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University of South Carolina

First Voice

First Voice is a collaborative training project between The Center for Child and Family Studies, College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, and The South Carolina Department of Social Services.

First Voice is designed on the philosophy that youths should be heard in planning for their futures, and they can be helped to envision positive futures. This philosophy supports the provisions of the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 and the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. Working with adolescents to accomplish the aims and mandates of the new legislation will require time. Thus, supervisory understanding and support of the law and of the First Voice philosophy and methodology are crucial to the program’s success.

First Voice is divided into three levels: Leading, Listening and Learning Together.

  • Leading, the first of the three training levels of First Voice, is a one-day curriculum designed for supervisors of caseworkers who are concerned with helping foster adolescents prepare for independent living.

  • Listening, the second level of First Voice, is a one-day curriculum developed to help promote both the spirit and the legal mandates of the Foster Care Independence Act 1999 and the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. Listening is designed for professionals who are concerned with helping foster adolescents prepare for independent living.

  • Learning Together, the third of the three levels of First Voice, is a three-day curriculum designed to train facilitators who will guide groups of adolescents in foster care as they prepare for independent living. The nine modules of this curriculum focuses on building relationships with and among youths, and the curriculum moves participants from awareness to application as they practice developing and presenting their own activities can be used with youth.

Project Contact Information

University of South Carolina
College of Social Work
Columbia, SC 29208

Dr. Lois Wright, PI
Center for Child and Family Studies
University of South Carolina
College of Social Work
Columbia, SC 29208
(803) 777-9400
loisw@sc.edu

Anna Skipper
(803) 777-9404
anna.skipper@sc.edu

Curriculum Availability

Curriculum will be released in September of 2004.