The second annual Reality Check for Foster Children will take place on Saturday, April 5, at 9 a.m. at Chambliss Center for Children Gymnasium.
The Reality Check exposes teens in foster care to what options will be available to them when they live independently. During the exercise, each student is assigned a family, a job and an income. Then they must make purchases – food, clothing, housing and so on, based on their family demands and wages.
“Asked to make life like decisions concerning the allocation of financial resources between housing, transportation, education and childcare, the students come face to face with the relationship between level of education and income,” Jack Parks, Partnership’s director of Youth Services said. “Many of the kids think they’ll have plenty of money to have it all - rent an apartment, drive a nice car, have designer clothes and have spending money - until they experience the Reality Check. Then they find out that it’s tough out there to pay all your bills on a low income."
Lunch and Door Prizes will be provided. This event is sponsored by Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, Citizen’s Review Panel, Community Advisory Board, Tennessee Alliance for Children and Families – Southeast Region, and Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.
Registration begins at 9 a.m. and the Reality Check will start at 10 a.m. One may also register by calling 423 697-6300, Ext. 136 or 129. The Chambliss Center is at 315 Gillespie Rd, Chattanooga, Tn. 37411.