I couldn’t wait until I aged out of the long-term residential group home facility I lived in during high school. We were subject to being searched, sometimes as we walked through the door. The staff turnover was high. Many staff were gone from one day to the next, rules changed often and inconsistently, and only one or two staff members were typically present for the 12 adolescents living in the two story co-ed facility. I felt the contradictory feeling of being both policed and ignored. Despite the experience at the group home, being enrolled in a traditional high school helped me stay focused and optimistic about the future.
At the end of my sophomore year, I learned that I could obtain additional credits by enrolling in adult school and at my local community college. I signed up and set my eyes on graduating high school early so I could exit the group home before legally aging out at 18. While I felt motivated to achieve this, I became chronically stressed about how to best manage my time and workload since this plan also meant I had less time to prepare for the SAT and college applications. Despite the constant deadlines, I successfully graduated at 17 years old and was admitted to a four-year university.
While a few volunteers at the group home helped me make sense of the various housing, financial aid, and academic study forms and applications, I did not know about the support available to me from the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and the Independent Living Program (ILP). I did not understand how to process the paperwork to access it. I realized too late that asking for any financial support to cover items such as school supplies, interview clothing, or transportation involved playing phone tag with my ILP coordinator and receiving tons of physical applications in the mail that also needed to be mailed back or faxed. Even after managing to send everything in, it took months before I received a stipend in the mail, creating an anxiety-induced waiting game.
Any discrepancies, such as inputting an old address or checking an incorrect box, would cause additional delays in receiving support. Since I graduated high school in the fall of 2010, there were not as many clothing drives, backpack giveaways, or foster youth “dorm kit” programs that I knew of, or that my social worker, ILP worker, or group home shared with me, as I see there are today. While volunteers-turned-mentors helped me with bedding and storage items, I had to purchase my own college laptop and other school and move-in supplies with limited savings from high school jobs and group home allowances. To ensure other foster youth didn’t face these financial obstacles, I helped found the Guardian Scholars program at the University of Southern California and helped connect students with local nonprofits and donors who helped provide these essentials.
I feel happy knowing that youth today can learn about events through flyers and stories on social media, through their foster youth peers via text, or, hopefully, by their ILP workers. It would have been such a beneficial help to have known about and to participate in programs that not only provide necessary items and resources, but can also connect you with other peers and volunteers who you know believe in you and your future. I still remember buying my first JanSport backpack at my college bookstore. I had never seen a backpack cost so much before. It cost around $70, but it was something I needed immediately as I walked and biked everywhere for class with books, laptop, snacks and water in tow.
There are various ways to ensure all transition-aged foster youth are able to receive a backpack with necessary supplies for school, work and commuting. One example is California’s Department of Children and Family Services Independent Living Program partnering with a backpack retailer such as JanSport, Everest or Herschel to provide backpacks to transitioning young adults so they can shop online. Oftentimes, companies are also able to provide discounts to organizations by purchasing gift cards in bulk.
Physical events featuring these essentials can continue to be held by ILP and social workers in addition to utilizing online gathering tools for online events and celebrations where participants can be emailed gift cards or online codes. This would provide two touch points for youth who may have not been able to attend in person due to transportation issues, work, school or an event not being hosted in their county. Online events would also allow youth in the rural areas of California to still receive the same products as an in-person event. Additionally, any unused gift cards can roll over to the following year or can be provided to younger youth and families within the Department of Children and Family Services year-round to ensure items are utilized for educational purposes. Ensuring that transition-aged youth have the back-to-school essentials will allow them to be excited and curious, instead of worried and stressed, about beginning the next school year. Whether backpacks, laptops, dorm bedding, or shower caddies are provided by DCFS, ILP, donors, or mentors, having the support to receive these items is a reminder that someone has your back and is rooting for you in your educational journey. This is a feeling all transition-aged youth deserve.
