Homeless Youth Services

Homeless Youth

Overview

The three Regional Children’s Cabinets were instrumental in highlighting the issue of homeless youth and in developing two pieces of legislation to address the issue of homeless youth in their regions. The legislation enacted is:

Partnership for Homeless Youth establishes a mandate for development of comprehensive community plans for homeless youth.
Youth in Need of Services [YINS] extends Resolve 55 services through establishing a one-year pilot to provide outreach and intensive case management to youth 14 years and younger in need of assistance for securing stable housing.

RCC I:

RCC I and the Portland Partnership for Homeless youth provide oversight for development and implementation of Region I response for addressing needs of homeless youth in southern Maine.

Status of Actions in Region I

FY 1999

Convened collaborative group of stakeholders to develop a comprehensive community plan;
Plan funded by DHS and DMHMRSAS

FY 2000

Contract awarded to implement the plan;
Plan includes: development of holistic individualized plan for each homeless youth; more effective and efficient interventions through improved linkages between community providers;, state agencies and others; expansion of Teen Center hours; and the development of Rapid Response/Self-sufficiency Fund.
YINS pilot began with outreach services and safety planning for youth 14 years and under.

FY 2001

Monitor Portland Partnership on Homeless Youth and provide support as nee3ded to stabilize and sustain the initiative;
Promote self-sufficiency in homeless youth;
Promote youth having paid work experiences;
Develop new housing models for homeless youth;
Develop "one-stop shopping" teen center;
Secure 24 hour a day emergency shelter accessibility;
Explore possibility of assisting youth in selected communities in York County

RCC II:

Overview: RCC II has begun to develop a Pilot Program for homeless youth in that Region. A day of Technical Assistance and Action Planning was held October 5, 2000, with follow up meetings throughout the Region. These meetings have been designed to:

Review and identify the challenges and opportunities to creating a continuum of services and models for homeless youth;
Identify the challenges and opportunities in the development of a continuum of services;
Identify methods to support engagement of participants in the process of collaborative building; and
Define next steps to assess, plan, and develop comprehensive and best practice services for homeless youth in Region Involuntary Treatment.

Next Step: A second plenary session is scheduled for January 24, 2001 in Waterville.

RCC III:

Overview — On July 1, 2000, the Rapid Response to Youth Who Are Homeless Pilot began in the Bangor area. After the first critical three days, many experts believe that the street begins to "own" those living there.

Goal:

to respond when a child becomes homeless or is in immediate danger of becoming homeless;
to get a youth off the street and into a safe, stable home within 72 hours of becoming homeless;
To reconnect him/her with his/her school system or an alternative education program;
To stabilize the youth’s circumstances as quickly as possible;
To connect the youth and his/her family with services to keep the youth in a safe environment.

Five Step Program:

The agency or school that first interacts with a youth who is homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless will contact the Rapid Response program at the Shaw House. In case of an immediate mental health crisis situation, Youth Crises Stabilization Program will be called;
A team of professionals will meet with the youth to assess needs. If the youth can be returned home safely, plans for services and supports are made with the family;
The youth is returned home if that is a safe environment, or is placed with a relative, friend, or another trusted individual who will serve as a natural support system;
A team of professionals will collaborate to assess the services needed by the youth and family;
Youth and family will continue to receive support as needed. Referrals for ongoing services will be made.

Criteria for Rapid Response: Youth must be between the ages of 10 and 17 years, be homeless, or at risk of being homeless for the first time.

Collaborators: This is a collaborative effort involving over 40 agencies and sponsored by RCC III.

The Youth Who Are Homeless pilot in Bangor created a Rapid Response team to intervene immediately (within the first day) when a youth becomes homeless for the first time. As a result, the number of Youth Homeless Shelter bed nights has reduced from an average of 201 bed nights per month in June (before the pilot) to 83 bed nights in December. Instead of having to use the homeless shelters, youth were reunited with families or placed with natural support or other safe residential options. Further, they were linked with the needed services (mediation, mental health, etc.) to be able to maintain safely in the more permanent home.