OLDER KIDS IN FOSTER CARE GET HELP WITH EDUCATION

Many college students would deal with car problems by calling mom or dad and asking for money. Viva doesn't have that luxury.

The 20-year-old Southeast Missouri State University student went into foster care at age 17 when her mother's parental rights were terminated. So when her car broke down recently she had no family network to fall back on. Instead Viva called her case worker from the Division of Family Services' Independent Living Program.

"I don't have parents, so I call my case worker for help," said Viva, who can only be identified by her first name because she is still in family services' care. She has taken advantage of independent living program, a state program to prepare youth to make a successful and productive transition to adult independence. While still in high school, Viva took classes that taught her independent living skills. After high school, the program has provided Viva with a stipend and Medicaid benefits so she could pursue college.

"It's given me the confidence to set goals," Viva said. "I've always been a high achiever, but I would have felt hopeless without the support the program has provided and the things it taught me."

Cindy Holmes, who is in charge of the Independent Living Program in the 12-county area that includes Cape Girardeau, said the program is aimed at older children in foster care and has several components.

A classroom component offers foster youth classes on values, self-defense and self-esteem, as well as more practical matters such as money management, getting and keeping a job, how to rent an apartment, how to keep a checkbook, the importance of saving money, how to do laundry and shop for food.

"Many of these children come from homes where no one took the time to teach them these life skills," Holmes said.

Two other components allow foster youth to use these life skills.

In the Transitional Living Program, the older foster children live with an advocate instead of being cared for by a foster parent. The children get payments from the foster care system and pay the advocate for room and board. The advocate helps the youth with life skills.

In the Independent Living Arrangement, the children live on their own while still under the custody of the state.

Holmes said, the children can remain under the custody of the state until age 21 as long as they pursue secondary education in college or a vocational or technical school.

"It can be overwhelming living on your own, especially when you have no family network to fall back on," Holmes said. These programs provide a support network and a way for these children to pursue education after high school.

The Independent Living Program is paid for with $1.3 million a year in federal funds plus matching state funds totaling about $500,000, said Dottie Banks, program development specialist with the Division of Family Services and coordinator of the state's Independent Living Program.

"With that money we want to give youth the skills to be productive in the community," Banks said, adding that giving them the skills to get and keep a job means they won't be dependent on the welfare system as adults.

Getting into a position to support herself is the main goal for Viva, who is majoring in political science at Southeast Missouri State University with an eye on law school at Columbia.

The money she gets from the program is helping her through school, though she still must work as a secretary and apply for grants and loans to make ends meet.

She uses what she learned in life skills classes on budgeting and buying food, but perhaps the most important thing the classes taught her was responsibility.

"I don't have parents to fall back on so I have to be responsible," Viva said.

She's sharing what she's learned with others by teaching life skills classes to other foster children.

"I've been there and I can teach them from the point of view of someone who has been through the system," she said.

Teaching the classes makes her sad when she thinks about the large number of foster children she encounters who have no plans to take advantage of help with college or vocational and technical school.

"I know one girl who wants to get married so she can get out of foster care," Viva said. "Why would she do that and become dependent on someone else when ILP would help pay for her schooling so she could live on her own?"

Banks said there are about 4,000 children age 16 to 21 in foster care. About half of those take the life skills classes and only about 100 are receiving assistance with school after high school.

"There's a magic thing that happens when kids turn 18," Banks said. "They want to get out on their own and have fun. They don't want to stick in a system and stay in a structured environment."

Once children older than 18 leave foster care, they can receive no other help from the foster care program.

"All they can think about is getting free of the system," Viva said. "They don't let the system work for them."

Viva has let the system work for her, though in just a few months she will turn 21 and no longer be eligible for assistance. She's a bit apprehensive about coming to the end of the monthly stipend she receives and losing medical benefits. She's also gained confidence from the program that she can live on her own.

Viva is very dedicated, Banks said, but the program is not geared just toward those who share Viva's high-achievement orientation.

"The program can be modified to assist any youth, even those who are emotionally challenged, intellectually challenged or physically challenged" she said. "Any foster youth, if he or she wants to, can benefit from this program. But the thing is the youth has to want to."

Banks hopes as the benefits of the program become more well-known that more foster children will take advantage of the program.

"These kids are our future," she said. "If we can help them get jobs that will allow them to support themselves, that's a step in the right direction."

Viva said she feels certain without the help of the Independent Living Program she probably would be on welfare now. Thanks to the program's support, she's confident she will make it on her own.

"I've not seen anyone fail who stayed in ILP," Viva said, "but I've seen many of those who didn't go in ILP fail."