Transition-Age Youth (TAY) Life Skills Study Guides

The transition to adulthood is a critical period where young people gain the skills and knowledge they need to become independent and healthy adults. While this period can be difficult for any young person, those who are systems-involved face particular challenges. Youth with lived experience with homelessness, foster care, or other systems often do not have access to the supports, resources, or skill-building opportunities they need for a healthy adult life.

TNOYS has heard from dozens of young adults on the resources that helped or could have helped during the transition to adulthood. Our video highlights some of their stories:

TNOYS developed the Transition-Age Youth (TAY) Life Skills Study Guides to provide systems-involved youth with a comprehensive, central resource to help them in their transition into adulthood and independent living. 

The TAY Life Skills Study Guide covers youth-friendly resources, engaging and interactive activities, and crucial information related to the following topics:

The guides were developed thanks to input from 29 Youth and Young Adults (YYAs) who participated in focus groups. YYAs provided valuable input on their needs as they exited care and the resources, tools, and information that would help them be successful in their transition into adulthood.

Read a summary of the process to develop the TAY guides and input from youth and young adult participants here.

The TAY guides include:

  • Information about housing options and resources for youth who are experiencing homelessness after being in the foster care system,
  • Information about finding local housing, health, and transportation resources,
  • Healthy cooking videos and tutorials,
  • Interactive games that educate about emergency and natural disaster preparedness,
  • Education rights and resources about earning a GED or high school diploma,
  • Information for unaccompanied youth and young adults about how to gain access to ID cards and documents,
  • Free aptitude assessments to help identify youth’s strengths, interests, and career goals,
  • Youth storytelling and interviews related to online safety and protection against exploitation,
  • Social media safety tips,
  • And much more!

We encourage youth-serving providers to share these guides with the youth they serve.

Learn more about the process of creating the guides and elevating the voices of youth in the new report, Updating the PAL Independent Living Study Guides: Listening & Learning from Youth Transitioning into Adulthood.