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ILP

Overview of ILP

Independent Living Programs

With the support of DHR, we launched a service in 2010 for older youth who are in foster care and close to leaving the care of the public child welfare system. In our field of service, we refer to this as “aging out” of the system. We acknowledge that most young people who have grown up in the best of situations are not prepared to launch independent and successful lives at age 19, and many young adults are a part of their families’ households well into their 20’s.

CAS provides a variety of services for Independent Living (IL) youth and the professionals who serve them.

Camp Life - August 2-4, 2013 and September 20-22, 2013
We will be hosting two weekend camps for up to 100 IL youth each. The camp in August will be for youth aged 14-16 years old. The camp in September will be for youth aged 17-21 years old.

Activities of the camp build self-confidence and independent living skills among youth. Campers will participate in closely supervised activities within their small group such as a ropes course, team building activities, talent show, boating, mini golf, field games, and others as a group. All camp activities will provide opportunities for campers to develop relationships with their group leaders and other group members in order to trust and understand each other.

Click here to learn more Camp Life 2013!

IL Connect
IL Connect is a platform for increasing and improving the communication among IL youth across the state and IL county workers. At the last IL Staff Network Conference, county workers were provided the opportunity to share their concerns and needs to better serve the IL youth in our state. A common theme was the need for improved communication from SDHR and county offices and among county staff across the state regarding policies, ideas, resources, etc. Policies are being interpreted differently in different counties and county staff expressed a desire for a way to share these ideas with each other. Additionally, IL youth have a need to share resources and ideas with each throughout the state and be informed of what is available to them.

CAS is implementing a variety of methods to improve this communication including a website for youth, professionals and parents, print materials and a statewide texting system.

Click Here To Visit The IL Connect Website

IL Worker Conference - January 2013
We will be hosting a statewide IL staff networking conference. One hundred slots will be designated for DHR county and state office staff, provided at no charge to DHR staff. Other professionals in the state who work with IL youth, such as residential providers, IL contract providers, and other private professionals will also be able to attend for a nominal fee.

The purpose of the conference is to increase the independent living knowledge of DHR staff and other professionals, as well as to provide scheduled, coordinated activities for networking and learning from peers. The speakers will be a combination of a nationally known speakers, regionally known speakers, youth, SDHR staff, CAS staff, county DHR staff, and others in the field.

Click here to learn more about the 2013 conference!

For more information about our ILP services, please contact Nikki Freeman at nfreeman@childrensaid.org or 205-943-5356.