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June 10, 2009 $2.4-MILLION PILOT PROJECT TO HELP YOUTHS TRANSITION FROM FOSTER CARE TO INDEPENDENT LIVING– – –Education, Training, Housing, Guidance, Financial Support Keys to Helping Youth Leave Child Welfare: Mackintosh The province is launching a four-year, $2.4-million pilot project that will offer youths leaving foster care more support including education, employment training and housing, to help them live independently as adults, Family Services and Housing Minister Gord Mackintosh announced today.
“Many of the young people who grow up in the child-welfare system need a boost to take the next step to independence,” Mackintosh said. “By providing guidance and financial support during this transition, we can help these youths learn to live on their own, complete their education and get a job.”
Called the Manitoba Youth Transitional Employment Assistance Mentorship project, or MyTEAM, it will offer youths from 16 to 21 years of age personalized plans that will help them leave the child‑welfare system and be successful in the community, said the minister.
“National and international research shows a concerning pattern of poor outcomes for youth leaving care. There is consensus in the research that these youth face more challenges than their peers, primarily lacking the family support that is so important during stages of development, times of crisis, and during special life events,” stated the Children’s Advocate’s 2006 report entitled Strengthening Our Youth.
As part of the Rewarding Work initiative and the ALL Aboard Poverty Reduction Strategy, MyTEAM will support up to 100 youths over four years, primarily in Winnipeg and Thompson, by offering:
· support to help teens complete high school, post-secondary education or other training;
· work experience;
· job coaches and mentors to help youths achieve their goals and to teach life skills;
· stable housing in Manitoba Housing Authority buildings or in private accommodations;
· financial assistance to pay for daily living costs;
· health benefits to promote good health;
· child-care subsidies if required to attend school or work;
· wage subsidies to employers who hire project participants; and
· money management courses and individual development accounts with matching savings funding to assist with education and housing.
A community-based social services organization will be selected to deliver MyTEAM services, which is expected to begin early in 2010. A notice will be issued this week for a request for proposals.
Today’s announcement is part of the province’s ALL Aboard poverty-reduction strategy.
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