Abstract Empowerment has been established as an important factor in resilience in adolescence. It has also been deemed critical for youth with emotional and behavioral disorders to achieve successful outcomes across academic, social, and behavioral domains, especially during a major transition. There is currently one measure used to evaluate empowerment in youth with mental health difficulties, yet it is unclear if this is a reliable measure for youth in therapeutic residential care. The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of this measure of empowerment in a sample of youth departing therapeutic residential care (N = 138) and to examine whether or not specific factors contribute to varied levels of empowerment. Findings indicate that the empowerment measure is reliable and valid for use with youth departing therapeutic residential care. Overall, youth report high levels of empowerment at discharge from care. None of the predictors in the three multivariate general linear models were statistically significant. Limitations and implications are discussed. Keywords: empowerment, residential care, aftercare, youth, education, supports, transition ********** While some youth skate through adolescence with little uncertainty, for others, this developmental stage brings about tension and conflict as new found independence, changing peer groups, and pending transitions heighten emotional stress (Scales, Benson, & Roehlkepartain, 2011; Walker, Thorne, Powers, & Gaonkar, 2008). Many studies have evaluated the risks and challenges faced by youth during this period, as well as strategies to prevent high-risk behaviors and improve resilience (Benson, 2006). One common underlying factor identified in the risk, prevention, and resilience literature is the concept of youth empowerment. Empowerment is "... an intentional, ongoing process ... through which people lacking an equal share of valued resources gain greater access to and control over those resources" (Cornell Empowerment Group, 1989, p. 2). Ultimately, higher levels of empowerment increase one's ability to promote positive change, to improve quality of life, make sound decisions, or foster a life-style change that is necessary for achieving success (Curtis & Singh, 1996; Turnbull, Turnbull, Erwin, & Soodak, 2006; Walker, Geenen, Thorne, & Powers, 2009). In the last two decades, researchers have consistently found that youth who have higher levels of empowerment demonstrate better outcomes across academic, social-emotional, health, psychological, and behavioral domains (e.g., Benson, 2006; Holden, Crankshaw, Nimsch, Hinnant, & Hund, 2004; Leffert et al., 1998; Scales, Benson, Leffert, & Blyth, 2000; Scales, Benson, Roehlkepartain, Sesma, & van Dulmen, 2006). These findings seem to be robust across gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (Scales et al., 2000; Scales et al., 2006). Empoiverment in Youth At-Risk One group of youths who consistently demonstrate poor outcomes across academic, behavioral, social, and emotional domains are those with or at-risk of emotional and behavioral disorders (Bradley, Doolittle, & Bartolotta, 2008; Epstein, Nelson, Trout, & Mooney, 2005; Wagner & Newman, 2012). The importance of empowerment in this population is strongly emphasized in the professional literature and in fields that support youth at-risk such as mental health, child welfare, and education (Cooper et al., 2015; Scales et al., 2000; Scales et al., 2011; Scales et al., 2006; Ungar & Teram, 2000; Walker et al., 2008). Across these fields, the general consensus is that youth benefit from taking an active role in managing their mental health, academic, and behavioral needs, and should participate in decision making, service planning, and goal-setting activities that relate to their short- and long-term wellbeing (Garland, Lewczyk-Boxmeyer, Gabayan, & Hawley, 2004; Walker et al. …