building education and employment supports for homeless lgbtq youth
TRANSCRIPT
Company Name
Building Education and Employment Supports for Homeless LGBTQ Youth
Simon Costello, Associate Director Department of Children, Youth & Family Services February 2014
o 6,000 homeless youth (up to 24 years) in LA County (point in time)
o In Hollywood, 40% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ
o In Hollywood, 40% of homeless youth have a history of foster care
o Nationally, 25% of young people who come out to their parents are forced to leave home
Background
o Rejection and isolation
o Discrimination, homophobia, transphobia, harassment; physical, sexual and emotional abuse
o Negative school experiences and interrupted education
o Absence of role models and mentors
o Dis-engagement
o Lack of a sense of a positive future self
Presenting Issues and Challenges For Homeless LGBTQ Youth
Youth Center on Highland
o Drop-in and resource center, open 7 days a week
Emergency Overnight Bed Program
o 20 beds for 18- 24 year olds, up to 36 days
Transitional Living Program
o 24 beds for 18-24 years old, up to 18 months
Independent Living Program
o 12 bed in supportive apartments
LifeWorks
o Youth Development Program
RISE (Recognize Intervene Support Empower)
o Research project to improve permanency for LGBTQ foster youth
At the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center
Positive Youth Development
Trauma Informed Services
Homeless Youth Services: Strategies and Outcomes
Stable Housing & Self-Sufficiency
Employment &
Education
Permanent Connections Well-Being
Core Outcomes
Positive Youth Development
Aims to support and increase a young persons ability to make healthier personal choices by providing them five fundamental resources or promises:
o Caring Adults o Safe Places o A Healthy Start and Future o Effective Education o Opportunities to Help Others
Homeless Youth Services: Strategies
Trauma Informed Approach
o Takes into consideration the various and multiple sources of trauma that youth have endured and how trauma impacts youth behavior and youth development;
o Informs service delivery, training and policy;
o Attachment, Self-Regulation and Competency (ARC) Framework; and
o Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS) multi-session, multi-group intervention
Education and Employment: Guiding Principles
Long Term Employment
Success
Educational Achievement School Attendance
Early Work experience
GED Preparation Program
Microsoft Office Training
College Exploration, Preparation, Enrollment and Support
Engage
Motivate
Support
Celebrate!
GED Preparation and Education Program
Career Development Continuum
Career Awareness
Learn about
a wide variety of jobs and careers
Career Exploration
Explore, research
and plan for the future
Career Preparation
Gain work
experience, skills and training
Age 0 – 8 8 – 16 16 – 24
Goals:
o Explore career
opportunities
o Increase competencies
o Learn the culture of work
o Build community supports
Tools:
o Community Awareness Outings
o Workshops – Speaker Series
o Informational Interviews
o Job Shadowing
o Volunteer Opportunities
o Internships
o Job Placements
Employment Services
Community
Collaborations
o Co-operative agreement
o Discuss and set expectations
o Provide support to employer
o Provide resources and
support to youth
o Monitor and adjust
o Celebrate!
Individual
Placement and Support
Community Collaborations: Guideline
o In the past 12 months:
300 youth participants in the program
45 community partners
12 youth earned a GED
90 youth secured employment
33 internship placements of which 29 secured employment
o Average length of stay at TLP is now 12 months (up from 7 months in the
past 2 years)
o 75% of clients who exited TLP secured permanent housing
o 92% of 24 TLP youth are working, in school or both
Outcomes
In 2010, the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center received federal funding to launch RISE (Recognize Intervene Support Empower) to:
o Assist LGBTQ foster youth achieve permanency. o Increase acceptance and support for LGBTQ youth.
Facts: o LGBTQ youth are disproportionately represented within
the foster care system. o 40% of homeless LGBTQ transitional age youth spent
time in foster care.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
Research, develop and test best practices to assist LGBTQ
youth in the child welfare system:
(1) Find durable family connections
(2) Build supportive community connections
(3) Achieve emotional permanency
(4) Obtain legal permanency in homes where they feel safe,
nurtured, and loved into adulthood.
Simon Costello Associate Director of Children, Youth & Family Services
L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center [email protected]
(323) 860-3616