on your own, but not alone - Florida Department of Children and

84 Pages·2009·0.75 MB·English

O Y
n our
O B
wn, ut
N A
ot lone
a handbook to
empower florida youth
leaving foster care
the bar-youth empowerment project
By
of the american bar association
florida’s children first, inc.
with
Copyright©2008AmericanBarAssociation
ISBN1-60442-460-5
ISBN978-1-60442-460-7
Noneofthereproducedmaterialmaybesoldorincludedaspartofafor-profittransaction.
TheviewsexpressedhereinhavenotbeenapprovedbytheHouseofDelegatesortheBoardofGovernorsofthe
AmericanBarAssociationand,accordingly,shouldnotbeconstruedasrepresentingthepolicyoftheAmericanBar
Association,CaseyFamilyPrograms,ortheEckerdFamilyFoundation.Reprintsencouragedwithappropriateattri-
bution.YouthillustrationsandgraphicdesignbyKimberlyRidge,HastenDesignStudio,Inc.,Washington,DC.
ThispublicationwasmadepossibleincollaborationwithCaseyFamilyPrograms,whosemissionistoprovide,
improve–andultimatelypreventtheneedfor–fostercare.
O Y
n our
O B
wn, ut
N A
ot lone
a handbook to
empower florida y outh
leaving foster care
the bar-youth empowerment project
By
of the american bar association
florida’s children first, inc.
with

Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ..................1 How DoYou ManageYour Money? ...17
BankAccounts .........................17
About This Handbook ..............3 CreditCards ..........................18
BudgetingMoney ......................19
How CanYou Get Involved in SavingMoney .........................20
Your Community? .................5
IdentityTheft..........................20
RecreationalActivities ....................5
VolunteerOpportunities ..................5 How DoYou Find a Place to Live? ....22
MeetFormerFosterYouth .................6
FosterorGroupHome ..................22
AdvocateforFormerFosterYouth ...........6
RelativesandFriends ....................22
SchoolHousing ........................23
What HappensWhenYou Turn 18? ...7
YourOwnPlace ........................23
IfYourCourtCaseCloses .................7
YourRights ...........................24
IfYourCourtCaseRemainsOpen ..........7
YourResponsibilities ....................25
ProtectionsforImmigrantYouth ............8
How DoYou Stay Healthy? .........26
What Documents ShouldYou GetWhen
Doctor’sAppointments ..................26
You Leave Foster Care? ..............9
MedicalRecords........................26
BirthCertificate .........................9
HealthInsurance .......................26
SocialSecurityCard ......................9
HealthyEating .........................27
MedicalandSchoolRecords ...............9
HealthyRelationships ...................28
FloridaDriver’sLicense ..................10
STDs,HIV/AIDS ......................28
FloridaIdentificationCard ...............10
BirthControlandFamilyPlanning .........28
FosterCareRecords .....................10
Pregnancy.............................28
VoterRegistrationCard ..................10
Disabilities ............................29
OtherDocumentsandInformation.........11
MentalHealth .........................29
DrugorAlcoholTreatment ...............30
CanYou Get Money From the
SuicidePrevention ......................30
Government to HelpYou? ..........12
TransitionBenefitsforFormerFosterYouth ..12
TemporaryCashAssistance ...............13
FoodStamps ..........................14
SupplementalSecurityIncome.............14
Pregnancy/ParentingAssistance ............15
How DoYou Continue Appendices ......................61
Your Education? ..................31
A: YourImportantPhoneNumbers ........61
HighSchoolDiploma/Equivalency
B: OtherImportantPhoneNumbers .......62
Diploma(GED)........................31
C: InternetResources....................65
CommunityCollege.....................32
D: SampleResume......................68
Four-YearCollegeorUniversity............34
E: SampleCoverLetter..................69
PayingforSchool.......................35
F: PetitiontoExtendCourtJurisdiction.....70
Career/VocationalTraining................38
G: CourtOrdertoOpenaBankAccount
U.S.ArmedForces......................39
BeforeAge18.......................71
H: ApplicationtoProtectYour
How DoYou Get A Job?............40
GovernmentBenefits .................72
JobTraining ...........................40
I: SampleCourtOrder:Signing
FindingaJob ..........................41 Leases/UtilityAgreements..............73
YourEmployeeRights ...................44
PayingTaxes...........................45
How DoYou Care ForYour
Child After Foster Care? ............47
Food/Nutrition.........................47
EarlyLearningProgramsandChildCare.....49
HealthandSafety.......................51
Money ...............................53
YourRightsasaYoungParent .............54
What ShouldYou Do IfYou Need
Legal Help Or Advice? .............55
ChildSupport..........................55
CustodyandVisitation...................56
DomesticViolence......................56
CriminalInvolvement....................57
Immigration...........................59
OtherLegalHelp.......................59
on your own, but not alone 1
Acknowledgments
This handbook was made possible by the Bar-Youth Empowerment Project, a
project of the ABA’s Center on Children and the Law and Commission on
Youth at Risk, in collaboration with Casey Family Programs and the Eckerd
Family Foundation. The project improves outcomes for Florida youth in fos-
ter care and young people who have aged out of care by promoting youth
participation in court cases and access to legal representation for youth.
The project partnered with Florida’s Children First, Inc. (FCF) to guide our
work in Florida and develop this handbook. Under their tremendous leader-
ship, the project is building the capacity of organizations and individuals in
Florida to improve outcomes for youth before and after they age out of foster
care. For more information, visit www.abanet.org/child/empowerment.
This publication would not have been possible without the support of our
national project partners, Casey Family Programs and the Eckerd Family
Foundation. We are grateful to the youth advocates at Florida Youth SHINE
for their helpful feedback and input throughout the development of this
handbook. We also thank The Florida Bar Foundation for its generous sup-
port that enables FCF to work on this project and others that directly affect
youth in and transitioning from state care. Finally, we are grateful to the
members of the project’s Florida Advisory Board who offered their expertise
to ensure this handbook addresses the needs of Florida youth.

on your own, but not alone 3
About this Handbook
If you are a Florida youth getting ready to leave foster care, this handbook is
for you. It covers need-to-know issues identified by youth who have been
through the system. This handbook is a starting point. It offers many Web
sites and other resources if you need more help. It does not cover every issue
you may face in your transition to adulthood. You are unique and have had
your own life experiences, so your questions and answers will differ based on
your experiences. This handbook answers some of your big questions and
concerns. Although you may be heading into the world on your own, you
are not alone!
This handbook helps you do the About your caseworker:
following things: Yourcountymaycallfostercarecaseworkersbydif-
• Identifywhattothinkaboutanddobeforeyou ferentnamessuchaslifecoaches,independentliving
workers,childadvocates,orcommunity-based
leavefostercare.
providers.Thishandbookusestheterm“caseworker”
• Answercommonquestionsaboutleavingcare,like
foranypersonwhomanages,oversees,andprovides
howtofindajob,getanapartment,orpayfor
independentlivingandotherservicestoyouthin
school.
fostercare.
• Learnaboutstatewideresourcesthatcanhelpyou
successfullyleavefostercare.
How to use this handbook:
• LookattheTableofContentsforissuesyouneed
helpwithorwanttoknowmoreabout.
• Reviewthechaptersthatarerelevanttoyou.
• Followupbycallingthephonenumbersorlook-
ingattheWebsiteslistedinthosechapters.
• Callyourcaseworkerorguardianadlitem(GAL)
toaskforhelpinreviewingandusingthishand-
book.