One of the greatest challenges for many older foster youth is finding and maintaining safe, affordable and stable housing. Many child welfare professionals are unaware of the growing resources that are now available for finding housing (e.g., via HUD). Agency leaders, caseworkers and other service providers all have key roles in creating housing options and need to make informed decisions about those options when helping youth locate housing. The instructor recognizes that finding permanent supportive housing can be very different in rural, small town and larger city environments and provides guidance for those working in each of these environments.
During this training, participants explore 1) issues to consider when developing housing options, 2) the basics of a comprehensive independent living program, 3) types of housing options (including scattered-site apartments, supervised apartments, shared homes, host homes and boarding homes) 4) how various services for housing are linked, 5) how to help youth navigate to the adult housing world, 6) the rationale and motives for offering “Permanent Supportive Housing,” 7) what braided and blended funding streams is about, 8) how to help youth create a youth-driven Resident Council, and 9) how to implement non-intrusive yet meaningful outcomes data to evaluate success.