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May 2011Vol. 12, No. 4How Policymakers Can Help Youth Transitioning From Foster Care

Youth transitioning out of foster care face a number of challenges on their path to adulthood. A new web-based tool, Support Youth Transitioning From Foster Care, is designed to help policymakers identify the best approaches to help these youth make successful transitions. The tabbed format offers information and resources under five headings:

  • What results do you want? discusses the key elements youth need to succeed in life in terms of priorities and indicators.
  • How are your kids? provides access to State-level data on youth in foster care and discusses trends, root causes, projections, and targets.
  • What works? links to different strategies for success, as well as research supporting specific strategies and a success story in Iowa.
  • How can you ensure success? discusses implementation and accountability and links to a checklist and video.
  • How can you sustain success? talks about financing and investing in results and how to pay for them.

Leadership and vision are important to the success of the project. The goal is to invest in policies and practices that lead to better outcomes for youth while pursuing creative financing strategies that draw from local, State, Federal, and private resources.

Support Youth Transitioning From Foster Care is available on the PolicyforResults.org website, which is a project of the Center for the Study of Social Policy:

www.policyforresults.org/Topics/2008/Preparing-Youth-to-Succeed-In-Life/Support-Youth-Transitioning-From-Foster-Care/Transition-Aged-Youth/Executive-Summary.aspx