The Different Paths Taken by States to Help Teens Aging Out of Foster Care

• In Event: Policymaking and Responsiveness in States and Localities

Abstract

Less than half of children who have been in the foster care system graduate from high school, and less than 10% graduate from college. In 2008, the federal government passed the Fostering Connections Act which allowed states to receive reimbursement for services provided to foster children who choose to remain in the system until they turn 21. Roughly half the states have chosen to offer this extended foster care. The goal of this paper is to look at how states have written and implemented policies for extending foster care to children, and to look at why states have chosen not to enact policies for which they could be reimbursed. Further, it looks at the outcomes programs are currently experiencing to determine if there are best practices as it relates to helping foster children break the cycle. Very little work is done on the policies and politics surrounding foster care, a system with roughly half a million children in it at any given time, and this paper will add to the policy knowledge on the topic as well as make recommendations for states in helping these children who are marginalized.

Author

• Benjamin Toll, Wilkes University