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Transitional Housing
Transitional Housing Placement Program (THPP)
In addition to participating in the Independent Living Program (ILP), some foster youth participate in THPP. The THPP is a community care licensed placement opportunity for youth in foster care. The goal of THPP is to help participants emancipate successfully by providing a safe environment for youth to practice the skills learned in ILP. Participants may live alone, with departmental approval, or with roommates in apartments and single-family dwellings with regular support and supervision provided by THPP agency staff, county social workers, and ILP coordinators. Support services include regular visits to participants’ residences; educational guidance, employment counseling and assistance reaching emancipation goals outlined in participants; transitional independent living plans, the emancipation readiness portion of youths’ case plan.
While each county has its own policies, at a minimum, applicants must meet certain criteria. They must be at least 16 years old and not more than 18 years old, unless they are in all probability, going to finish high school before their 19th birthday. They must be in out-of-home placement under the supervision of the county department of social services or the county probation department, and actively participating in an ILP.
Counties must receive approval from CDSS before they can participate in THPP. Currently, 32 counties are THPP approved . There are many other forms of transitional housing services offered to youth in many different counties. For other types of housing information, please refer to the County THPP Contacts listing.
Transitional Housing Program for Emancipated Foster/Probation Youth (THP-Plus)
The CDSS surveyed the State to gather information on emancipating foster/probation youth housing issues. The report, entitled "The Report on the Housing Needs of Emancipated Foster/Probation Youth," indicated that 65 percent of the 4,355 youth who emancipated from foster care during the 2000-2001 fiscal years were in need of safe and affordable housing. To address this problem, Assembly Bill 1119 (Chapter 639, 2002), was passed to assist counties in their efforts to provide housing for this population (THP-Plus). Assembly Bill 824 (Chaptered 2005), raised the age limit for emancipated youth participating in a THP-Plus program to age 24.
Currently, 17 counties are THP-Plus approved and more than 100 housing programs exist statewide for which emancipated foster youth are eligible. For other types of housing information, please refer to the County THPP Contacts listing.
THP-Plus Eligibility
- THP-Plus eligible youth are young adults who have emancipated from foster/probation care and are 18 through 24 years old, and are pursuing the county-approved goals they have developed in the STEP/THP-Plus Transitional Independent Living Plan(TILP) .
- Participation in the THP-Plus is subject to: county participation in the program, the availability of safe and affordable housing and the availability of program providers.
- The maximum time for THP-Plus participation is 24 cumulative months.
THP-Plus Program Models
- Programs certified under these regulations shall be designed to provide a safe and adequate residence and allow participants a maximum amount of independence and self-sufficiency.
- Acceptable residential units include apartments, single family dwellings, condominiums, college dormitories, and host family models.
- Publicly supervised or privately operated shelters, or other living situations including those with friends, family members and others, that provide temporary accommodation are not acceptable.
- Public or private places not ordinarily used as a regular sleeping area are not acceptable and cannot be utilized by a THP-Plus provider as accommodations for emancipated foster youth.
For additional information:
Contact your: County/Provider Transitional Housing Placement Program
Independent Living Program Policy Unit
Child & Youth Permanency Branch
California Department of Social Services
744 P Street, MS 14-78
Sacramento, CA 95814