This study uses a social exclusion framework to examine associations between independent living service receipt, adjudication status, and early adult outcomes for youth aging out of the U.S. foster care system. (Journal of Youth Studies)
One notable exception is the growing number of campus support programs for young people making the transition out of foster care. Although each program is unique, they typically provide an array of financial, academic, social/emotional, and logistical (e.g., housing) supports to help former foster youth stay in school and graduate. They are currently concentrated in California or Washington State and are supported, at least…
We found that youth who aged out of care had significantly higher odds of graduating high school and enrolling in college than did reunified youth and youth who exited to guardianship, and they had similar odds as adopted youth. Earnings were similar across groups. Among aged-out (but not reunified) youth, odds of high school graduation and average earnings were higher…
This article contributes to the field by highlighting effective approaches to staying connected with (i.e., recruiting, relocating, and retaining) youth participants in longitudinal research studies. Two hundred ninety-four youth in the Southeastern United States participated in a longitudinal research study about their experiences as they transitioned out of foster care. Two years later, 80% of eligible participants from the baseline…
This report presents findings from the CalYOUTH Wave 3 Youth Survey. CalYOUTH (the California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study) is an evaluation of the impact of the California Fostering Connections Act on outcomes during foster youth’s transition to adulthood. CalYOUTH includes collection and analysis of information from three sources: (1) transition-age youth, (2) child welfare workers, and (3) government program data.
To help inform targeted interventions and exit planning, this report begins to identify key risk and protective factors associated with criminal justice involvement (arrests and jail bookings) among youth transitioning to adulthood, the year after aging out of foster care.
Due to the emergence of rich personal narratives within recent research, the purpose of this paper is to review and to explore the experience of transition from care and consider how these accounts can inform care services.
This issue brief identifies key elements to quality child welfare case planning for young adults in extended care. It makes a clear case for rethinking traditional approaches, starting early and empowering youth to take the planning lead. It is a product of Success Beyond 18, a national campaign by the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative aimed at forging a better path…
This issue brief explores the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative’s (JCYOI) experience in developing and implementing youth leadership boards. It includes the perspectives of young people in foster care and the adults engaged with them.
This issue brief outlines how child welfare agencies can support both strong youth-adult partnerships and authentic youth engagement. The end goal is simple: Help young people in foster care become meaningfully invested — and connected — as they move toward adulthood.