The Independent Living Program (ILP) accepts youth 16-19 years old, male and female, including pregnant or parenting teens, who are in county or state custody and cannot return to their families. Selected youth must be willing to work hard at becoming self-sufficient.

In ILP youth are placed in their own apartments in order to offer them the opportunity to experience life just as they will when they become adults. For most youth this is a jarring experience. Suddenly there is no one to look over their shoulder. There is no one to fix dinner; no one to do the laundry; no one to make sure that the money will last until payday. There is also no one making them get up on time; no one telling them they can’t eat what they want or do what they want to do. For some this is the chance to engage in complete self indulgence. For most, it is the opportunity to become independent and self-reliant. When ILP is successful, it is because the youth involved are resilient. And most young people are resilient.

There is clearly some risk involved in placing young people in the unrestricted setting of their own apartment. But the risk involved in doing so, while providing them with an extensive support system, is minimal when compared with the option they would otherwise experience by aging out of the foster care system with no support.

Support is the heart of the ILP system.

Every ILP participant is assigned a licensed social worker. ILP social workers maintain small case loads: usually ten to twelve youth. Once established, youth have at least weekly face to face contacts with their social workers. Youth new to the program and youth at higher risk have more frequent meetings. Nearly all youth have daily telephone contact with their social workers. ILP staff members are available for crisis assistance 24/7.

More tangible support includes financial assistance. Open market housing is used for all scattered site apartments. Lighthouse pays for the security deposit, rent, utilities, phone bills and furnishings. During the program, as youth become more financially self-sufficient, they gradually take on some or even most of the bills themselves. Participants also receive a small weekly stipend of which a portion is placed in savings. The stipend is only expected to cover food, transportation and personal items. Youth must work to have additional spending money. – While this may seem parsimonious or “stingy,” one of the goals for participants is to be financially self-sufficient by the time they graduate from the program.

Every youth develops a plan upon entering ILP. This plan addresses the movement toward self-sufficiency, particularly education and employment; any health, mental health or substance abuse issues the youth may have; and mastery of basic life skills necessary to become good citizens who behave responsibly and are self-reliant. For pregnant or parenting teens the plan also addresses safe and effective parenting. Lighthouse Youth Services offers a wealth of resources to support youth in addressing the various parts of their plan.

While youth are free from moment to moment oversight while in the program, they are not completely without structure. ILP participants are expected to follow a number of program rules and policies. These include a prohibition against overnight guests, a limit of two guests at a time and a curfew based on their work or school schedule.

Young people can keep their apartments, furniture, supplies and security deposits if they are employed at graduation and have proved to the landlord that they are responsible. Youth who do not have a stable source of income at termination are assisted in finding other living arrangements.

Because open market housing is used, participants can be placed anywhere in the county if near a bus line. ILP looks for places youth scan afford when out of the system. Every attempt is made to place young people in neighborhoods where they believe they can be successful.

Since the program is not limited by a fixed number of bed spaces it always has openings. Apartments can usually be located for new applicants within 7-10 days. Several other living arrangement are available such as the Anna Louise Inn, a boarding home for women, and four shared-homes which include an onsite house manager. These more highly supervised settings are used for new participants when it is not clear that they are ready for the independence of a scattered site apartment or to “step back” youth who may have found the temptations of scattered site living overwhelming.

Ideally young people participate in the program for 12 to 18 months. Lighthouse experience has demonstrated that participation less than six months appears to have insignificant benefits for the youth. When one considers that nationwide most youth do no leave home until their mid-twenties, allowing youth the full experience of ILP does not appear to be an undo consideration of the child welfare system.

ILP is a harm reduction model for the child welfare system. It does not represent the best of all possible worlds. But it is the most cost effective model for a child welfare system with limited resources. It is one last chance for this system to give the young people entrusted to its care an opportunity to move into adulthood, at least partially on par with their more fortunate peers.