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Transitional Living Program...

Pentz Run Youth Services is committed to providing a safe, secure, nurturing environment for male and female youth that require short or long-term alternatives to family living.   The group home and shelter have been thriving for several years serving youth ages 10-18.  The Transitional Living program will allow youth who are aging out of the system the choice to remain in the care of Children and Youth or Juvenile Probation agencies while gaining the independence they desire.  This program is also designed to allow college bound youth to live on their own while still relying on the support of their placing agency.

 

Program Description

Many youth who have been in foster care or other out of home placements have not had the support systems necessary to learn skills needed to live on their own.  Often, these youth who have been protected by agencies for years, suddenly find themselves on their own with no support.  The goal of the Transitional Living program is to assist these youth in learning the necessary skills to live on their own while still providing them with supervision, guidance and structure.  Youth will have the opportunity to “learn while doing” as they begin practicing independent living skills.

 

The transitional Living program is designed specifically for youth who are under the age of 21 and who are in need of intensive support services in order to gain independence.  The semi-supervised transitional living setting provides youth room and board while they are working to reach their goals.  Support staff are available to the youth 24 hours a day to assist the them with daily needs, transportation to and from appointments, school and/or work and learning to manage an apartment on their own.  The Youth live on their own or with a roommate in the apartment, this program is not recommended for youth who are unable to be left alone.

 

We continue to follow 3800 PA Department of Public Welfare regulations in order to maintain a quality, consistent and licensed program.  The youth will receive all necessary medical, dental, vision and mental health services and will have a treatment plan to follow.  The program is designed for long-term care allowing the youth to develop all the skills necessary to avoid homelessness in the future as well as completion of continuing education or job training.

 

The program will be open to youth transitioning from Pentz Run’s group home as well as other youth who may be referred and meet the eligibility requirements.

 

Pentz Run’s Philosophy

Our mission statement has always been to provide a safe, secure, nurturing environment for male and female youth that require short or long-term alternatives to family living.  We are committed to giving youth the opportunity to grow socially, intellectually, physically, morally and spiritually.

Our current program consists of residential services for adolescents who are placed by county Children & Youth Services or Juvenile Probation agencies.  These youth are placed for a variety of reasons including but not limited to, homelessness, abuse, neglect, truancy, lack of supervision, drug & alcohol use, mental health concerns and criminal activity.  We work with the youth while they are in our care to help them successfully return to their homes.  There are times, however when a youth is doing well within our program or even in the community and simply needs assistance in the transition to adulthood because they lack traditional support systems.  Many youth in the CYS/foster care and/or Juvenile Justice systems lack the necessary supports to make a smooth transition.  Our residential services will now include these older youth who need to focus on learning to live on their own.  The new services will concentrate on those skills needed to sustain a residence independently including:  job skills, cooking, cleaning, budgeting, self-care, time management, decision making and many other important elements of independent living.

Goals:

Our main goal is to integrate the services that we have been providing successfully for years.  We plan to continue to maintain both the group home/shelter and the Independent Living program with the addition of the Transitional Living facility which will is licensed through the Department of Public Welfare.

During their stay, the youth will learn to learn to maintain a home on their own while also building employment and social skills, as well as exploring options for higher education. 

The expected transition for the youth would be for them to go out on their own or move to an apartment of their own with continued support from Pentz Run.

Many residents of Pentz Run’s group home would be able to transition into the transitional living facility and as a result learn more advanced skills for the next stage of their lives. 

The length of time that youth will be able to stay at the transitional living facility will vary from 6 to 18 months with exceptions for longer stays made on an as needed and individual basis.

 This would also enable us to serve youth up to the age of 21.

 

Admission Criteria:

  • Youth must be under 21 years old and in need of independent living assistance.

  • Youth must be able to live in a semi-supervised setting where they will be spending the majority of time on their own.

  • Youth must have the ability and motivation to learn independent living skills.

  • Youth must be able to live harmoniously with a roommate.

  • Youth must have employment and/or educational goals.

  • Youth must be able to perform basic activities of daily living such as personal care and light cleaning/cooking.

  • Youth must be willing to cooperate with the program and all aspects of treatment.

  • Youth must not be using alcohol and/or drugs.

  • Youth must be able to adequately complete a training program demonstrating competency in the following areas:

    • Health

    • General safety

    • Fire safety

    • Money management

    • Transportation skills

    • Child health and safety, child development and parenting skills if the child has a child living with them

      • This training program will be facilitated at Pentz Run Youth Services, where the youth will reside for up to 30 days until they are able to demonstrate competency in these areas.