The resources listed below are some recommendations of useful resources available to assist you in providing information when planning activities and when teaching experiential life skills for youth in your care.
This list is not comprehensive and caregivers are not required by DFPS to use any of these resources. The materials referenced below contain information created and maintained by other government, public and private organizations and are provided for the user's convenience.
DFPS Resources
Life Skills Curriculum
- It’s My Move offers a numerous list of resources
- The Life Skills book is about leaving home and living on your own for the first time.
- The Get Real Series of Life Success Programs - Peak Readiness Guide is an in-depth life skill, independent living, and motivational curriculum for young people, with approx. 20 hours of instruction. The focus is independent living for teens, through simulation of a number of real world factors. The Course will guide students, step-by-step, to craft a detailed vision of their future, and create a clear and specific picture of what’s possible. They will learn a variety of life skills to build the confidence necessary to reach their goals.
- ARISE life-skills programs assist teens and young adults in making a successful transition to responsible, independent adulthood. The ARISE life-skills curriculum provides materials for residential treatment facilities, addressing problems such as poor social skills, few positive relationships, and low self-esteem. The lessons deal with many issues relevant to independent living, such as finding and keeping a job, money and time management, making healthy choices, and more at:
Other Resources for Youth and Caregivers
- Have questions? Get answers
- Visit a Transition Center in your area
- Youth Transition Guidance for Foster Parents
Employment
- Job Search-Texas Workforce Commission
- https://www.monster.com
-
Through Aunt Bertha, you can find food, housing, and more, anywhere you live
Financial Planning
Financial Literacy Education Program
- Obtaining and interpreting a credit score
- https://bettermoneyhabits.bankofamerica.com/en/credit
- https://handsonbanking.org/articles/topic/reports/
- https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/credit-reports-and-scores/
- https://www.selflender.com/blog/how-to-build-credit#how-credit-scores-work
- https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_adult-fin-ed_understand-your-credit-score.pdf
- Protecting, repairing, and improving a credit score
- Avoiding predatory lending practices
- Saving money and accomplishing financial goals
- Using basic banking and balancing a checkbook
- Bank Accounts
- Using debit and credit cards responsibly
- Understanding a paycheck and withholdings
- Understanding time requirements and process for filing federal taxes
- Protecting financial, credit and personally identifying information in personal and professional relationships and online
- Forms of identity and credit theft
- Using insurance to protect against the risk of financial loss
For youth with a source of income
- Establish a savings plan and, if available, a savings account that the youth can independently manage
- https://www.bankofamerica.com/deposits/savings/child-savings-accounts/
- https://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/moneysmart/adult.html
- Prepare a monthly budget that includes the following expenses:
Rent based on the monthly rent for an apartment advertised for lease during the preceding month; Utilities based on a reasonable utility bill in the area in which the youth resides; Telephone service based on a reasonable bill for telephone service in the area in which the youth resides; Internet service based on a reasonable bill for Internet service in the area in which the youth resides; Other reasonable monthly expenses https://www.fdic.gov/consumers/assistance/protection/depaccounts/savings/savingsspending-plan-sample-income-and-expense-worksheet.pdf
For youth who are 17 years of age or older, lessons related to
- Insurance, including applying for and obtaining automobile insurance and residential property insurance, including tenants insurance
- Civic engagement, including the process for registering to vote, the places to vote, and resources for information regarding upcoming elections https://www.usa.gov/how-to-vote
Education
- Foster Care Student Success Resource Guide Scondary School
- Explore And Tour Texas Colleges And Universities
- Apply To Texas Colleges At:
- Apply To The Education And Training Voucher Program To Pay For College:
- Apply For Federal Financial Aid For College:
Other Important Informaiton
Activities
Fitness, Nutrition, and Cooking
- http://www.livestrong.com
- http://www.thekidscookmonday.org/why-cook-with-kids
- https://www.choosemyplate.gov
Teen Drug Abuse
- https://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts
- http://drugfree.org/parent-blog/top-8-reasons-teens-try-alcohol-drugs
Safety and Security Resources
Volunteering
Volunteer Match
Getting Around
- Texas Drivers License
- Locate a Driver’s Education Schools
- Car Insurance Price Comparisons:
- Texas Travel Information
Also see Tips for Providing Experiential Life Skills Training in Residential Treatment Settings.
1 DFPS does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of this outside information. Further, the inclusion of references to particular materials and/or of links to particular organizations or sites is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed, or products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites.