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An Assessment of Independent Living Needs Among Emancipating Foster Youth

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Abstract

This study used a mixed methods approach to assess the independent living services needs of emancipating foster youth in Lucas County (Toledo), Ohio. It included (a) an examination of administrative client data from the Lucas County Department of Children Services (LCCS) Independent Living Program; (b) focus groups with current and former foster youth; and, (c) a self-administered survey of public and private agency transitional and independent living service providers. Both the focus group participants and the service providers identified what they perceived to be the needs of emancipating foster youth. Focus group members also displayed a lack of awareness of existing independent living resources in the community, and limited interest in post-emancipation support services. The results were used to generate ten recommendations for LCCS, community service providers, and philanthropic funders.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to first acknowledge the members of the research team who contributed mightily to both the design and implementation of this study: Amy Galvan, Karen Betz and Gwenn DeLong—Independent Living Program, Lucas County Children Services. Keith Robinson, Mike Hiltman, Deonte Moss and Marjorie Turner—Post-emancipation Program, Lucas County Children Services. Sarah Harrison—Toledo Community Foundation. CeCe Norwood—Nirvana Now! Erica Weiss—College of Social Work, Ohio State University. Amy Dworsky—Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. Next, I would like to express my appreciation to the youth who participated in the focus groups, and to the program directors at the public and private youth-serving agencies/programs who participated in the service provider survey. Darlene Skinner, President of the Ohio Independent Living Association (OHILA), Crystal Ward Allen, Executive Director of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio (PCSAO), and William Meezan (Dean) and Celeste Burke (Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development) of the College of Social Work at Ohio State University provided encouragement and support to the author in developing the accepted proposal to conduct this study. The College of Social Work further provided in-kind support for the implementation of this study. Arlene Jones and Shawn Jones assisted with the youth focus groups, with reimbursement from PCSAO for effort and mileage associated therewith. Diana Theiss agreed to serve as the on-site institution review board administrator at Lucas County Children Services for this project. Robert Franklin, Manager of the LCCS Community Development Department provided useful comments on a draft presentation of the findings and recommendations reported herein. And this project would not have been possible without the strong support of LCCS Director Dean Sparks, who also provided insightful comments on the draft presentation. Finally, this project would not have been possible without the financial support of The Oswald Supporting Organization of the Toledo Community Foundation and The Stranahan Foundation.

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  1. College of Social Work, The Ohio State University, 325-Q Stillman Hall, 1947 College Rd., Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Alvin S. Mares

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Correspondence to Alvin S. Mares.

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Mares, A.S. An Assessment of Independent Living Needs Among Emancipating Foster Youth. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 27, 79–96 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-010-0191-z

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