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

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Influences on Foster Care Reentry Rate looked at demographic and socioeconomic characteristics in each state within the United States. Those characteristics were then studied to see how they related to foster care reentry rates. Then, a case study analysis was conducted on three states, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Tennessee, because of their similarity in demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and divergence in foster care reentry rates. The case analysis was an in depth pursuit of differences in each of the state's policies that may be a driving force of higher reentry rates.

ABSTRACT This is a qualitative study that was conducted in conjunction with San Bernardino County to explore the experiences of you adults in Extended Foster Care. Extended Foster Care is an extension of foster care services offered from age 18 to 21 as a result of the passing of Assembly Bill 12. This study focuses specifically on the experiences of young adults deemed “successful” based upon their enrollment in school, work status, and overall plans for their future. The data was collected through telephone and face-to-face interviews with young adults currently involved with Extended Foster Care in San Bernardino County. The findings of this study indicated that successful young adults tend to demonstrate some level of resiliency and have an overall positive outlook, are self-motivated, have better relationships with their social workers, an overall good understanding of the program and services offered, stable supports, and all participants became involved in EFC immediately following regular foster care. Young adults also expressed a desire for more assistance in gaining work experience. The strengths of this study include the use of open ended questions and triangulation of analyzing data. Limitations of this study include participant self-selection bias and the briefness of the interview that may have not allowed for sufficient time for young adults to reflect intensely on their experiences. Recommendations for future social work policy, practice, and research based on the findings of this study include extending foster care services beyond age twenty-one, the importance of social workers roles in young adult clients’ lives, and the need for continued, more intensive research.

There has been extensive, mostly negative research on the outcomes of foster care youth. Due to the abundance of this research, Extended Foster Care (EFC) was created to help to provide additional resources and support to young adults in foster care until age 21. This is a fairly new program, therefore little research has been completed. One of the negative outcomes of foster youth is the high pregnancy and parenting rates. The purpose of this study is to be able to understand the knowledge and use of family planning services among the young adults participating in EFC. Understanding this information will help to improve services provided by the social workers who work with this population. This research used a quantitative questionnaire. The questionnaire was mailed to the young adults participating in EFC in San Bernardino County. A statistical analysis was completed using SPSS version 21. The study’s findings showed that on average, EFC participants have a good understanding of safe-sex practices but do not usually use safe-sex methods or go to family planning service organizations. The study also found that participant demographics do not have a correlation to their knowledge or use of family planning services, nor to the number of pregnancies or live births. However, there is a negative correlation between a participant's knowledge score and if they have children in their custody. Finally, 47% of participants reported being informed about family planning service organizations by their Social Worker.

The research topic discussed will explore Independent Living Program (ILP) services within the parameters of the foster care system. The research conducted followed guidelines within the positivist paradigm along with quantitative data collecting to gather information regarding experiences of youth while in the program and independence after the program through the utilization of surveys from those who have emancipated from the foster care system. Participants were eighteen years or older. The study included 28 participants who ranged in age and gender. Surveys were collected and analyzed using Qualtrics and SPSS software. The data collected and analyzed in this research revealed that youth who participate in the ILP services provided by their county have a better success rate of achieving overall success in independence in housing, education, financial support, and emotional/social support. It appears that the participants living situation was stable with majority not living alone. This begs the question that they still depend on others for support with housing needs.

The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of the Extended Foster Care (EFC) Program in meeting the needs of emancipating foster youth by assisting them in becoming self-sufficient prior to emancipating out of the foster care system. The research method used for this study was a quantitative study design, using secondary data obtained from the County of San Bernardino, to assess the level of independent living skills foster youth obtain while participating in the program. The information was gathered on youth who were currently participating in the extended foster care program. The results of this study were inconclusive. Although the data showed that youth in the EFC program did seem better prepared to emancipate than those compare to previous research studies, the data sample was small, and more research is needed to determine if Extended Foster care is indeed effective.

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.

During the transition to adulthood, youth often rely on the people in their life for support. However, for transition-aged foster youth, these supports may not be available or may look different than supports available to youth in the general population. Relationships with supportive adults have been found to help former foster youth transition to adulthood, but little is known about the adults youth have in their network. Foster youth who report increased levels of social capital have been shown to experience higher levels of success in young adulthood. However, as former foster youth transition to adulthood, a lack of in-depth understanding of supportive adults and social networks creates difficulties identifying—and addressing—potential gaps in their social network. This study aims to gain a better understanding of how social networks influence social support and access to and mobilization of social capital as youth leave the foster care system. A social network assessment based on two existing measures was created to attain a better understanding of the social networks of transition-aged foster youth. The new social network tool was piloted with a group of young adults prior to use in this study. This social network tool allowed for an in-depth understanding of social networks, social support, and social capital as three distinct constructs. The social network characteristics included: on whom the youth relies for support, how the relationship developed, and the closeness of the relationship. Social support included: questions on the type of support available to youth (resources, emotional, advice, or constructive criticism), as well as the social support domains (housing, education, employment, relationships, and transportation). Social capital was examined based on questions about network members’ occupation(s) and frequency of communication between the youth and each network member. Univariate, Bivariate, and Multivariate analyses were utilized to examine social network characteristics, foster care history, social support, and social capital. The mean network size of sample participants was 7.1 and the range was 0–36. A relationship between placement type and social network members was found; indicating that youth in congregate care were more likely to have formal (social service related) networks than youth not in congregate care. A relationship between having more informal network members and housing stability was found; indicating that different network members may help youth with different young adult outcomes. A relationship between both access to, and mobilization of, social capital was found based on the type of social network members (formal, informal, familial-biological, familial-foster). Based on the findings of the current study, research and practice implications are discussed. These include the utility of social network analysis with transition-aged foster youth, future lines of inquiry, and suggested practice/policy shifts.

This research addressed the social and emotional challenges kinship adoptive families have encountered when their adopted child's trauma symptomology surfaces. The unique relationship between the adoptive relative and the kinship child offered a different view on the coping techniques used by kinship families and uncovered areas where resources could support permanency. In this phenomenological study, 12 interviews with relative adoptive parents guided by the attachment and family system theories, offered insight to what fosters or degrades the bond with the adopted child. Using post-adoption resource events, service agencies, and community resources, this study recruited participants through flyers posted on websites, agency waiting areas, public bulletin boards, and email distribution. The self-selected respondents learned more about the study to decide if they would participate. The data reached saturation after 12 interviews and the transcribed accounts were reviewed with each corresponding participant. Using NVivo 11 to organize the data,, the transcribed interviews were compared to discover themes inherent to the adoptive relative parent(s). Learning about kinship challenges after adopting a child exposed to maltreatment, neglect, or pre-adoptive trauma and the methods used by these families to overcome thoughts of dissolution or their discovery of areas that would benefit from supportive resources may contribute to the understanding of successful kinship adoption. The implication for social change is the decrease in dissolution rates of the adoptive relationship, thereby creating permanency outcomes in the lives of the children and creating a system of care that is proactive to societal needs and influential in providing for future generations.