Making Foster Youths’ Lives and Everyday Literacies Visible Through Film

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 363-367
Author(s):  
Lalitha Vasudevan ◽  
Kristine Rodriguez Kerr
Keyword(s):  
Foster Youths

scholarly journals Foster Care Independent Living Services: Youth Perspectives

2008 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher G. Petr
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
The United States ◽  
Independent Living Programs ◽  
Foster Youths ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Successful Adults ◽  
Independent Living Services

Emerging adulthood is a phase in the life course recently identified by developmental theorists. For youth in foster care, recent federal legislation in the United States has engendered new programs, typically called independent living programs, to help them become successful adults. This qualitative study reports the findings of interviews with a diverse sample of 27 current and former foster youths in a Midwestern state, focusing on the quantity and quality of independent living services received. The youths reported hopeful expectations and plans for their futures, widespread support for postcustody benefit programs, mixed opinions about the utilization and effectiveness of existing independent living programs, significant educational delays associated with frequent placements while in out-of-home custody, and strong attachments to families of origin.

Short-Term Effectiveness of Job Search Skills Training: Comparisons by Summer Work Experience Participation

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-96
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Cmar ◽  
Michele C. McDonnall
Keyword(s):  
Job Search ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Search Behavior ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Job Search Behavior ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Foster Youths

We utilized a quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test design to assess the effects of job search skills training on job search knowledge, job search behavior, job search behavior self-efficacy, and job search outcomes self-efficacy. We also examined differences in outcomes based on participation in a vocational rehabilitation agency-sponsored summer work experience (SWE) program. Participants were 92 youth with visual impairments, ages 15 to 22 years, from three U.S. states. The intervention was an intensive job search skills training program involving 35 to 40 hr of content; 42 youth also participated in an SWE program for approximately 6 weeks. Intervention group participants significantly improved in job search knowledge, job search behavior, and job search behavior self-efficacy in contrast to comparison group participants, but results for job search outcomes self-efficacy did not differentiate the two groups. SWE participation by itself was related to increases in both self-efficacy measures, and participation in the intervention plus the SWE was related to larger increases in job search behavior self-efficacy. Results indicate that job search skills training and SWE programs may have differential effects on short-term outcomes. Rather than finding jobs for youth, practitioners could foster youths’ competence, confidence, and preparation for the future by teaching job search skills and encouraging independent job-seeking.

Educational Policy and Foster Youths: The Risks of Change

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Gustavsson ◽  
A. E. MacEachron
Keyword(s):  
Educational Policy ◽  
Foster Youths

The Influence of Policy Context on Transition Age Foster Youths' Views of Self-Sufficiency

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura S. Abrams ◽  
Susanna R. Curry ◽  
Marina Lalayants ◽  
Laura Montero
Keyword(s):  
Transition Age ◽  
Policy Context ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Foster Youths

Connected After Care: Youth Characteristics, Policy, and Programs Associated With Postsecondary Education and Employment for Youth With Foster Care Histories

2021 ◽  
pp. 107755952110347
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Geiger ◽  
Nathanael J. Okpych
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
State Level ◽  
Multilevel Regression ◽  
National Data ◽  
After Care ◽  
Foster Youths ◽  
Education And Employment ◽  
Policies And Programs

Recent federal laws and state policies reflect the government’s investment in improving education and employment outcomes for youth with foster care histories. However, little research has assessed the roles of these programs using national data. Drawing on data from the National Youth in Transitions Database (NYTD) ( n = 7797), this study examines the roles that state-level policies and programs, youth-level participation in programs and services, and youth characteristics play in youths’ connection to employment and education (“connectedness”) at age 21. Results from multilevel regression analyses find that foster youth in states with widely available tuition waiver programs increases the odds of connectedness to school. The amount of time youth spend in extended foster care, as well as receipt of postsecondary education aid and services, also increases connectedness. Study findings underscore the importance of material and relational supports in supporting foster youths’ connection to employment and education in early adulthood.

scholarly journals Permanency and the Educational and Economic Attainment of Former Foster Children in Early Adulthood

2018 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
pp. 716-743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah A. Font ◽  
Lawrence M. Berger ◽  
Maria Cancian ◽  
Jennifer L. Noyes
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Foster Children ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Legal Guardianship ◽  
Economic Attainment ◽  
Foster Youths ◽  
The Life Course

Foster children are at disproportionate risk of adverse outcomes throughout the life course. Public policy prioritizes permanency (exiting foster care through reunification with birth parents, adoption, or legal guardianship) to promote foster youths’ healthy development and well-being, but little empirical evidence indicates that permanency, including its most preferred form—reunification—promotes positive outcomes. Using multi-system, statewide longitudinal administrative data, we employed logistic and mixed-effects regression to examine educational attainment and earnings among former foster youth in early adulthood. We found that youth who aged out of care had significantly higher odds of graduating high school and enrolling in college than did reunified youth and youth who exited to guardianship, and they had similar odds as adopted youth. Earnings were similar across groups. Among aged-out (but not reunified) youth, odds of high school graduation and average earnings were higher for youth who spent more time in foster care prior to age 18. Overall, results suggest that permanency alone is insufficient to promote foster youths’ educational and economic attainment.

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