Transitioning Vulnerable Youth in the Foster Care System to Responsible Adulthood

1
Transitioning Vulnerable Youth in the Foster Care
System to Responsible Adulthood

• Joint Center for Political Economic Studies
• Health Policy Institute
• Black Administrators in Child Welfare
• Stakeholders Meeting
• Washington, DC
• January 11, 2007

2
Purpose of the meeting

• Share preliminary data and findings
• Elicit from you, the stakeholders, input on our
  project
• Elicit your suggestions for the next steps

3
Overview Of The Presentation

• Purpose of the project
• Project activities
• What we know
• What we dont know
• How you can help us
• Next steps

4
Purpose of the Project

• Identify and examine the issues that have an
  impact on youth who are transitioning out of
  foster care
• Find out who these youth are and what their needs
  are
• Look at the responses of the federal and state
  governments what is being done to achieve
  positive outcomes, and what barriers there are to
  achieving these outcomes
• Offer recommendations based on our analyses

5
Project Activities

• Conduct literature review
• Listen to the issues and concerns expressed by
  the consumers, service providers, and
  stakeholders (survey and listening sessions)
• Identify the gaps in services to this population
• Prepare a report that summarizes our work to
  disseminate to the field

6
What We Know

• Statistics
• 513,000 children were in the foster care system
  (AFCARS Report September 2005).
• 52 (or 269,036) were males.
• 48 (or 243,964) were females.
• 32 (or 166,482) are African American.
• 41 (or 208,537) are White.

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What We Know (Contd)

• 21 (or 100,393) were 16 -20 years of age.
• 56 (or 286,621) of children in foster care were
  more than 10 years of age.
• 28 (or 148,730) are in the system for three
  years or more.

8
What We Know (Contd)

• 2 (or 10,560) were runaways.
• 1 (or 5,570) were in supervised independent
  living.
• 20,000 youth age out of the system each year
  without adoption, reunification, or guardianship.

9
What We Know (Contd)

• Federal Programs
• Independent Living Initiative (Public Law
  99-272)- Title IV-E of the Social Security Act
  (SSA)
• John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program
  of 1999 (CFCIP) Title IV-E of the SSA
• Education and Training Voucher Program (ETV) -
  Promoting Safe and Stable Families Amendments of
  2001

10
What We Know (Contd)

• Federal Programs (contd)
• Transitional Living Program ( Family and Youth
  Services Bureau Runaway and Homeless Youth
  Program - Public Law 106-71)
• Medicaid Amendment (Foster Care Independence Act
  1999 requires a state match)

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What We Know (Contd)

• Examples of State Programs
• Florida
• Road-to-Independence Scholarship
• Transitional Funding
• After care Funding
• Texas
• Preparation for Adult Living Program (PAL)
• Transitional Medicaid
• ETV Program
• Transitional Resource Action Center (TRAC)-Dallas
• DFPS /Texas Workforce Commission Partnership

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What We Know (Contd)

• Examples of State Programs
• Illinois
• Chafee Independence Program
• Education and Training Voucher (ETV)
• Educational Access Project
• Alternative Schools Network (ASN)
• Jane Adams Hull House

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What We Know (Contd)

• Other State Programs
• New York Section 8 Priority Code Program
• North Carolina Links
• The Achievement Independence Center of
  Philadelphia (AIC)

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What We Know (Contd)

• In spite of federal and state programs, many
  vulnerable youth do not transition to healthy and
  productive adulthood because they.
• Do not complete high school or GED.
• Suffer from physical health problems.
• Suffer from chronic mental health problems.
• Are involved in crime.
• Are frequently homeless.
• Are More likely to live in poverty.
• Are Less likely to be employed.
• Are More socially isolated.

15
What We Dont Know

• What are the barriers to effective transitioning
  to adulthood for vulnerable youth in foster care?
  Do these barriers relate primarily to service
  delivery?
• Are any of the barriers to the effective delivery
  of services to vulnerable youth in foster care
  unique to them as a group? If so, how and why?
• Does the form of service delivery affect the type
  and quality of services received by vulnerable
  youth in foster care?

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What We Dont Know (Contd)

• Does guardianship pose a barrier to receipt of
  services by vulnerable youth in foster care, more
  often than for other youth in the system?
• What features of the promising programs
  identified are responsible for helping vulnerable
  youth in foster care reach responsible adulthood?
• How does the foster care experience differ for
  male and female vulnerable youth?

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How You Can Help Us With This Work

• Share what you know (for example, promising
  practices)
• Give us your advice about special concerns or
  issues that should be considered
• Provide feedback on the project tasks
• Suggest methodologies to employ or programs to
  assess

18
Our Next Steps

• Conduct listening sessions with stakeholder
  groups, including youth, service providers,
  advocates and others
• Design survey questionnaire and conduct poll to
  assess service delivery systems and effectiveness
• Integrate, analyze, and disseminate the findings