Students
Student Teams Register Now for the 2008 Student Problem-Solving Exercise! Our client this year is Daniel Memorial, Florida’s oldest child serving agency.
Background: To address the growing problem of Homeless Youth in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida, Daniel Memorial developed Project Prepare. Project Prepare is an independent living program serving homeless youth, ages 16-21. Program services consist of a three to six month residency at the agency’s Independent Village, mental health counseling, independent living skills instruction, and up to two years of case management. The goal of the program is to transition each youth from a state of homelessness to that of economic independence. More information on Daniel Memorial and Project Prepare can be found at their website.
Maintaining contact with homeless clients and soliciting their continued participation in the programs proves precarious, particularly homeless youth clients, as this population faces security, financial, and legal issues that add extra burdens on program staff. In many states (including Florida) many of these homeless youth, by virtue of living on the street, are considered delinquent, even if no other criminal offense occurred. Financial hardships can be particularly acute, as few homeless youth have the employment skills or experience needed to access even the most menial jobs. And many youth on the street are seen as prey for adults engaged in some of the most lurid illegal enterprises, including prostitution, drugs, and slavery.
Problem: While Project Prepare has been somewhat successful identifying clients for the program, their biggest concern has been program retention, and, most importantly, maintaining contact with current and former clients to track their progress once they have left the program. The primary questions for Project Prepare, therefore are 1) What are other programs around the country doing to identify those youth most at risk for homelessness; 2) How are these programs designed; 3) What are some of the best practices among other such programs around the country; and 4) What “aftercare” approaches have been most successful in tracking the clients once they “complete” the program. With all four of these questions, student teams should remember the limited resources of Project Prepare. So, in light of the answers above, how might Project Prepare better focus its limited resources to better serve youth in the program?
Inform Judith Little (jkl1@humboldt.edu) of your interest, and register on-line for the annual AACS conference.