Discharge & Emancipation
Aging Out and On Their Own

Unfortunately, more youth are leaving Foster Care without a permanent family. Discuss issues facing youth in foster care aging out and being on their own. Examine permanency components and what can be done to create and develop the transitional skills that youth can use to build a stable and supportive environment upon discharge and emancipation from the foster care system. Permanency is the result of a committed adult understanding a youth’s need to be a participant in finding a permanent connection that provides more than housing until emancipation.

Instructor BERNADINE LUCKEY, MSW, LCSW, is the Director of the Foster & Kinship Care Education Program for the CCSF Child Development Department. She holds accredited certificates as an Integrated Studies Specialist and Alcohol & Other Drugs Counseling. She has provided education, training, consultation, and counseling to individuals, agencies, schools, and communities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area for over 15 years. She has developed a complete set of well-balanced programs and workshops that provide valuable information essential for today’s complicated world. She has coordinated and implemented programs for the San Francisco Superior Court, SF Police Department, SF Unified School District, SF Public Heath Department, Oakland Public Schools, Community Substance Abuse Services, The National Council on Alcoholism, Youth Guidance Center, Family Service Agency, Department of Human Services, San Francisco Child Abuse Agency, California Childcare Resource and Referral Network, Children’s Council of San Francisco, Low Income Housing Fund, Professional Development Initiative, San Francisco City College, Contra Costa College, Merritt/Peralta College, local hospitals, and the faith community. Her teaching style is inclusive, nonjudgmental, and pragmatic.