*U.S. Department of Health and Human Services*

*U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development*

*U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs*

*U.S. Department of Labor*

**Preventing and Resolving Homelessness Through Successful Transitions
for Youth and Young Adults**

*May 4--5, 2006*

*Hyatt Regency Phoenix*

*Phoenix, AZ*

**California: First Place Fund for Youth Agency Profile**

**Background/Context**

The First Place Fund for Youth was founded to remedy the lack services
available to a growing yet largely overlooked population of at-risk
youth -- youth who "age out" or emancipate" from the foster care system.
Emancipated foster youth constitute one of our society's most seriously
disadvantaged and at-risk populations. Each year, 20,000 youths
transition from foster care, with 5,000 of those youth residing in
California alone. Originally removed from their homes due to parental
abuse or neglect, these youth lived with foster families, group homes,
or kinship placements before exiting from care into premature
"independence."

During their difficult transition from care, foster youth should receive
support and guidance to help them attain healthy adulthood; instead,
they find themselves alone without housing, life skills, a source of
income, or community support. Not surprisingly, former foster youth are
at much greater risk of experiencing serious, negative social outcomes
than the general population of youth, such as the following:

-   **Low Educational Achievement:** Foster youth often experience
    numerous transfers within the foster care system and delays in
    school enrollment, factors that lead to low rates of educational
    achievement and retention. As a whole, only 53 percent of foster
    youth complete high school, compared to 87 percent of the general
    population of California youth.

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-   **Homelessness and Housing Instability:** A 2002 study conducted by
    the California Department of Social Services concluded that two out
    of three foster youths in California face imminent homelessness upon
    emancipation.

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-   **Poor Mental and Physical Health:** A 2002 study completed by the
    University of California found that 62 percent of youth in foster
    care have been treated for mental health disorders and that foster
    youth suffer from physical illnesses at rates higher than the
    general population of 18- to 24-year-olds. Once emancipated, youth
    continue to experience poor health, lack of access to medical care,
    and threats to their personal safety.

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-   **Unplanned Pregnancy and Poverty:** A 2002 study completed by the
    University of California at Berkeley found that youth who live in
    five or more foster care placements are more than twice as likely to
    become pregnant than youth who lived in single placement. This is of
    particular concern given that close to half of emancipated foster
    youth live in five or more placements. Early childbearing commonly
    results in the need for income assistance. According to a recent
    analysis conducted by the San Francisco Department of Human
    Services, emancipated foster youth are five times more likely to
    receive Temporary Aid to Needy Families than young adults of the
    same age, sex, and race.

**Target Population**

The First Place Fund for Youth impacts both individuals and communities.

**Intervention/Approach**

The First Place programs make a tremendous difference for former foster
care teens at a critical point in their lives. The programs provide the
following:

1\. **Expanded Housing Capacity for Transitioning Foster Youth:**
Founded in 1998, First Place was the first organization in northern
California to provide affordable housing and supportive services to
former foster youth, and 6 years later is one of only three programs in
Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties that assists this
growing population.

2\. **Housing Stability:** Through participation in The First Place
Fund, foster youth have a higher level of housing stability than the
general population of foster youth. First Place provides youth with
access to safe, affordable housing, along with practical tenancy
training, comprehensive case management and housing advocacy.

3.  **Economic Security:** An essential part of maintaining housing is
    economic security. From an employment perspective, that means
    securing and sustaining living wage employment. Our program
    increases the rate of living wage employment among its participants
    through a combination of educational and vocational counseling.
    Participants also improve their ability to manage money through
    First Place's Economic Literacy Training curriculum.

4.  **Educational Attainment:** The long-term economic prospects of
    transitioning foster youth hinge upon their ability to complete high
    school and then continue on to college or vocational training. Our
    program assists transitioning foster youth in increasing their rate
    of educational attainment by providing both affordable housing and
    intensive educational counseling.

5\. **Improved Health:** Sadly, poor health is a hallmark of
participation in the foster care system. The program addresses the
specific health needs of transitioning foster youth through a
comprehensive therapeutic case management model. At the core of these
services is health education, which teaches youth how to access Medicaid
benefits and select a primary physician. Our services improve health
outcomes among more transitioning foster youth by promoting a connection
to primary care providers and by improving the youths' educational
attainment, economic security, and housing stability.

6\. **Connection to the Community:** In California, foster youth move an
average of five times, which leads to repeated interruptions in school
and in relationships with family and friends. These repeated
interruptions cause foster youth to feel isolated from their peers and
have difficulty building supportive relationships. An explicit goal of
The First Place Fund is to help develop supportive relationships with
peers and caring adults. This is accomplished through a variety of
strategies. The first is First Place's cohort model, in which groups of
8--10 youths enter the housing program together and continue to meet
weekly throughout the 24-month program duration. Another strategy is the
utilization of community supporters, adults that youth participants
select to serve as a resource and source of support throughout their
program participation.

**Funding Sources**

In 2001, after an intense advocacy campaign by Foster Youth Advocates in
the State, the California Legislature established the \$1.4 million
Transitional Housing for Foster Youth Fund (THP+) to support programs
such as First Place. Accessing these funds, however, is a challenge for
providers, because it requires counties to provide 60 percent of the
project costs with the State matching the other 40 percent. With their
discretionary budgets shrinking, counties couldn't figure out how to opt
in. First Place partnered with the Walter S. Johnson Foundation and with
Alameda County's Social Services Agency to devise a creative
public/private financing strategy to access the State funds.

The Walter S. Johnson Foundation provided a 2-year, \$100,000 grant and
worked closely with First Place and Alameda County to overcome
administrative barriers. Not only did the Foundation grant cover a
significant portion of the required local match, allowing Alameda County
to draw \$200,000 from State THP+ funds; it also set an example for
other counties to use private matching funds and helped to save the
State program, which was in danger of cancellation. In fact, in 2005,
the Legislature re-allocated monies to the Fund, as additional counties
now have drawn down funds using their own public/private collaborations.
An effort is now underway by advocates to reverse the match requirement
for THP+ so that the State provides 60 percent of project costs and the
counties 40 percent.

**Outcomes**

When compared to outcome data collected for the general population of
former foster youth in recent studies, First Place youth are six times
more likely to be enrolled in college, almost five times less likely to
experience homelessness, nearly three times less likely to be arrested,
approximately twice as likely to graduate from high school, nearly twice
as likely to be employed, and three times less likely to give birth
before the age of 21. First Place has an effective program to end
homelessness and poverty for former foster youth.