This dissertation examines the experiences of foster youth as they prepare for life after emancipation from state custody. Every year in the U.S., around 25,000 youth in foster care reach the legal age of emancipation and subsequently leave state’s custody. Colloquially, this transition is known as “aging out”. Although the youth who “age out” are legally considered adults, few are ready to meet the challenges of adulthood independently. These youth are more likely than their same aged peers to end up incarcerated, face unemployment or underemployment, drop out before finishing high school, and experience substance abuse problems or a mental health disorder (Shirk & Stangler, 2005). This study adds to the growing body of knowledge about the experiences of teenaged youth “aging out” of foster care. Though empirical studies have documented challenges facing emancipated youth (Craven & Lee, 2006), very little work has examined the actual experiences of emancipation from the perspective of youth and their guardians. Using illustrative case methodology, this dissertation captures life story perspectives on the experiences of teenaged foster youth and their guardians as they prepare for life after emancipation. A qualitative approach was utilized to provide experiential data to inform the practice standards and program effectiveness associated with the services and supports these youth received while in custody of the State’s Department for Youth and Families. A project of the Vermont Research Partnership, the study was able to utilize logistical and ethical consultation from state agency leaders during the development of methodology. The findings describe and analyze the challenges and successes that youth in foster care encounter as they prepare for life after emancipation. Interview data with youth, guardians and service providers highlighted themes related to preparedness including the barriers to youth perceptions of adulthood, the ubiquity of trauma experiences, the cost of staff turnover, the importance of long term relationship, and the “pull” of the biological family. The results of the study reveal a complex intertwining of personal, familial and systemic issues that converge to hinder preparedness for independent living despite the determined efforts of foster parents, service providers, families and the youth themselves. The study suggests areas for future research as well as policy recommendations related to service provision for teenaged youth in custody as well as emancipated youth.

This study used the conceptual framework of emerging adulthood to explore the following question: “What are the post-care housing experiences of youths who have transitioned from care through the Independent Living with Supports (ILS) program offered by MacDonald Youth Services (MYS)?” In order to answer the research question, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten youths who had aged out of care through the ILS program. Six service providers who worked with youth in and from care in various capacities and from various agencies were also interviewed. Content analysis was used to analyze the interview data. The youths’ housing experiences were characterized by multiple moves post-care, including homelessness in the case of seven youth participants. These findings mirror the literature. In addition, none of the youth participants indicated they were successfully connected to formal supports prior to leaving care... / May 2016

This study examined former foster youth’s perceptions of the skills and services they received while they were in the foster care system. More specifically the efficacy of these services, and what services and skills they believed would have been helpful to assist them in their transition into independent living. A qualitative design was used, and semi-structured face-to-face and telephone interviews were conducted with ten former foster youth who aged out of foster care at age eighteen through twenty-one. Two males and eight females from diverse backgrounds participated in this study. Participants were recruited through availability and snowball sampling at community agencies, college campuses, and the community. This study found that participants experienced a difficult time transitioning from foster care to independent living, felt unprepared after leaving foster care, needing additional services, and expressed wanting to have received more in depth financial management skills. This study recommends providing additional independent living skills, social support, and participation in the Independent Living Program as part of foster youth’s case plan when preparing to transition out of foster care into independent living.

abstract: There are a number of factors known to influence the occurrence of child maltreatment, including parental history of child maltreatment. Youth aging out of the foster care system have been shown to experience a number of challenges associated with the transition to adulthood, including early unintended pregnancy and parenting. However, despite the presumed risks associated with being in foster care and having a history of child maltreatment, very little research has been conducted to examine the parenting attitudes among youth aging out. This study explored the parenting attitudes and parental risk of child maltreatment among youth aging out of foster care in Arizona and examined the relationship between relational support and parenting. Foster youths' parenting attitudes and parental risk of child maltreatment across five constructs: parental expectations, parental empathic awareness of children's needs, beliefs regarding the use of corporal punishment, parent-child roles, and children's power and independence were assessed. Linear regression analyses were conducted to assess the relationship between youths' perceived social support from friends, family, and significant others and their parenting attitudes and youths' current living arrangements and their parenting attitudes. Findings indicate that youth had lower than the median normed sample scores on two out of the five parenting constructs, parental empathic awareness of children's needs and parent-child roles. Overall, 17% of youth in the sample were considered high risk of child maltreatment as parents, while 79% were considered medium risk. Perceived social support from friends was significantly associated with higher scores regarding youths' attitudes about the use of corporal punishment and children's power and independence. Youth living with foster parents had significantly higher scores than youth living on their own across three out of the five parenting attitude constructs. Youth living with relatives had higher scores than youth living on their own on the empathic awareness of children's needs parenting construct. Findings suggest that youth may rely on friends for social support and may develop more nurturing parenting attitudes if residing with foster parents or relatives. Implications for policy, intervention, and practice are discussed.   / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Social Work 2014

