A.S.P.I.R.E Youth Academy
Hundreds of youth who leave foster care at 18 years of age need support and services to help them begin the transition to adulthood and prepare for work and personal responsibilities. Studies have shown that youth who leave foster care without a safe, permanent family reveal consistently negative life outcomes. Over half of youth who age out of foster care experienced one or more episodes of homelessness, and nearly 30% are incarcerated at some point – many times the rate for other young adults. These negative experiences compromise these young adults’ abilities to lead independent, fulfilling and productive lives and create substantial costs for government.
The A.S.P.I.R.E. (Acquire the Skills to Prepare Individuals to Reach their goals and Excel) Youth Academy program is designed to promote the development of academic, life and employment skills to help youth successfully transition into healthy young adulthood. Components of the Destined for Success program address social, emotional, and behavioral needs of youth by strengthening protective factors and reducing relevant risk factors through best practices, interventions and linkages with appropriate resources.
Our goals are to:
· Increase the number of youth/young adults that are connected to support systems
· Increase the number of youth/young adults that are gainfully employed
· Increase the number of youth/young adults pursuing higher education
To be eligible for the program, a participant must meet the following criteria:
All applicants require an in-depth, face-to-face assessment before entering the program. Upon completion of the assessment, the participant will be provided with an intake application form and information disclosure form.
Please note: Destined for Success may not accept for admission those persons who have a current presentation or within the past 12 months have a history of:
• Aggressiveness or violence (e.g., assault or battery)
• Severe or chronic mental illness
• Suicidal intentions, gestures or acts
• Noncompliance
• Serious criminal charges not resolved by court action
Exceptions to these guidelines may be possible, given individual circumstances, and may be approved only after consultation with the program coordinator. For siblings and friends in crisis, housing can be offered provided all other admission criteria have been satisfied and with prior approval of the program coordinator.
destined_for_success_application.pdf
The A.S.P.I.R.E. (Acquire the Skills to Prepare Individuals to Reach their goals and Excel) Youth Academy program is designed to promote the development of academic, life and employment skills to help youth successfully transition into healthy young adulthood. Components of the Destined for Success program address social, emotional, and behavioral needs of youth by strengthening protective factors and reducing relevant risk factors through best practices, interventions and linkages with appropriate resources.
Our goals are to:
· Increase the number of youth/young adults that are connected to support systems
· Increase the number of youth/young adults that are gainfully employed
· Increase the number of youth/young adults pursuing higher education
To be eligible for the program, a participant must meet the following criteria:
- Be between the ages of 18-24
- Have emancipated from out-of-home foster care
- Demonstrate maturity and readiness for independent living
- Attend a high school, GED program, junior college, vocational program
- Be committed to a drug and alcohol free lifestyle
- Agree to participate actively in individualized life skills plan development
- Agree to participate actively in building relationship skills
All applicants require an in-depth, face-to-face assessment before entering the program. Upon completion of the assessment, the participant will be provided with an intake application form and information disclosure form.
Please note: Destined for Success may not accept for admission those persons who have a current presentation or within the past 12 months have a history of:
• Aggressiveness or violence (e.g., assault or battery)
• Severe or chronic mental illness
• Suicidal intentions, gestures or acts
• Noncompliance
• Serious criminal charges not resolved by court action
Exceptions to these guidelines may be possible, given individual circumstances, and may be approved only after consultation with the program coordinator. For siblings and friends in crisis, housing can be offered provided all other admission criteria have been satisfied and with prior approval of the program coordinator.
destined_for_success_application.pdf