Children's Bureau Website - The John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program

The John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program

Program Description

The John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (CFCIP) offers assistance to help current and former foster care youths achieve self-sufficiency. Grants are offered to States who submit a plan to assist youth in a wide variety of areas designed to support a successful transition to adulthood. Activities and programs include, but are not limited to, help with education, employment, financial management, housing, emotional support and assured connections to caring adults for older youth in foster care as well as youth 18-21 who have aged out of the foster care system. A reporting system for States and a program evaluation component will be used to attain more knowledge about the outcomes of youth transitioning to adulthood.

The Educational and Training Vouchers Program (ETV) for Youths Aging out of Foster Care was added to the CFCIP in 2002. ETV provides resources specifically to meet the education and training needs of youth aging out of foster care. In addition to the existing authorization of $140 million for the CFCIP program, the law authorizes $60 million for payments to States for post secondary educational and training vouchers for youth likely to experience difficulty as they transition to adulthood after the age of 18. This program makes available vouchers of up to $5,000 per year per youth for post secondary education and training for eligible youth.

Statistics

As of September 30, 2002 there were an estimated 534,000 children in substitute/foster care. Of these children an estimated 39% were identified as being 13 years of age or older (October 2003 AFCARS Data).

Budget Information

The funding level for 2006 is $140 million for CFCIP and $ 60 million for ETV.

Program Highlights

The Independent Living Program can boast of many success stories. For example:

In Kentucky over 200 foster youth are attending colleges, universities, community colleges and technical schools, and most are doing well.
One such youth, Darrell, remained committed to the state until he was 21 so that he could finish college with its assistance. He is now married with two children of his own, a state social worker and an advisory board member for the Kentucky Organization for Foster Youth (KOFFY), a statewide group for current and former foster youth.
The Wisconsin program has supported a young woman who was among “Who’s Who” in America’s High Schools all through high school. She received many scholarships and is now a freshman studying to be a forensic pathologist. She is doing well in college and continues to keep in touch with the CFCIP via e-mail.

Additional Resources

John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program – summary of the act.
Child Welfare Policy Manual – includes questions and answers regarding the CFCIP.
Developing a System of Program Accountability Under the CFCIP - background information on this project to develop outcomes and performance measures to assess CFCIP performance for independent living programs.
Developing Data Elements, Instruments, and an Implementation Plan for a Reporting System Under CFCIP - background information regarding the data collection and performance measurement requirements for CFCIP.