Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act

Nearly every state in the union now has some offer of extended foster care for youths who turn 18 in foster care and do not feel ready to “age out” into adulthood.

When Kayla Hubert entered foster care at age 4, she was separated from her older brother and a few years later, from her sister as well. By the time she was 8, visits with her siblings were rare.

In the mid-2000s, it had already become clear in the field of child welfare that relatives should be a priority option when it comes to removing youth from their home. But most states lacked a robust option for supporting kin who could, with a little help, be the answer on permanency.

Child welfare is running an evidence deficit. There are too few programs in circulation with credible evidence of their effectiveness in improving the safety, family permanence and well-being of vulnerable children.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) recently announced nearly $18 million in federal grants to states for Kinship Navigator programs, a model for connecting relatives caring for foster youth to benefits, counseling and other forms of assistance.

Juvenile Law Center (JLC), with the support of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, has built an excellent new resource for the field in its National Extended Foster Care Review, a website that breaks down each state’s foster care guarantees after the age of 18.

The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), which offers a significant restructuring of the multi-billion dollar federal entitlement for child welfare, could not pass the Senate as a standalone bill in 2016.

This year begins my 40th year as a student of child welfare services. As a researcher and observer of the child welfare policy process I appreciate the opportunity to reflect on some of the ways research has influenced child welfare policy.

The Every Student Succeeds Act gave school systems across the country until December 2016 to  transport foster youth to school. Nine months later, implementation is wanting. For the roughly 270,000 school-aged children living in America’s foster care system, educational success can be elusive.