Summary: The Independent Living Program, which is funded by federal, state, and local tax dollars, is designed to help young people move from foster care to independent living. The program encourages them to complete high school or pass the General Educational Development test and attend postsecondary schools. The program also helps them find and keep employment and provides classes in daily living skills, such as money management, hygiene, housekeeping, and nutrition, and provides tips on how to interact with adults, such as managing conflict. However, state and local administrators say that not all the assistance youths need is always available. Some programs are not linked with employers, cannot offer skills practice in real-life settings, or fall short on supervised practice living arrangements. Few national or local studies have assessed the effectiveness of independent living services. Only one national study has been completed, and only a few of the states studies have tried to measure the ability of youths to become self-sufficient. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the program, has no method for reviewing the states' progress in helping youths make the transition from foster care, and the content and quality of the states' annual program reports HHS relies on vary and contain little information on program outcomes. HHS issued a contract in 1988 to analyze a decade's worth of annual program reports to find models for states to follow and measures to take for improving reporting and evaluation.