Thousands of youth exit Ontario's Child Welfare System (CWS) each year and perform poorly after returning to the community. However, understanding African Canadian youths' perspectives about their experiences and needs was problematic because no outcome data was available in the Canadian database. Using a phenomenological design grounded in a constructivist framework, the purpose of this study was to explore the meaning(s) that African Canadian youth ascribed to positive outcomes on exiting the CWS. A purposeful sample included 10 participants (6 females and 4 males, ranging in age from 19-24). The data collection method was face-to-face interviews with hand coding used to transcribe the data. Inductive analysis of themes and member checking ensured the trustworthiness of the interpretations. The 9 resulting themes related to concerns about their stay in care, as well as readiness for exiting CWS successfully: in-care instability (multiple foster homes and changes), unpreparedness for the transition, counselling/lack of counselling, behavioral management, education, maintaining motivation homelessness, shelter living, extended care connections, Extended Care and Maintenance (ECM), and Youth Voice in decision making. These themes represented issues that African Canadian youth believed would improve transitioning from CWS to independent living, particularly in negotiating community connections and resources. Social change can occur when policy makers and stakeholders acknowledge the problems and special needs of these youth by implementing the resources, services, and supportive programs to assure continuity of care and more successful outcomes.

This research utilized Indigenous methodologies rooted in oral traditions, storytelling practices, and the Medicine Wheel teachings to examine how individuals, families, communities, social workers, and organizations can assist Indigenous youth who are aging-out of foster care and are transitioning into adulthood. The methods of inquiry included five one-on-one Story-Sharing Sessions with Indigenous adults who previously aged-out of care in British Columbia, and two Talking Circles comprised of ten Community Helpers including Elders, Mentors, Educators, and Foster Parents; and fifteen Delegated Aboriginal Agency Social Workers who worked directly and/or indirectly with Indigenous youth in and from foster care. This research was person-centered, strengths-based, and solutions-focused, and re-framed ‘aging-out of care’ terminology as ‘a transition into adulthood’ to honour the sacred life-cycle teachings of the Medicine Wheel. The core aim of this research was to aid in the development of a highly adaptive practical guide and theoretical framework for supporting Indigenous youth in and from care. / Graduate

No description available.

This study investigated the educational outcomes of foster care youth utilizing the Road to Independence, Adopted from DCF, and Relative Caregiver tuition exemptions to pursue enrollment in Florida's state college system during the 2012-2013 academic year. An extensive literature review was conducted to examine the history of foster care, examine a contemporary portrait of the American foster care system, and the adult outcomes of former foster care. Federal and state policies impacting the population, campus support initiatives at colleges nationwide and the concept of resilience were also explored. In conjunction with the Florida Department of Education's Division of Accountability, Research and Measurement, the Florida Department of Children and Families provided access to a dataset compiled by the Community College and Technical Center MIS department. This file contained enrollment information for foster care youth utilizing one of three tuition exemptions to fund their education-related expenses. While all personal identifiers were eliminated prior to sharing the file, information within the document included student age, gender, race/ethnicity, academic discipline, and degree being pursued. Results of this study yielded some statistically significant differences across tuition exemption type. After examining relationships between gender and race/ethnicity and tuition exemption type, no statistically significant results were found. However, statistical significance was found after examining the relationships between academic degree being pursued and academic major/discipline and tuition exemption type. Many factors impact the experiences of foster care youth in the college classroom. These should be considered when developing programming, policy, and support services aimed at encouraging their success.

