Youth transitioning out of foster care and into adulthood need many supports to navigate the challenges they face. Over the past three decades, federal child welfare policy has significantly increased the availability of those supports. In 1999, the Foster Care Independence Act amended Title IV-E of the Social Security Act to create the Chafee…

Youth transitioning out of foster care and into adulthood need multiple supports to navigate the challenges they face. Over the past three decades, federal child welfare policy has significantly increased the availability of those supports. In 1999, the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program was created, increasing the amount of funds potentially…

The "Youth Villages Transitional Living Evaluation" is testing whether the "Transitional Living" program, operated by the social service organization Youth Villages, makes a difference in the lives of young people with histories of foster care or juvenile justice custody. The program, which was renamed "YVLifeSet" in…

The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 ("Fostering Connections Act") fundamentally changed the nature of federal support for young people in state care by extending entitlement funding under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act to age 21 beginning in FY2011. While the Fostering Connections Act provides…

Although they make up a relatively small proportion of all children in the U.S. foster care system, foster youth approaching adulthood have over the years attracted considerable attention from policymakers. Three times in the past 25 years the Social Security Act has been amended to try to better support the transition to adulthood for foster…

This article presents early descriptive findings on youths and their experiences in the first 12 to 18 months after leaving foster care as part of the state of Wisconsin's Foster Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study. Findings suggest that the transition to independence is a difficult time for youth leaving the out-of-home care system. (Author/SD)