CAN YOU IMAGINE being out on your own at age 18 with no family support? At age 18, many foster children "emancipate" from the foster care system. Instead of celebrating the right to vote, looking forward to high school graduation, and gazing into a bright future, foster youth are faced with daunting challenges. Each year, more than 20,000 young people age out of foster care. 50% were unemployed and 33% were receiving public assistance. Nearly 25% of emancipated youth become homeless 2-4 years after leaving foster care. 27% of the homeless population have spent time in foster care. Approx. 45% of the youth who age out of the foster care system each year will either be emancipated to the streets, or will have such unstable plans that they are likely to be homeless in a very short time. CAN YOU IMAGINE not growing up with any skills required to get a job, without a car to drive to a job, much less a driver's license? 20% of emancipating youth are incarcerated within 18 months of emancipation. Nationwide, over 90% of the young men in prison were either abandoned by their parents, abused, and/or lived in the foster care system. 37% did not finish high school CAN YOU IMAGINE attending four different high schools in 8 months because you keep getting moved from one foster placement to another? CAN YOU IMAGINE how this results in poor academic achievement? Youth in foster care are 44% less likely to graduate from high school, and after emancipation, 40-50 never complete high school. CAN YOU IMAGINE the extra burden of caring for a child as a teenage parent, with no family to serve as support, and with the daunting challenge of impending emancipation at age 18? Over 40% of emancipated foster youth have been pregnant or fathered a child. Females in foster care are six times more likely than the general population to give birth before age 21. 80% of prison inmates have been through the foster care system. Sixty-five percent of the Peace4Kids' participants experience severe family disruption. THE PURPOSE OF THE LIFE SKILLS PROGRAM is to give Peace4Kids teens the skills and necessary tools to live in today's world. The program covers employment, housing, and money management. In addition, we aim to encourage each teen to develop dreams and goals for their own future. We also discuss how to look for a job, write a resume, fill out applications, and what to expect, including how to act, in a job interview. We talk about how to find an apartment, what is important to look for in an apartment and/or roommate, and what the responsibilities are when signing a lease. Finally, we discuss the many aspects of managing your money including budgeting, saving, banking, planning ahead, and tips for saving when shopping. To exercise these skills, the teens role-play job interviews, meetings with prospective landlords, or opening a bank account, to sharpen their skills. In addition, the program offers inspiration, choices and encouragement through Guest Speakers and Field Trips. Guest Speakers talk of their success from their own past experiences of overcoming obstacles, as well as their present circumstances. Field Trips are developed to expose the teens to work and life choices they might not otherwise be aware of. We have visited a variety of places including a college campus, and a film post-production facility. We are committed to field trips for the Peace4Kids children as fun events, exposure to new experiences and the opportunity to learn. We believe that in order for children to have dreams and goals for themselves and their future they need to be exposed to as many experiences as possible. To this end we go to the beach, participate in local beach clean-ups, the swimming pool, camping, snowboarding and sledding, the circus, museums, and science centers. Several times a year we visit the Palos Verdes Art Center. The outings enhance cultural awareness and encourage community service. Children from all walks of life (foster children, one parent families, and low income) need these opportunities to cultivate self-confidence and develop communication skills. Unfortunately, these opportunities are usually unavailable to the Peace4Kids children.

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