Extended foster care is one of the most important tools states have to support young people as they move into adulthood. When it works well, it provides stability, relationships and practical support at a time when most young adults still depend on family and community.
Young people with lived experience in foster care have been a force for positive change in child welfare policy for decades, with deep impact that traces back to the lobbying effort that led to the passage by Congress of the pivotal Chafee Foster Care Independence Program in 1999.
Courts play a central role in child welfare. Court decisions shape safety, permanency timelines and how families experience the system during periods of significant stress.
Modernizing child welfare systems is not a partisan issue. Across administrations, there has been growing recognition that outdated technology can slow down frontline work and limit the impact agencies have on young people and families.
For leaders working to support young people leaving foster care, the challenge is often not only gaps in research, but also how fragmented and uneven the evidence can be across systems and settings.
For years, the Child and Family Services Review has been a core way states assess safety, permanency and well-being in their child welfare systems.
Earlier this November, child welfare leaders, policymakers and lived-experience experts from across the country gathered in Providence, Rhode Island, for the annual Achieving Success Executive Workshop hosted by Youth Villages.
Twenty years of steady, positive change in New Jersey’s child welfare system yielded results: fewer than 3,000 children are now in foster care, the lowest number in state records.
Four libraries across Kentucky are finding new ways to strengthen families and prevent unnecessary foster care placements
Earlier this year, young people in Tennessee gained more time and support as they move from foster care to adulthood. A new state law increases eligibility for the Extended Foster Care.