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When you leave foster care at age 18 or older, state law requires that you have a trial independence period of at least six months, though the judge can approve up to 12 months. Your caseworker is supposed to ask the judge to order a 12-month trial independence period. During this period you may live independently and receive transitional living benefits such as the Transitional Living Allowance, Aftercare Room and Board, Education and Training Voucher (which you can even get while you are in foster care), transition support services, and Former Foster Care Children’s (FFCC) Medicaid.
Whether or not you are still in trial independence, you will have the option to return to extended foster care if you meet the rules and a placement can be found for you. Your CPS court case stays open during trial independence. While you can return to extended foster care after trial independence ends, the court case will probably be closed. If the court case is closed, it may make it more difficult to get court assistance and oversight if you are having problems getting transitional services. See Extended Court Jurisdiction for more information.
Leaving foster care to go to college and live in the college’s dorm is an example of trial independence. If you come back to extended foster care during the summer, you are out of trial independence and back in extended foster care. When you leave again for college in the fall, your trial independence period starts over.
Trial independence can sound confusing—just keep in mind that it is a way of helping young adult foster youth return to extended foster care and get extra help as they transition to independence. Returning to extended foster care during trial independence allows CPS to get financial support from the federal government to pay for extended foster care services, but you should not be limited from returning to extended foster care after your trial independence ends if you are eligible and a placement is available. If you decide you don’t want to be in extended foster care and don’t want any assistance beyond the benefits available to young adults who have aged out of foster care, nothing will happen. You don’t have to do anything except take the necessary steps to receive the benefits and services you want.