countylevel;Residential services, including foster homes, stipendboarding arrangements, supervised independent livingapartment, residential group care, and apartment-basedindependent living programs. These programs may alsoinclude counseling, educational/vocational assistance,case management, life-skills training, socialization, andcommunity resource development (Cook, 1986).Most states offer all the basic services that thefederal Independent Living Initiative supports: educationand/or employment assistance; training in daily life skills;individual and group counseling; integration andcoordination of services; outreach; and a written individualtransitional living plan for each participant. Theavailability of these services varies widely among thestates, as does eligibility for participation in ILprograms. Independent living services, by law, must beavailable to all youth in foster care at age 16. Somestates, such as New York, Maryland and Missouri, have chosento use state funds to provide independent living servicesfor youth as young as 13 or 14. Eligibility to receiveservices ends at 6 months after emancipation, which occursbetween ages 18 and 21, depending on the state. It isimportant to note that the majority of states are reachingonly 50% of the youth eligible to receive independent livingservices (Stone, 1987).Completion of a high school education, andparticipation in higher education, are some of the strongestindicators of future ability to achieve and maintainself-sufficiency after discharge from SocialServices’custody (Cook, Fleishman, & Grimes, 1991). Youthwho receive support from the state (their legal “parent”) upto age 21 and who participate in post-secondary educationprograms may be more likely to obtain living-wageemployment, less likely to become pregnant as teenagers,less likely to become involved in the criminal justicesystem, and less likely to become homeless or join thewelfare rolls after di...