This study explored the perceptions of former foster youth as a means to analyze the factors that contribute to the positive and negative outcomes of foster youth once aging out of the foster care system. Ten former foster youth were identified for the purposes of understanding how prepared foster youth feel towards aging out and transitioning into adulthood. The study utilized qualitative interviewing for data collection in efforts to gather the information about the experiences of each foster youth. Participants were recruited through San Bernardino County Children and Family Services Extended Foster Care (EFC) unit, as well as the local college- California State University, San Bernardino. Interviews were held for twenty to forty five minutes. Ten participants of various diverse backgrounds provided information about their perceptions and experiences within the foster care system and what factors contributed to how prepared they felt towards exiting the foster care system. All participants were either former or current foster youth between the ages of eighteen years old and thirty-three years old. The sample was comprised of six females, and four males. On average, participants spent 8.87 years in foster care. The total number of placements ranged from one to ten placements. The average number of placements was 4.13. With more foster youth aging out of the system rather than ever reunifying with biological families or gaining permanent placements, researchers explored what factors could enhance the future of foster youth who are increasingly aging out of the foster care system. These four factors were examined for the purpose of exploring the experiences of foster youth’s in regards to: access to effective mental health treatment, educational attainment, independent living programs, and social support from a variety of entities. Researchers presumed that access to these four factors might contribute to the outcome rates of foster youth who have recently and previously aged out of the foster care system. Throughout the interviews questions surrounding these four factors were discussed to examine the perceptions of each of former foster youth. This study’s findings revealed social support as the most influential factor that contributed to how prepared former foster youth felt towards aging out of the foster care system. Although all of the participants identified support amongst their friends throughout their experiences, participants identified social support from caregivers and social workers as the most needed during their experiences within the child welfare system. Most of the participants identified mental health treatment as the least helpful factor during their experience within the foster care system. Many of the participants expressed feeling uncomfortable receiving therapy from professionals they considered strangers, and preferred for support in the form of social workers, caregivers, friends, and individuals who could identify with their experiences. This study’s findings are important to understanding what factors contribute to how prepared foster youth are once aging out of the foster care system. If professionals can identify the factors that contribute to the outcomes rates of foster youth, professionals can then hopefully increase their level of competency to help these foster youth navigate through the foster care system and age out successfully.

The unsatisfactory achievement of adult competency among emerging adults aging out of foster care is well documented. However few studies have examined how development within the child welfare system impacts the ability to achieve competence. In this study, homeless emerging adults who had not aged out of foster care were compared to peers who were homeless and aged out of foster care. The child welfare system is a unique environment with its own policies. In order to better understand the process of development within the child welfare system, the current study used life course developmental theory to understand how the child welfare system affects the development of children and their ability to achieve competencies. Specifically, the role of learned helplessness in influencing the developmental trajectory of children aging out of foster care was examined. The data were collected utilizing participatory action research methods and the use of this methodology among homeless emerging adults is explored. The current study analyzes data collected by the Texas Network of Youth Services. The study examined issues surrounding the transition to adulthood among homeless emerging adults using a participatory action research methodology. The sample included emerging adults 18 to 25 years old who were homeless (n=134). A subset of the sample aged out of foster care. The results indicated that, 1) homeless emerging adults who have not aged out of foster care may be an appropriate comparison group for those who have aged out, 2) homeless emerging adults who aged out of foster care were more likely to have a perception of learned helplessness that may impede their ability to achieve adult competency when compared to those who did not age out of foster care, and 3) despite receiving services to prepare them for adulthood, homeless emerging adults who aged out of foster care had just as much difficulty achieving adult competency as their homeless peers who did not receive these services. Finally, results showed that the use of participatory action research among homeless emerging adults may be a promising approach for future research. Participants expressed feeling empowered and having perceptions that indicated self-efficacy. This indicated that this type of methodology may be promising in altering perceptions of learned helplessness. / text