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Transitional Living Allowance (TLA)
When you leave foster care, you can receive a $1,000 Transitional Living Allowance (TLA). To get TLA you must:
- Have been in DFPS conservatorship when you turned 18 and are now no longer in foster care and living independently;
- Have been in a paid placement (paid by DFPS or Medicaid) within the 24 months before requesting TLA;
- Have a job or be actively looking for a job (unless you are medically unable to work, which includes receiving SSI), or be in school or a training program;
- Complete at least five hours of the life skills class (also known as the PAL class), one hour of which must be financial management; AND
- Be a U.S. citizen or have legal immigrant status.
You must work with your PAL staff to request TLA. You can’t get more than $500 in a month and can only receive $1,000 total. If you are entering the military or Job Corps, the total benefit is $500. If you have a disability that prevents independent living and are moving into a supervised setting which is paid for by another source, the total benefit is $500.
Aftercare Room and Board Assistance
If you are 18 to 20 years old and aged out of foster care at age 18 or older, then you may be able to get up to $500 per month for rent, utilities, deposits for utilities and housing, and groceries. To qualify you must:
- Be working with your transition support case manager;
- Have a job or be actively looking for a job (unless you are medically unable to work, which includes receiving SSI), or be in school or a training program; AND
- Be a U.S. citizen or have legal immigrant status.
The maximum amount that you can receive under this program is $3,000. Aftercare room and board funds are not an automatic benefit and you will need to show that you have the need. You will not be given cash; the funds will be in the form of gift cards for groceries or payments to landlords or utility companies.
Find CPS requirements for TLA and Aftercare Room and Board in the CPS Handbook sections 10240–56 here.
Foster Youth Housing Voucher Programs
There are housing voucher programs specifically for young adults with foster care experience called the Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) voucher and the Family Unification Program (FUP) voucher. The eligibility requirements for someone to receive an FYI or FUP voucher are that you:
- Spent at least one hour in foster care;
- Are at least 18 years of age and not more than 24 years of age;
- Left foster care or will leave foster care within 90 days; AND
- Are homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless (if you are staying with people because you can’t get an apartment on your own, that qualifies as homeless).
To see if there are FYI or FUP vouchers available in your area, contact your regional youth housing liaison.
If you are eligible for a voucher, you can use it to help pay for an apartment or house that rents for the amount of the voucher. You will have to follow certain rules, meet deadlines, and stay in contact with the public housing agency in order to keep your voucher, so it is very important that you understand exactly what the public housing agency expects you to do. See Public Housing for more information about using vouchers.
The local housing authority will also do a criminal background check. Sometimes housing authorities disqualify an applicant for a minor criminal offense even though it is not a mandatory disqualification. If you are disqualified because of your criminal record, contact the Texas Foster Youth Justice Project at (877) 313-3688 to discuss legal options.
You can find more information about housing options available through DFPS here.