
Though the transition to adulthood is a time of great potential for young people, youth who exit foster care face increased barriers to a successful transition. And we know from our collective experience across ACF that youth preparing to leave foster care need intentional supports and resources, so they have the opportunities every young person deserves.
This National Foster Care Month, we want you to consider what you can do to help youth in foster care thrive and realize their full potential. This year’s theme, “Engaging Youth. Building Supports. Strengthening Opportunities.” raises awareness about the important role members from all parts of child welfare and community partners are responsible for when it comes to helping youth leave care with strengthened relationships, holistic supports, and opportunities. It also emphasizes the importance of involving young people early and throughout their time in foster care to help improve their experience while in care and improve long-term outcomes.
Engaging Youth
First and foremost, child welfare professionals must commit to authentic youth engagement. Too often, youth in foster care report they did not have a say in decisions related to their cases or futures. As we prepare youth for independence, we must engage them in their own transition planning. These conversations must begin early in the teenage years, not months before a youth turns 18. Start by having a conversation with youth about their future — what are their goals and dreams and how can you help them realize their full potential? Foster parent, Tanja, shares that she strives for this every time a new child comes into her care. “I let them know when they come through the door that they have a voice, and it will be heard. So, if you have something to say, I'm going to listen.”
Building Supports
Another important component to transition planning for youth is knowing who is on their team and in their village. We must emphasize the positive impact of lifelong connections on long-term wellbeing, and encourage and nurture important relationships, including both kin and those who are not biologically related, to set them up for future success.
Leslie, who spent time in care as a child, emphasizes how important it is for young people to have supportive adults advocating for them. For her, it was a teacher. “Her consistent support and unconditional love over many years allowed me to shed some of my loneliness. I would not be here today if she hadn’t stepped in. But what about the hundreds of thousands of foster kids who don’t have a teacher willing to risk everything to help them? What do those kids get? How will they survive?”
As child welfare professionals, we have a unique opportunity to be champions for children and youth in care. If one person, like Leslie’s teacher, can make all the difference, imagine what a network of supporters can do. Talk to youth about the important people in their lives—grandparents, aunts, uncles, other relatives, and family, friends, teachers, counselors, coaches, and others—and help them maintain those relationships. Also talk to young people about their communities and help them maintain important cultural, religious, and familial ties in those spaces. Look for any opportunities to support community, kin, and family connections.
Strengthening Opportunities
Preparing for the emotional, psychological, and developmental aspects of transitioning to adulthood is difficult in and of itself, but this time is even more critical for youth transitioning from foster care. Many adolescents face challenges in obtaining services, health care and supports they need to thrive, be healthy and realize their full potential. Child welfare professionals can be the bridge, connecting young people to vital resources and information.
Sylvia, another youth formerly in care, secured an apartment of her own after leaving care, thanks to the support of her caseworkers. “I appreciate every worker who has helped me over the years. They have definitely come into my life and given me the support I needed. I now know about so many resources I had no clue I could even receive. I feel that once I age out of my transitional housing program, I will be equipped with the skills and resources to live a full adult life without help or even public assistance.”
Recent federal rules provide new and exciting opportunities to support youth in care. On September 27, 2023, HHS issued a final regulation allowing state and Tribal IV-E agencies to remove barriers for kin caregivers to become licensed foster care providers by adopting separate licensing standards and providing full financial support from the state or Tribe. As we know, research emphasizes the benefits of keeping children with their own relatives when parents are unable to take care of them, highlighting the importance of close connections, preservation of cultural identity, and enhanced placement stability compared to non-relatives. When children go to live with family members, it is most often in emergency situations which may result in unanticipated expenses. Data demonstrate that many relatives who care for their family members are more likely to experience poverty and have higher needs for services and supports—circumstances in which financial support can make all the difference. States can now create a new standard that recognizes when family steps in, they should have a simple and straightforward path to licensure and receiving full financial support.
A second new rule, published just this month, expands access to independent legal representation for children who are eligible for title IV-E foster care, and their parents, kinship caregivers and Indian custodians by allowing state and tribal child welfare agencies to use federal funds to provide legal representation. Many families that come to the attention of a child welfare agency are in the midst of, or recovering from, familial, health, housing, or economic challenges. Research demonstrates that providing independent legal representation to parents and caregivers in civil legal proceedings prevents children from entering foster care and improves rates of reunification when children have been removed from the home. For children in foster care, it may increase the likelihood of reunification and provide a quicker timeframe for achieving permanency. For young adults aging out of foster care, such legal representation may provide access to services and supports needed to achieve permanency and long-term stability.
Engaging youth, building supports, and strengthening opportunities are philosophies that should be woven into our everyday practice. Small actions, like asking about their day and taking the time to listen, can yield big results in that young person’s life. Get informed about resources and services available to youth—and if you aren’t quite sure where to direct them, point them toward someone who can assist. Let’s do everything we can to set them up for success.
Visit the National Foster Care Month campaign page to learn more about youth engagement, transition planning, and relationship building.