Helping Former Foster Youth Graduate from College

Campus support programs provide financial, academic, and other types of supports to help former foster youth succeed in college. However, relatively little is known about the impact of these programs on college retention or graduation rates. This study lays the groundwork for an impact evaluation by examining program implementation from two different perspectives. Researchers conducted telephone interviews with the directors of 10 campus support programs in California and Washington State. The interviews covered a variety of domains, including the population served, referral sources and recruitment, the application process, the provision of services and supports, program staff, relationships with stakeholders, and data collection. In addition, participants from 8 of the 10 programs completed a web-based survey that asked about their perceptions of and experiences with the program. The survey included questions about students' demographic characteristics, referral and recruitment, the application process, reasons for participating in the program, services and supports received, unmet needs, contact with staff, and recommendations for improvement. The report concludes with several recommendations for moving forward with a methodologically sound impact evaluation of campus support programs for former foster youth

Employment Needs of Foster Youth in Illinois: Findings from the Midwest Study

Far too many of the young people who age out of foster care in Illinois fare poorly in the labor market during their transition to adulthood. Since the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program was created in 1999, it has been providing states with funds to help foster youth making the transition to adulthood achieve self-sufficiency. A major purpose of the program is to ensure that youth who remain in foster care until age 18 or older "receive the education, training and services necessary to obtain employment." Unfortunately, the limited research that has been done on young adults who "aged out" of foster care has found that their labor market outcomes are generally quite poor. This study describes what Illinois young people told us about their current and prior participation in the labor force, including work-related training or services they received. Throughout the report, we make comparisons between the young people who were under the care and supervision of the juvenile court in Cook County (hereafter referred to as the Cook County sample), and the young people who were under the care and supervision of juvenile courts in other counties (hereafter referred to as the Other Counties sample). Although most had some work experience, they had difficulty staying employed. Moreover, despite the fact that the percentage of young people who were working was greater than the percentage who were not, most of those who were employed were not working at a job that paid a living wage. The Foster Care Independence Act specifically mentions employment-related services and supports as being among the types of assistance that states should use their Chafee funding to provide. At baseline, when these young people were age 17 or 18, only 63 percent reported having received at least one service or support to help prepare them for employment. Unfortunately, the percentage of young people who reported receiving services or supports to prepare them for employment fell over time

Providing Foster Care for Young Adults: Early Implementation of California's Fostering Connections Act

This report examines the planning process for implementing California's Fostering Connections to Success Act, as well as the new law's early implementation. It is based on data collected from in-depth interviews with key informants who played a critical role in passage of the law, in implementation planning, or in early implementation at the county and state level and from focus groups with young people who stood to benefit directly from the legislation. Although extended foster care is likely to look different in different states, California's experience offers many lessons from which other states might learn

Review of Policies and Programs Supporting Youth Transitioning Out of Foster Care

This comprehensive review of policies and programs designed to support youth transitioning out of foster care spans all 50 states and the District of Columbia. As part of the review, Chapin Hall administered a web-based survey of state independent living services coordinators to collect up-to-date information about their state's policies and programs. The survey questions cover a number of domains including: conditions under which foster youth can remain in care after turning 18; provision of independent living and transition services; opportunities for youth to reenter care; and use of state dollars to supplement federal funds from the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. A number of online resources including state independent living program websites, the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Youth Development's State-by-State Fact Pages, and the Transition from Foster Care to Adulthood Wiki were also reviewed. The study was commissioned by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP)

Extending Foster Care to Age 21: Weighing the Costs to Government against the Benefits to Youth

The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 allows states to claim federal reimbursement for the costs of caring for and supervising Title IV-E eligible foster youth until their 21st birthday. This issue brief provides preliminary estimates of what the potential costs to government and the benefits to young people would be if states extend foster care to age 21. The analysis focuses on the increase in postsecondary educational attainment associated with allowing foster youth to remain in care until they are 21 years old and the resulting increase in lifetime earnings associated with postsecondary education. Researchers estimate that lifetime earnings would increase an average of two dollars for every dollar spent on keeping foster youth in care beyond age 18

Fostering Health: The Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and Youth Transitioning from Foster Care

A provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires states to continue to provide health insurance to young people who have aged out of the foster care system until their 26 th birthday. Although the intent of the provision is to mirror the extended coverage available to young adults whose parents have private health insurance, varying interpretations of the provision by states have effectively blocked these youth formerly in foster care from accessing their federally mandated coverage. An estimated 180,000 young people who have aged out of the foster care system are eligible for extended health care coverage. However, only 13 states have made Medicaid coverage available to all former foster youth who reside in their state, regardless of the state in which they aged out. The policy brief provides an overview of the health needs of young people in and aging out of foster care; describes the coverage to be provided to former foster youth via the ACA, the restrictions that have been applied, and the major reason for opposition to coverage; and makes recommendations to legislators and states for removing barriers to access. The brief also highlights the need to ensure that young people have the knowledge and skills to use their health care coverage

Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth: Outcomes at Age 26

The Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth(Midwest Study) is a longitudinal study that has been following a sample of young people from Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois as they transition out of foster care into adulthood. It is a collaborative effort involving Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago; the University of Wisconsin Survey Center; and the public child welfare agencies in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin

Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth

The Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth (Midwest Study) is a prospective study that has been following a sample of young people from Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois as they transition out of foster care into adulthood. It is a collaborative effort involving Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago; Partners for Our Children at the University of Washington, Seattle; the University of Wisconsin Survey Center; and the public child welfare agencies in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin.The Midwest Study provides a comprehensive picture of how foster youth are faring during this transition since the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 became law. Foster youth in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois were eligible to participate in the study if they had entered care before their 16th birthday, were still in care at age 17, and had been removed from home for reasons other than delinquency. Baseline survey data were collected from 732 study participants when they were 17 or 18 years old. Study participants were re-interviewed at ages 19 (n = 603), 21 (n = 591), and 23 or 24 (n = 602). A fifth wave of survey data will be collected when study participants are 25 or 26 years old.Because many of the questions Midwest Study participants were also asked as part of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, it is possible to make comparisons between this sample of former foster youth and a nationally representative sample of young people in the general population. These comparisons indicate that young people who have aged out of foster care are faring poorly as a group relative to their peers across a variety of domains.The Midwest Study also presents a unique opportunity to compare the outcomes of young people from one state (i.e., Illinois) that allows foster youth to remain in care until their 21st birthday to the outcomes of young people from two other states (i.e., Iowa and Wisconsin) in which foster youth generally age out when they are 18 years old. The data suggest that extending foster care until age 21 may be associated with better outcomes, at least in some domains