The general requirements which pertain to placement of youth
under other sections of this document shall be followed. In addition there
shall be compliance with the following specific standards for independent
living placements.
An Independent Living placement is defined as
placement in an apartment, house, or rooming house with supervision from a
licensed placement agency. A youth who has attained age seventeen (17),
obtained a high school diploma, certificate of attendance or General Education
Diploma (GED) and is in the custody of the Department may be placed through an
agency licensed for Independent Living placements. The youth's worker, Area
Social Work Supervisor (ASWS) and Independent Living Specialist must recommend
this placement to the Strategies for Accessing Independent Living Services
(SAILS) Advisory Board before final approval by the Independent Living
Coordinator.
A.
Independent Living Placement requirements:
1. Shall be located in close proximity to
school, place of employment and other essential services
2. Shall comply with all fire, sanitation and
safety regulations as determined by the Department's Licensing Requirements for
child placing agencies
3. Shall be
affordable based on the youth's established budget
4. All requests for Independent Living
placements shall be presented to the Department's SAILS Advisory Board for
consideration.
5. The State
Independent Living Coordinator, with the recommendations of the SAILS Advisory
Board, approves all Independent Living placements.
6. Shall have provisions to allow for a
roommate if the conditions under Responsibilities of the Youth are
followed
7. If a roommate is
desired, he/she must be the same sex and in the Department's custody.
8. Shall include the reason for selection of
Independent Living as the most appropriate placement for the child
9. Shall include the basis for concluding
that the child exhibits self-care potential with appropriate agency assistance
and has the ability to exercise sound judgment
10. The agency staff shall personally observe
and determine that the living situation is safe and document the availability
of specific and relevant resources that can provide suitable social, physical,
vocational and emotional needs of the child.
11. Shall include an evaluation of the
child's need for supervision
12.
Shall obtain approval prior to placement from the legal guardian (if
termination of parental rights has not been finalized) and Judge who holds
jurisdiction
13. Support/Work
Experience:
a.The agency shall allow age
appropriate youth to be employed. The agency shall provide transportation to
available employment sites when a particular youth is employed. The agency
shall use employment and work experiences to provide constructive training for
children. Children may not be substituted for staff members at the agency, nor
perform required duties of agency employees.
b. The agency shall assign chores appropriate
to the age and ability of the children in care which do not conflict with
school, recreation, extracurricular activities, visitation with their families,
Independent Living activities or any other activities associated with meeting
the goals of the service plan.
c.
The agency shall assist youth in transitioning from dependency to
self-sufficiency.
d. The agency
shall assist youth in receiving the education, training and services necessary
to obtain employment.
e. The agency
shall have and follow a written policy regarding the number of hours a
child/youth can work, which must be approved by the Department.
f. The agency shall ensure compliance with
laws governing the employment of minors, regardless of where the minor is
employed.
g. The agency shall
encourage youth of legal work age to seek employment in the community in
accordance with service plans.
h.
The agency shall assist youth in preparing for and entering post-secondary
training and educational institutions (when applicable).
i. The agency will make available upon
request personal and emotional support to youth through mentors (job coach,
teachers, professionals, etc.). Mentors shall meet the same standards as staff
regarding criminal records and Central Registry background checks.
j. The agency shall provide financial,
housing, counseling, employment, education and other appropriate support and
services to former foster care recipients between eighteen (18) and twenty-one
(21) years of age (when applicable).
B.
Role of the
Department:
1. The
Department shall provide a contractual agreement of responsibilities for the
youth to sign. This agreement shall be updated as circumstances change the
level of income or work schedule.
2. The Department shall accept the board
payment and disseminate the funds to the landlord for rent and any surplus
funds to the youth.
3. The
Department shall make two (2) on-site visits monthly, in accordance with the
Department's policy.
4. The
Department will provide general supervision and the agency shall provide direct
supervision to every child in an Independent Living placement.
C.
Responsibilities of the Youth:
1. Youth must be employed with sufficient
income to meet the needs of his/her budget.
2. Youth must be an active participant and
maintain involvement in the Independent Living Program.
3. Youth must be capable of creating a budget
based on income and living within the budget.
4. Youth must have finances sufficient to
cover the initial cost of placement (i.e. deposits, first and last months rent,
if applicable).
5. Youth must be
willing to sign and comply with a contract from the child placing agency
outlining specific rules and requirements and if the contract is not fulfilled,
the youth must leave the Independent Living Placement Program.
6. Youth must be willing to allow planned and
unplanned visits to the residence by the Department's worker, IL Specialist,
the placing agency and other Department staff as deemed necessary.
7. If the youth wishes to live with a
roommate(s), the roommate(s) must:
a. be a
sibling or another youth who is also in the Department's custody
b. be of the same sex, if not biological
siblings, and have separate bedrooms
c. be approved for Independent Living
placements
D.
Responsibilities of the Independent Living Specialist
(contractor);
1. Shall
assist youth, in conjunction with the Department's Worker, in selecting
appropriate housing and avoiding conflict of interest regarding rental
property
2. Shall meet with the
youth every two (2) weeks and assist in the maintenance of the youth's
budget
3. Shall compile monthly
reports to be presented at the monthly SAILS Advisory Board meeting outlining
the youth's previous monthly activities
4. Shall report problems or potential
problems to the Department's Worker
E.
Case
Record:
The agency shall maintain a Case Record for every youth
placed in Independent Living which shall contain the following:
1. Demographic information on the
youth
2. Documentation of financial
support sufficient to meet the youth's housing, clothing, food and
miscellaneous expenses (See Appendix K)
3. Date, location, purpose and summary of
each contact between the youth and the agency worker
4. Youth's adjustment to placement
5. Case Record shall contain a contract
signed and dated by the youth and agency worker which specifies the
responsibilities of the agency and the youth. The contract shall be reviewed
and updated every three (3) months.
6. When the youth leaves the Independent
Living placement, a termination summary shall be written, forwarded to
referring agency and to the Department Independent Living Coordinator and
placed in the case record.
7. The
agency shall contact the youth and document the monthly contacts for the first
six (6) months after leaving the placement and/or program and annually
thereafter up to child's twenty-first (21st)
birthday.
F.
Driver's License for Youth In Care:
The Resource Parents, group home administrator, a
court-appointed guardian, an employer, or any other responsible person who is
willing to assume the financial obligation (liability) imposed under MS Code
ยง
63-1-25,
may choose to sign the application for a youth, unless restricted by a court
order. Youth must be at least age sixteen (16), to obtain a driver's license
(See Appendix).
A youth who is seventeen (17) years of age or older may sign
a license application without an adult's signature, but may not drive until he
is covered by liability insurance.
G.
Motor Vehicles for
Youth in care:
Resource Parents or any other responsible adult has the
freedom to purchase a motor vehicle for a youth unless restricted by a court
order. The Department shall be informed of the plan to purchase a vehicle prior
to the purchase. It is recommended that the Department (County of
Responsibility) be notified fourteen (14) days prior to purchase and this
notice must be placed in writing. Youth may purchase a vehicle with their own
funds if they have a valid driver's license, proof of liability insurance and
income to maintain the vehicle. In the event that a youth is placed in an
apartment setting and wants to purchase a vehicle, prior approval to purchase
must be given by the SAILS Advisory Board.
