Independent Living Skills for the Foster Teenager

The goal is to develop and evaluate a unique set of instructional videotapes on skills for independent living for foster teens. Each tape will present a peer-based story that familiarizes foster teens with the practical and social aspects of a particular goal, such as finding an apartment or getting a job. To maximize their appeal and flexibility, the vignettes will be realistic, peer-oriented, and non- prescriptive (free of direct instruction). The first videotape, "Finding A Place To Live, " will be produced in Phase I. The tape will be accompanied by an instructional manual that specifies how activities can be integrated with viewing the vignettes. The materials will be developed in cooperation with independent living coordinators in different sites and will be tested in a small group format that includes foster teens and their foster parents working together. A library of videotapes that address an array of independent living skills is proposed for Phase II. Field coordinators are eager to receive these materials to help foster teens meet the urgent demands of emancipation. Coordinators can readily adapt the non-prescriptive videos into already existing activities.