WHAT DOES A YEAR WITH CARE4U LOOK LIKE?
Weekly group meetings at school are at the heart of our program. A trained CARE4U Project Facilitator meets with students at least once each week throughout the entire school year, usually during one lunch/study period.
Fall Semester
Relationship Education — 10 lessons
During the fall semester students learn about building and maintaining healthy relationships through the Love Notes curriculum. Some of the topics covered in Love Notes include:
- Knowing yourself (your personality, desires, expectations, and baggage) is the starting point for building a healthy relationship.
- Understanding the science behind romantic relationships – the importance of understanding what goes on in your brain in the early stages of a relationship and how it may impact decision making.
- Recognizing the differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships, including a discussion on dating violence.
- Learning how to communicate well and handle conflict in relationships.
CARE4U Youth Conference – This fall event brings together students from all CARE4U sites. Participants enjoy key note speakers and local professionals who share their own stories and resources on smart, healthy relationship choices and their impact on life satisfaction.
Family Nights – Fun events for family members, friends, significant others, etc. to join students and find out what they are learning during CARE4U sessions. Family nights are held twice each semester. We provide dinner and the whole family is invited to come for activities and games!
Spring Semester
Our Road to Success sequence of sessions includes:
Job Readiness — 6 lessons
During the spring semester students learn skills that can help them explore options, apply and interview, then succeed at keeping any job. They will be able to use this information in their future careers or immediately if they decide to participate in a summer youth employment program through CARE4U or a school district program!
Students will:
- Use information learned about transferrable skills, job applications, & interviews to create a resume.
- Engage in a variety of activities that will help them see things from an employer’s point of view, which will help them discover for themselves traits employers value most.
- Develop an “elevator speech” about themselves and have the opportunity to participate in a mock interview.
Money Management — 4 lessons
During the spring semester students also learn how to make smart decisions with their money. They will:
- Discover what drives their spending choices – beliefs, expectations, desires, emotions, and personality.
- Participate in hands-on activities that will help them think through money choices they will have to make in the future.
- Develop a spending plan using SMART goals.
Spring Career Event – Brings together students from all of our sites to put into action some of the skills they have learned during CARE4U job readiness lessons.
Summer Opportunities
Students who complete 100% of the relationship education, job readiness, and money management sessions will be eligible for ONE of the following options:
1. Summer Employment – CARE4U facilitators continue to offer case management, support and coaching for students placed at one of our summer part-time work sites or working with the school districts’ summer youth employment programs.
2. Parkland Tuition Reimbursement – Eligible students may take one three hour class at Parkland the summer after completing the program. CARE4U staff will assist in the application, assessment, and enrollment process and will meet with the students to help insure success. CARE4U covers tuition and fees.
FEEDBACK SESSIONS
We want to know if our program works for our students! Throughout the year, they have the opportunity to participate in feedback groups through Illinois State University to talk about relationships, work, and finances. Some of the sessions include answering questions on an iPad using a secure, private log-in. Student and family privacy is protected. Groups also meet with two ISU professors and grad students who listen to their thoughts and comments about CARE4U to help us determine how effective the CARE4U program is and decide if any changes need to be made. Students are not identified by name during these discussions.
Students who are minors must have parent/guardian consent to participate in feedback sessions. They receive gifts each time they participate.
Funding for CARE4U is provided by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Grant: #90FM0076. These services are available to all eligible persons, regardless of race, gender, age, disability, or religion.