Ohio Youth in Transition Support Program

OVERVIEW

The Ohio Youth in Transition Support Program is a pilot intervention model currently being developed by Alvin Mares, Trish Mares, Chelsea Jaruwannakorn, and others to assist low-income, independent young adults (ages 18-29) residing or working in Chillicothe and Columbus, Ohio, to attain post-secondary education and/or vocational training. 

This zero-budget program utilizes existing community resources and local professional and lay volunteers within each of these communities to provide case management, group support, and mentoring for young adults who have emancipated from foster care, been released from the corrections system, experienced homelessness during their youth, received public assistance, etc. and whose birth parents or other relatives are unable to provide the assistance and support typically provided to young adults. 

Building upon the preliminary needs assessment findings from a needs assessment study conducted by Dr. Mares in 2008 in Toledo, Ohio, and in response to Phase 1 of the project in Columbus in 2009, Phase 2 of the project involves the development, implementation, and evaluation of a multi-dimensional pilot intervention in urban Columbus and rural Chillicothe over a 4-year period (2010-2014) for this vulnerable population of low-income independent young adults.  Click here for a detailed description of the pilot intervention model current being developed, implemented, and evaluated during Phase 2 of the project (2010-2014).  A preliminary conceptual framework has been developed to guide this work. 

Solution-focused principles and techniques identified during Phase 1 of the project will be developed and integrated into the mentoring, support group, and case management components of the OYIT intervention over time, in consultation with the Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Association (SFBTA).