Related Publications about Youth Transitioning from Foster Care

Latest research on the status of education and individuals in foster care.  (May 2011)

This paper addresses the need for improved transition planning with adolescents in foster care. A review of best practices across other youth-serving systems leads to a number of recommendations for child welfare systems.  By Dianna Walters, Marty Zanghi, Dorothy Ansell, Eprise Armstrong and Kathy Sutter.  National Resource Center for Youth Development and the University of Southern Maine, Muskie School of Public Service. June 2010.

By Donald Schmid, Madelyn Freundlich, and Sarah Greenblatt (2010)

This paper published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation helps child welfare directors and fiscal managers be more strategic in planning their approach to child welfare spending and reimbursement.  The paper outlines specific steps states, localities, and tribes can take to support vulnerable children and families by drawing down federal funding, including funds made possible by the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008.

By Connected by 25, The Finance Project, and the Youth Transition Funders Group (2010)

This document aims to help agency leaders, policymakers, judges, and their partners understand and respond effectively to the education requirements of Fostering Connections by reflecting on lessons learned from a decade of initiatives to improve education outcomes for youth in and leaving foster care.  It focuses on how policies and practices implemented in response to Fostering Connections can provide the foundation for collaborative education supports that lead more youth in foster care to complete high school and pursue and succeed in postsecondary education.

By Connected by 25, The Finance Project, and the Youth Transition Funders Group (2010)

This guide seeks to help state and community leaders systematically map the supports and services available to young people transitioning from foster care, so that young people, case workers, advocates, and other supportive adults will be able to effectively take advantage of all the resources available to them.

By Connected by 25, The Finance Project, and the Youth Transition Funders Group (2010)

This assessment tool seeks to help states and communities determine areas of strength in which there are adequate resources to support transitioning youth and areas in which additional services and supports need to be developed to meet the needs of young people.

This paper provides The Community Foundation's perspective about the Metropolitan Youth Opportunities Initiative (MAYOI):  how it came to exist, how it was implemented, how it has evolved and lessons we learned about making the initiative sustainable and scalable. 

New Haven, CT:  Casey Family Services, 2005

By Clark M. Peters, Amy Dworsky, Mark E. Courtney, Harold Pollack   Chicago, IL:  Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago, 2009.

In an effort to strengthen philanthropic investments among its membership, the Youth Transition Funders Group (YTF G) asked a group of policy experts to provide recommendations on how foundations can work to encourage effective policy solutions on issues affecting youth in transition to adulthood.

The issue brief offers a summary of those recommendations, focusing on four primary transition points that often threaten the ability for youth to be connected by age 25 to the institutions and support systems that help them succeed throughout life.