister and fled that night. They lived with their mother for a little while, but it didn&#8217;t work out. Sixteen, four months pregnant, and with no idea where to turn, Michelle and her boyfriend moved into his parents&#8217; home. She got a job. She finished school. She worked out a schedule with her boyfriend, and together, as teenagers, they began raising their child. Youth Villages&#8217; transitional living program has helped her manage her time and find other means of support. She&#8217;s also recently become a YV Scholar, a Youth Villages&#8217; program where young people participating in TL are awarded college scholarships provided they maintain academic and community service requirements. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&#8220;Five years from now, after I achieve my bachelor&#8217;s degree, I plan to be working full time as a high school counselor. I hope to help guide the lives of youth into adulthood and college.&#8221;</p> <p>- Michelle, excerpt from her YV scholars essay</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&#8220;When I first met Michelle, she struggled to balance her time and finances well. Through the TL program, I have had the opportunity to help Michelle learn how to effectively study and manage her time. I have also helped her learn how to develop a personal budget plan that she can follow. She is determining her career path and has increased her support system while participating in the TL program.&#8221; &#8211; Erica Summers, Youth Villages Transitional Living Specialist</p>