Occupation Based Program for African American Crossover Youth Aging Out of Foster Care

Unique challenges and differences surround the population of African American crossover youth and how they successfully transition into adulthood once aged out of foster care as compared to same-aged peers (Kim et al., 2019). The problem is that African American crossover youth aging out of the foster care system, are not receiving occupation-based transitional services focusing on IADLs required for adulthood independence resulting in increased prevalence of homelessness (Armstrong-Heimsoth et al., 2020; Flores et al., 2018; Kelly, 2020; Paul-Ward & Lambdin-Pattavina, 2016; Pérez et al., 2019). The purpose of this program development type project is to develop and implement an occupation-based transitional program for African American crossover youth aging out of the foster care system focused on IADLs required for adulthood independence, decreasing the prevalence of homelessness. An occupation-based program is essential in providing more programs for youth during those transitional ages to increase self-sufficiency into adulthood. The occupation-based program focusing on IADLs and health management, #Adulting, was successful based on the positive feedback from each activity.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesfall2021/1029/thumbnail.jp