Our organization is passionate about identifying creative solutions that lead to more youth in Virginia’s foster care system becoming licensed drivers. We believe youth in care deserve equitable access to this important pathway to independence. In an effort to identify solutions, we compiled a report (printable version linked in blue button below) on the complex barriers as it relates to the licensing process and youth impacted by the foster care system. We are excited to work with others who are passionate about identifying solutions.
Solutions:
We are beginning to identify creative solutions to the most common challenges youth in foster care of their case managers face during the licensing process! Here are a few that might help:
Proof of Legal Residency Challenges: A common challenge is that youth in foster care do not have TWO proofs of their Virginia residency and DMV employees frequently won’t access the placement agreement. Here is a list of the documents that DMV will accept for proof of legal residency. Notice that one is a certified copy of school records/transcript or official report card issued within the last year by a school accredited by a U.S. state, jurisdiction or territory. In most cases, you should be able to get an official transcript from a school the youth has attended in the past year. A secondary proof of residency can be an official correspondence from a federal, state, or local government agency displaying the applicant’s name and current address OR any postmarked United States Postal Service (USPS) mail displaying the applicant’s name and current address. DMV has confirmed that the social worker can write a letter to the youth on DSS letterhead and an official DSS envelope that should suffice as this secondary proof of legal residency. This letter can be as simple as “Hi, Chad: Our next worker visit is June 25, 2022. See you then. Sincerely, Shavone Toms”. Note that you CAN NOT write: I am a social worker certifying that the youth lives as ABC address. Any official correspondence should suffice but you are not able to state that you are confirming their address in the body of the correspondence.
45 Hour “Guided Practice” Driving Requirement Challenges: A common challenge for youth in care to obtain their driver’s license is that they are unable to complete the 45 hour “guided practice” requirement because they don’t have anyone that will allow the youth to use their care and supervise these hours. We know that agency staff are unable to use their work vehicles for this task and most group home staff have the same barriers. One possible solution for youth in a foster home with a foster family who is wiling but hesitant to supervise these hours is to pay for the cost of “driving lessons” from an approved drivers training school. One solution is to contact a local driver’s training school who offers driving lessons to do the first portion of these hours. The youth would use the training school’s car for these first hours and the foster parent could even accompany the youth and instructor to assess their comfortability with completing the rest of the hours. The idea is that after the first set of hours (5,10,15) is completed in an agency-owned car and the foster parent (or other supportive person/caregiver) will feel more comfortable with completing the subsequent hours! Request Chafee funding or CSA funding to pay for the cost of the lessons!
Knowledge Exam “Learner’s Test” Failure Challenges: Do you work with a young person who has had trouble passing the learner’s permit test or has academic challenges that may make this test harder? One private provider has contracted with a local driver’s education school who provides a pre-test course to give these youth a better shot at passing this test! Consider requesting funding to pay for the cost of this course through CSA or Chafee funds. Additionally, the DMV website has a lot of good resources for the Knowledge Exam including practice tests and online modules. The driver’s license manual can be accessed here.
Insurance Challenges: There are quite a few barriers to insuring kids in foster care although we are told it can be done! Several local insurance brokers have shared that Progressive is an insurance provider more likely to offer a policy to a minor child. Are you a case manager, social worker or foster parent running into challenges with insurance? You may be surprised to learn that the Bureau of Insurance with the Virginia State Corporation Commission is the organization responsible for insurance regulation in Virginia. If you are having trouble with insurance related issue, consider consulting the Consumer Outreach and Education section of their website.