Resources
Youth Aging Out of Foster Care: Identifying Strategies and Best Practices (PDF)
This issue brief from the National Association of Counties outlines the current federal framework addressing youth aging out of foster care, identifies general outcomes for these youth, and spotlights model county programs and best practices that show innovation in how to address the needs of this population.
Getting Beyond the Foster Care System: What Works for Teens
The Youth Advocacy Center (YAC) program teaches self-advocacy and goal-setting to empower teens to take on responsibility for planning for their futures. In the wake of New York Times coverage spotlighting the struggles of New York City's foster care agencies, this interview with Betsy Krebs highlights what works to help teens aging out of foster care succeed.
Aging Out of the Foster Care System to Adulthood: Findings, Challenges, and Recommendations
This report documents the research conducted by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Health Policy Institute on the unmet needs of youth aging out of the foster care system. The reserach consisted of a literature review, a telephone survey (with 800 social workers), and listening sessions with youth and stakeholders in the foster care systems in three cities (Jacksonville, FL; Houston, TX; and Chicago, IL). The full report based on these findings is available for downloading from the Joint Center Web site.
When Should the State Cease Parenting? Evidence from the Midwest Study
Foster youth allowed to remain in care past age 18 are more likely to go to college than those who exit at 18, according to a new Chapin Hall study. The most comprehensive examination of youth leaving foster care since the passage of the 1999 Foster Care Independence Act, the study found that extending care might also increase earnings and delay pregnancy. However, when compared to adolescents not in foster care, youth aging out of the child welfare system are faring poorly as a group.
Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth
This report is a prospective study following a sample of young people in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois as they make the transition from foster care to early adulthood. It provides a comprehensive picture of how foster youth are faring during this transition since the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 became law. The Midwest Study examines the experiences of these young people across a variety of domains, including living arrangements, relationships with family of origin, social support, receipt of independent living services, education, employment, economic well-being, receipt of government benefits, physical and mental health, health and mental health care service utilization, sexual behaviors, pregnancy, marriage and cohabitation, parenting, and criminal justice system involvement.
Support Services Available to Foster Care Youth and Juvenile Offenders: Are They Sufficient to Transition Youth into Adulthood? (PDF)
Literature has demonstrated the increased attention paid to adolescents involved in juvenile courts in recent years. This article describes the characteristics of foster care youth and juvenile offenders, as well as the services available to both groups, comparisons between the groups, and progress and service improvement proposals. proposed improvements to services.
The Finance Project Connected by 25 Information Resource Center for Youth Transitions Initiatives
This site provides links to resources on research, best practice, policy and funding as well to organizations working on issues affecting youth in care. It includes resources that specifically address youth aging out of foster care, as well as more general youth resources that can inform the development of supports for youth transitioning from care.
Life in the Hood: Handbook for Transitioning Teens (PDF)
Prepared by the Orphan Foundation of America
This handbook is a roadmap for older teens and young adults transitioning to living on their own. It includes practical advice on housing, transportation, finances, nutrition and health, as well as workplace and college tips.
HHS Actions Would Help States Prepare Youth in the Foster Care System for Independent Living (PDF)
This report from the Government Accountability Office is primarily based on their 2004 report on the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 (FCIA) with updated information from 2007 testimony on state child welfare challenges. States and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have taken action to fulfill the accountability provisions of FCIA, but little information is available to assess program outcomes. ACF started developing an information system in 2000 to monitor state performance, but final regulations directing states to begin collecting data and tracking outcomes are still pending. ACF is also conducting evaluations of selected independent living programs, but results are not yet available.
Transitioning from Foster Care: An experiential Activity Guidebook (PDF)
Prepared by the the Institute for Public Sector Innovation, Edmund S. Muskie School of Publlic Service, University of Southern Maine
State Policies to Help Youth Transition Out of Foster Care (PDF)
Prepared by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices
Foster Youth Employment Forums (PDF)
Prepared by New Ways to Work and Child and Family Policy Institute of California
Making the Child Welfare System Work for Older Children
Audio recording sponsored by the Chapin Hall Center for Children
Connected by 25: Financing Entrepreneurship Programs for Youth Transitioning Out of Foster Care (PDF)
Prepared by The Finance Project
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