ORANGEWOOD CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION 3

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• Independent Living Program: Education, career, relationship, and daily living skills preparation for the time when they will be released from the dependency system. • Independent Living Coaches: One-on-one guidance and support to help foster youth make a successful transition to independent living. • Orangewood Resource Center: Drop -in center for current and former Orange County foster youth offering services they need to become independent adults, including educational activities and resources for jobs, college, housing, health, etc. • Transitional Housing Referral Clearinghouse: , As Orange County's referral resource center, we support current and developing transitional housing programs for former foster youth. • Bridges to Higher Education: To increase high school graduation rates and admission to college or trade schools, foster youth with academic potential for college success receive intensive preparation for the demands and opportunities of higher education. • California Youth Connection: A leadership group made up of current and emancipated foster youth —acting as Orange County's representative to this statewide organization —who participate in policy development and legislative change in the area of foster care. • Time Out for Parents: Short-term care for abused, neglected and at -risk children that allows parents and foster parents to take a break and recharge the energy necessary to care for them. 2. What kind of experience do you have in incorporating parents, youth and employers into your programs? Due to the nature of the population we serve, we generally do not have access to our client's parents. Foster youth are removed from their parents or custodians due to abuse or neglect and are under the supervision and care of the Orange County Social Services Agency. Many of the clients we serve reside in group homes, foster homes or with relative care -takers. Orangewood Children's Foundation (OCF) is diligent about engaging potential employers, our clients and their care -takers, which may include biological parents. We include them on our ILP newsletter mailing lists, publish program services in the Team Talk quarterly publication from the County of Orange to foster parents and invite care- takers to participate with our youth at ILP workshops and special events. OCF also provides independent living skills assignments on our website, which are available to clients and care -takers. Care -takers are encouraged to work with youth on these assignments and some assignments require interaction with employers or potential employers. Some examples of our experience engaging youth, parents and employers are as follows: Through the OCF Community Programs we serve approximately 8,500 duplicated children and their families at 14 Family Resource Centers in Orange County per year. The Time Out for Parents program provides respite care or short-term care for approximately 275 children per year to give foster parents or biological parents a break to prevent the foster parent from burning out or the biological parent from potentially being separated from their children due to abuse or neglect. The Independent Living Coaches OCF/Foster Youth Liaison Project 13