New “Launching Family” Program Announced in Harford County

The Harford County Department of Social Services, in collaboration with the Local Management Board and CASA, is announcing a newly designed resource for kids in Out-of-Home Care between the ages of 18 and 21 who are preparing to age out of the system. “Launching Families” are resource families who will provide a place for a transitional aged youth to live as well as mentoring and life-skill building resources in preparation for independence. A “Launching Family” is a tenant/landlord arrangement in a family setting that is individualized and tailored to the life skill and mentoring needs of the youth and was developed in response to the need for in-county resources. Currently, over half of out-of-home placements of Harford County committed kids take place out of county, and this is an attempt to create more resources to serve these children in Harford County.