Independent Living Skills Assessment

Before you are 14 and a half or within six months of entering foster care if you are older than 14, a PAL staff must complete a life skills assessment with you. The assessment is called the Casey Life Skills Assessment. It determines how much you know about the different things you will need to do to take care of yourself when you live on your own. You will be asked questions about buying groceries, managing money, taking the bus, and more. Someone who knows you well, such as a foster parent, staff person at your placement, or your caseworker also has to fill out an assessment about you.

The assessment will help you, your caregiver, and your caseworker determine your readiness to live independently, what your strengths are, and where you need more training and experience—such as developing money management skills, cooking and cleaning skills, and job skills. You should use this as an opportunity to figure out what else you need to learn so you will be prepared to live on your own. Your caseworker is supposed to update your records each year to show what skills you have learned and what skills you still need to work on.