Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

September/October 2011Vol. 12, No. 7Transition Planning With Adolescents

The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 requires States to help youth develop a plan for transitioning to independent living during the 90 days before they leave foster care. To help States and agencies with the requirement, the National Resource Center for Youth Development (NRCYD) recently produced a new resource, Transition Planning With Adolescents: A Review of Principles and Practices Across Systems. The monograph includes a review of the literature identifying key elements of transition planning for youth not only in child welfare, but also in special education, mental health, and juvenile justice, as well as in other countries. A number of themes emerge from the literature review, and four successful practices are highlighted:

  • The Transition to Independence Process system
  • Person-centered planning
  • Fostering self-determination
  • Building resiliency

Programs in six States, some identified in an NRCYD national survey, are characterized as excelling in transition planning and briefly described.

This monograph was written by Dianna Walters, Marty Zanghi, Dorothy Ansell, Eprise Armstrong, and Kathy Sutter and is available on the NRCYD website:

http://www.nrcyd.ou.edu/publication-db/documents/transition-planning-with-adolescents.pdf (917 KB)