Preparing foster youth for adulthood: A knowledge-building perspective

Abstract

The task of preparing foster youths for the transition to adulthood is receiving increased attention. The independent-living movement within the child welfare system is relatively new. State and local programs are in the developmental stage, and research in all areas is sorely needed. The aim of this special issue is to cut across a segment of current research activity in the area of foster youth independence and to lend perspective to a future research agenda. The child welfare practice community has, for many years, been aware that significant numbers of young people in outof-home placement are teenagers. Nearly a decade ago, Homby and Collins (1981) estimated that fewer than 5% of the adolescents in placement were likely to be placed for adoption, that the odds of reunification with own parents were less than 1 in 5, and that each year thousands of adolescent wards simply age-out of the placement system on or about age 18. Many are discharged without a plan, without resources, and lack preparation for making it on their own. At the present time, most independent living programs, services, and interventions remain untested and the child welfare system is uncertain about how to best prepare foster wards for self-support and responsible adulthood. Fortunately, the child welfare community now has an ally in the form of federal legislation which established a national level independent living program to help foster youths to emancipate from the placement system. In 1986, Title IVE Section 477 of the Social Security Act was enacted under the leadership of Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (DN.Y.) and Representative Robert Matsui (D-CA.) and colleagues in the House of Representatives. Congress authorized $45 million to provide independent living services to foster adolescents ages 16 to 18. In 1993 the federal independent living program attained permanent status as an entitlement. The current funding level for this program is $70 million. An identifiable nucleus of national and state level leadership is emerging in