Youth Villages YVLifeSet program helps develop the skills needed in order to live a successful and independent life.

Approximately 23,000 young adults in the U.S. age out of the foster care system every year. One in four experience homelessness, half end up unemployed, and close to 70% have been involved in the criminal justice system. YVLifeSet is an intensive 6- to 12-month intervention program. Participants meet one-on-one with a specialist at least once a week in settings convenient to them, such as their home, school, job, or doctor’s office. In addition to weekly meetings, YVLifeSet provides 24/7 on-call support.

Compared to a randomly-selected control group, YVLifeSet participants experience measurable positive changes, including a 30% decrease in violent relationships, 22% decline in homelessness, and a 17% increase in earnings from formal work.

Participants set their own goals for housing, education, employment, and other aspects of independent life. YVLifeSet specialists meet the young adults where they are—whether learning to do laundry, role playing conflicts with roommates, or practicing job interviews. The YVLifeSet specialist does not provide direct supports like housing or a job, but rather helps the youth develop the skills and capabilities to identify and put into place supports on his or her own.

Read the full article on foster care youth at The Center for High Impact Philanthropy.