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PATHS program helps transition to adulthood after foster care
Nineteen-year-old Brianna Deprey, of Algoma, is getting help on her way to independence thanks to a new federally funded four-county pilot program. When Deprey was growing up, her grandmother obtained court-ordered kinship custody due to problems with alcohol and substance abuse in her home. Now that she is a young adult, she has yet to find a stable home environment. Deprey is working as a waitress while attending Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Luxemburg in the hope of pursuing studies in sociology and psychology.
The program, called PATHS, is helping her find an apartment, set goals for herself and develop habits designed to lead to a successful future. "I'm excited to get the ball rolling," said Deprey, who recently went to look for apartments with the program's help.
PATHS kicked off Oct. 1 to help youths make the transition from foster care to adult life.
The primary focus of the program is to assist people like Deprey with housing, which provides them with a stable foundation, said Christma Hochkammer, PATHS case manager. Too often these young adults fall through the cracks.
"Evidence has shown that until these young individuals are housed in a safe and secure environment the attempt to move them forward in life becomes an uphill battle," Hochkammer said. "The situations that these young people have been in has often left them in a state of survival mode. When a stable environment is attained they can begin to work on developing important life skills and achievements can be made."
"As a case manager, my goal is to provide them with the support they need to be successful and productive members of society. Some of my clients don't have family that they can call when they are struggling with something or don't know what to do. I want them to know that they can call me and that they are not alone."
Federal grant
The two-agency, four-county Lakeshore Region Consortium was chosen to run one of three two-year PATHS pilot programs in the state, thanks to a $700,000 federal grant awarded to 13 states. The Sheboygan County Department of Health and Human Services is the lead agency. Contracted for the case management services are Lakeshore CAP – a community action program that serves Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Kewaunee and Door Counties – and Lutheran Social Services/Runaway and Youth Services, both of Manitowoc.
"I was dancing in the streets when that was announced," said Michael Huck, CEO of Lakeshore CAP. That's because, up until now, the need has not been met, he said.
PATHS assists youths who have been involved with the Human Services departments of all four counties and who fit the program's criteria. The acronym PATHS stands for permanent connections, academics, training and employment, housing and social and emotional well-being.
"The foster system produces kids that are cared for but once they become adults, they have very little support. Consequently, it's a vulnerable population," Huck said. "PATHS is a system of support, instruction and subsidies to make that transition to adulthood better."
While youths with intact families can always turn to mom and dad for help, these youths have no support and run the risk of becoming homeless, unemployed, victims of sex trafficking, drug abusers or recruits for lower-level drug distribution, he said.
"The overall goal is to create young adults who can live independently and will become engaged in community life," Huck said. "We put them in the hands of trained and experienced case managers and point to wider community resources."
'Housing first'
The program parallels the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's philosophy of "housing first," Huck said.
"How can you build stability in someone if they're bouncing from shelter to shelter or on the streets?" asked Melissa Argall, program supervisor with Lutheran Social Services. "We need to get them in a place they can call home."
LSS has built relationships with landlords and the transition to this program should be smooth, she said.
"It's neat to see the community come together," Argall said. "The ones who open their doors to this population, they get to be part of the process of changing a kid's life."
The program also involves helping the youth, who typically don't have anything, to furnish the apartment and get off the ground, she said.
"Sometimes you have to fake it 'till you make it,'" Huck said. "Providing them with the trappings of a relatively normal life, you encourage them to value these things and act on those things in a wider situation."
Community partnerships
PATHS is geared to youths, 14-21, who have aged out of foster care, said Kelly Canter, housing and employment policy coordinator of the Department of Children and Families in Madison. The program not only provides housing for a population at risk for homelessness, it also creates community partnerships to help youths with everything from employment to mental health, she said.
"It really does take more than one agency to support these young people," Canter said. "We wanted states to use local resources and knowledge to develop planning models," she said. "Lakeshore CAP has an excellent track record of serving that population."
There are 25 individuals eligible for the program in the four-county area, 13 of them from Manitowoc County, Huck said.
One of the advantages is that "a rural county like Kewaunee can relocate foster kids to Manitowoc, where they will be close to training and employment resources as well as public transportation and community amenities," he said. "The light bulbs are going off. The care we can provide these people has been enhanced through the program. It's been a neat thing to see unfold," Hochkammer said.
Program fills a need
"The PATHS pilot is really filling a gap, really filling a need," said Argall of Lutheran Social Services, which lost federal funding for its transitional living program in spring. "Now we can once again step into that gap." With additional Lakeshore CAP funds, the program also can help not only youth in the foster care system, but other young adults at risk, Argall said.
"Our program, besides helping these people, is generating information that will be used in expanding the program throughout the state," Huck said.
The pilot program will be used to develop planning models that will be used as part of a $5 million, five-year grant application process.
"Our hope is that the two-year pilot program will lead to a five-year grant," Argall said.
Suzanne Weiss
18 November 2014
http://www.htrnews.com/story/news/local/2014/11/18/paths-program/19248167/
