Teens in Child Welfare
Teens come into the child welfare system in New York through several pathways:
- Child Protective Services or Foster Care – most are living with relatives or with a foster family
- PINS/Family Assessment Program
- Preventive services
- TASA – for teen mothers younger than 19 who are receiving public assistance
- Juvenile justice – teens who have committed criminal acts. Often, these teens continue to live in the community while receiving special services designed to tackle their criminal behavior.
ACS Goals for Services for Teens
From the perspective of ACS, the goals for teens are:
- Get connected: To have permanent connections with caring adults
- Get the house in order: To reside in stable living situations
- Get schooled: Have opportunities to advance education and personal development
- Get control: Encouraged to take increasing responsibility for work, and life decisions, and positive decisions are reinforced
- Get served: Have their individual needs met
- Stay connected: Have ongoing support after they age out of care
ACS Resources for Teens in Foster Care
There are many resources to help teens achieve these goals. Perhaps the best resource for this is a new website, developed by ACS, Youth Communications, Inc., and young people themselves. Go to www.youthsuccessnyc.org for lots of information, tips, and lists of places to turn for help.
The following is a list of some of the services available through ACS:
- Housing
- Subsidies (up to $300/month) for up to 36 months
- Assistance finding housing
- Options through NY NY III
- Orphan Foundation
- Education and training vouchers – for teens in foster care who are enrolled in a 2 year or 4 year school or vocational program
- Scholarship options
- Back to school packages – includes laptops, printers, software, school supplies and other college necessities
- Youth Financial Empowerment Program – provides youth in foster care from 16-21 with the ability to build financial assets and open an Individual Development Account (IDA)
- Nurse Family Partnership – nurse home visiting service for pregnant and parenting women (no age restriction) until their children are two years old
- Advocacy and legal support
