New Pathways, Inc.
Independent Living Program for Maryland's Youth

 Home  |  Programs  |  Services  |  Upcoming Events  |  Employment  |  Directions  |  Links  |  Contact Us

Independence Plus

Independence Plus is a apartment-housed, community-based,  semi-independent living program for foster care male and female youth between the ages of seventeen and twenty-one. The program provides housing, individualized case management services, 24-hour support, supervision by trained life-skills counselors, independent living skills and job readiness trainings to help youth in the transition from adolescence to adulthood. New Pathways developed the Independence Plus program in response to the need fro continued care for foster care youth over the age of eighteen who could not return home or did not have the skills to live on their own. Each youth receives life-skills assessments and participates in developing an individual service plan for participation in school, work, and life-skills training. As youth approach the end of their stay, they are able to move to a less- restrictive setting. At that point, they can have their own apartment in convenient locations to their lives, and begin paying their own bills.

Each client is assigned a Case Manager who is responsible for coordinating program activities. A service agreement and transition plan are executed between the client, Independence Plus, and the placing agency representative. The emphasis of transition plan is placed on school, training programs, employment, program rules, and other therapeutic requirements. Services are geared toward enabling youth to become self-sufficient, productive, and responsible adults.

The agency employs a team of Life Skills Counselors supervised by the Director of Training and Vocational Services. Their responsibilities is to provide routine supervision and teach life skills. The Life Skills Counselors cover each complex twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week. Life Skills Counselors who are awake-overnight are responsible for visiting each apartment nightly to check whether the client is in the apartment, to check for unauthorized guests, and to check on the condition of the apartment. Two counselors make these rounds together.

Life-Skills & Job-Readiness Training Programs

In an effort to prepare youth for the demands of adult living, New Pathways provides a comprehensive Life Skills Training Program.  The goal of this program is to provide the youth with training in the following life skills areas:

There are also other specialized sessions that are developed to cater to individual needs.  New Pathways utilizes its community-based apartments to provide real-life practice of targeted life skills areas.  Trained Life Skills Counselors implement the training and establish mentoring relationships with the youth, thereby building trust and creating an open line of communication.

New Pathways employs a Director of Training and Vocational Services who assists clients who are employed or seeking employment. The Director also assesses vocational skills and teaches job readiness skills.

The Vocational Services component at New Pathways consists of six basic elements that assist youth with establishing and maintaining goals to achievement. 

Each client meets with a Vocational Counselor to tailor an individual vocational service plan that identifies short-term and long-term vocational goals.  Each youth must be in pursuit of a vocational goal as part of the requirement of the program.