The purpose of this study was to explore and describe ways foster care caseworkers help foster youth transition to adulthood successfully. Data was collected using qualitative interviews , with four professionals who have experience with foster youth aging out of the foster care system. (MSW Clinical Research Paper; St. Catherine University / University of St. Thomas)
The Texas Youth Permanency Study calls into question the premise that legal permanency is necessarily sufficient – and offers an alternative model for success. Anyone who has a formal or informal role in a young person’s life, including teachers, caseworkers, therapists and foster parents, can provide the authentic relationships youth need to succeed after leaving foster care.
This paper reviewed the literature on the challenges faced by these former foster youth, namely relationships, well-being, substance use, education, employment and finances. Limitations of this extant research are noted along with directions in future research on programs designed to facilitate these former foster youth’s transition. Lastly, real-world implications of the findings are discussed. (Modern Psychological Studies; Loyola University)
This summary presents a review of the literature on the transition of youth with disabilities from the foster care system, and findings from a small case study conducted on a transition program in a foster care agency. (Literature Review, Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare)
The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of the Extended Foster Care (EFC) Program in meeting the needs of emancipating foster youth by assisting them in becoming self- sufficient prior to emancipating out of the foster care system. (California State University, San Bernardino)
This is the first study to date that has examined the experience of former foster youth, the aging out process, and their experiences of hope through the lens of positive youth development, which holds that contexts can be altered to improve youth outcomes, and how such changes in context may actually create changes within the person. (Union Institute & University)
The purpose of this study was to explore what social workers are doing to help youth age out of the foster care system. This research project gathered data in a qualitative study from social workers and how they help youth gain the needed skills to achieve self-sufficiency before they age out at age twenty-one. (MSW Thesis, University of St. Thomas…
This qualitative study used intensive interviews to explore the trajectory of a small number of youth who have transitioned out of foster care, outlining the social, economic and psychological barriers they faced while also charting the attitudes, behaviors and experiences that allowed them to successfully exit the foster care system and move toward productive adult lives. (University of Pennsylvania Dissertation)
This review summarizes state policies that promote teen permanency and identifies barriers that hinder the permanent connection of teens through reunification, adoption, or guardianship. (National Center for Youth Law)
The authors, seasoned and experienced group workers and researchers with youth leaving the child welfare system, will present a conceptual framework and set of practices for helping youth gain those life skills essential to effective transition and independence. The article addresses key concepts such as life skills, the nature of transition, and independence, its requirements and its support. (Journal: Residential…