[Butterflies2]

What resources are available for transitioning teens into independent living? My son was adopted at 10 years old. He is soon going to be 17. I am trying to be a little proactive. Thank you for any suggestions.

[jbee]

our fs 17 took independent living classes set up by his county cw in our county. they were at the county office for about eight weeks one eve a week. they went over writing checks, made them call various places, field trip to the courthouse to see what happens to dui people, etc. don't know how much it helped, he is still pretty incompetent at anything 'adult'. if they complete the course they get a check for 200 dollars. basically bribing the kids to finish, no matter how well they actually complete the stuff. as long as they go through the motions.
he also has an independent living lady that comes to our house about every 2 mo. now, set up by his county cw. not really sure what she does, besides talk to him a little. she helped write him up some plan on things to work on, what he intends to do, goals, etc. she gives him brochures on independent living events, encourages him to work on goals...go see the army recruiter, for example, stuff like that. usually not really realistic, but she does encourage him.
i don't know how much this stuff actually helps. i think we do more here. he has a job. he is forced to save 1/2 of his check. we make him call to make dr. appts, cancel appts, call his caseworker, order pizzas, buy his own track phone plan...anything to do with adult interactions. when we go to the store we encourage wise spending by him. if he wastes his money, we let him suffer the consequences. we show him how to find the price per ounce and stuff like that, figure out sale prices and percentages. just everyday practical stuff. there is no way he could function on his own at this point though. nowhere near. i think the work you do at home, however, can help your son the most. that's my experience though.

[stevenstwin]

Originally Posted by jbee

our fs 17 took independent living classes set up by his county cw in our county. they were at the county office for about eight weeks one eve a week. they went over writing checks, made them call various places, field trip to the courthouse to see what happens to dui people, etc. don't know how much it helped, he is still pretty incompetent at anything 'adult'. if they complete the course they get a check for 200 dollars. basically bribing the kids to finish, no matter how well they actually complete the stuff. as long as they go through the motions.
he also has an independent living lady that comes to our house about every 2 mo. now, set up by his county cw. not really sure what she does, besides talk to him a little. she helped write him up some plan on things to work on, what he intends to do, goals, etc. she gives him brochures on independent living events, encourages him to work on goals...go see the army recruiter, for example, stuff like that. usually not really realistic, but she does encourage him.
i don't know how much this stuff actually helps. i think we do more here. he has a job. he is forced to save 1/2 of his check. we make him call to make dr. appts, cancel appts, call his caseworker, order pizzas, buy his own track phone plan...anything to do with adult interactions. when we go to the store we encourage wise spending by him. if he wastes his money, we let him suffer the consequences. we show him how to find the price per ounce and stuff like that, figure out sale prices and percentages. just everyday practical stuff. there is no way he could function on his own at this point though. nowhere near. i think the work you do at home, however, can help your son the most. that's my experience though.

I agree. Goodness knows that any skills at all that my FS has he learned here. Despite his other difficulties, at least I know he can cook, do his laundry, take care of his own personal hygiene, and such other things he didn't know before. After all, our bio kids don't get any kind of programs to teach them independent living, so I suspect one adopted at a young age is in much the same position. I think formal "independent living" programs are more intended for kids that don't have any "family" to teach them such things...you know, the kind of teen whose been bounced around in group homes or multiple foster placements and such.