ach year in the Bay Area, more than 500 foster youth reach the age of 18 and are emancipated from the foster care system. For some young people, this transition represents a chance to begin a new life, to enroll in college or to rebuild family ties.

For many others, however, especially those dealing with mental illnesses such as major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, emancipation can feel more like a crisis. Without adequate preparation, often with no arrangements for housing or income, these young people find themselves on their own, without adult encouragement or community support.

The First Place Fund for Youth is an agency committed to easing this transition for youth in the Oakland area. TCWF provided First Place Fund with a grant of $100,000 over two years to support intensive case management services to improve the mental health of foster youth and to strengthen the capacity of clinical and nonclinical staff to serve the mental health needs of emancipating youth.

"The First Place Fund for Youth is among the few agencies in California formed specifically to address the needs of youth as they leave the foster care system," said Ruth Brousseau, TCWF director of organizational learning.

The agency's Emancipation Services Program pairs at-risk youth with an emancipation specialist up to a year before emancipation. These trained mental health clinicians provide counseling and help clients learn to manage their medications.

"By their late teens, foster youth are often distrustful of mental health providers," said Amy Lemley, First Place Fund for Youth's executive director. "The emancipation specialists overcome this resistance by working with clients to develop an emancipation plan. Youth identify their own goals, such as finding affordable housing or completing their GEDs."

Ensuring that these youth transition into stable housing is critical, as the quality of mental health declines precipitously among homeless populations. Beyond this planning, First Place Fund's Supportive Housing Program helps many of these young people for up to two years following emancipation. The program offers placement in a safe, affordable apartment along with a rent subsidy, life skills training in topics such as anger management and setting boundaries with family members, and community-building events designed to reduce social isolation.

"It takes a lot to get through the foster care system," said Lemley. "These youth have real assets and can, with a little help, move out of the permanent underclass to become productive community members."

The First Place approach has proven successful. When comparing participating youth with the general population of former foster youth 12 to 18 months after discharge from the system, First Place youth were found to be six times less likely to be homeless and 50 percent more likely to be employed.

TCWF funds also support the agency's staff development services. By providing intensive clinical training to paraprofessional staff, First Place Fund for Youth is establishing a higher level of professionalism and ensuring that all staff who work with foster youth have a shared language and expertise.

"The quality of its formal training programs is one of the strengths of the mental health system," Lemley said. "We want to bring this level of clinical training to staff at group homes and with our community partners."