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

Background and purpose: The past decade has witnessed an increased effort to provide transition age youth (TAY) with services that facilitate a successful transition to adulthood. The federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 raised the potential upper age of foster care benefits from 18 to 21, and approximately half of U.S. states have passed legislation that enacts provisions of the law. However, it is unclear how policies concerning TAY may influence attitudes and/or behaviors of TAY who live in these policy contexts. California, which began implementing extended care in January 2012, will serve as an important source of information on these changes. In comparison, New York funded extended foster care well before the 2008 federal law. This exploratory study addresses the following main research question: How does the policy context concerning extended foster care in Los Angeles and New York City inform TAY views of self-sufficiency in each location?

Methods: A total of four focus groups were conducted with TAY; two in Los Angeles and two in New York.  We purposively recruited 21 TAY ages 18-22 from social service agencies in each location.  Focus group recordings were transcribed and imported into Atlas.ti to assist in management of the data. We marked the major sections of transcripts that related to the primary research question, engaged in focused coding around core concepts, developed data matrices to organize findings according to core concepts, and then determined similarities and differences in the perspectives of Los Angeles and New York TAY. We used the tools of investigator triangulation and an extensive audit trail to increase rigor.

Results: TAY in New York and Los Angeles were consistent in their beliefs that self-sufficiency meant gaining economic independence, buying their own material goods, and doing these tasks eventually without help from social service agencies or a foster family. While youth in both locations were experiencing significant financial and housing challenges, those in Los Angeles placed more emphasis on individual grit and survival skills needed to meet their goals. In New York, youth expressed much more comfort with the idea of interdependence. While both groups were confused about eligibility for supports, the Los Angeles TAY expressed more reservation about extended foster care and uniquely commented on the changing climate of TAY services due to implementation of extended care.

Conclusions and implications: We found evidence that long-term implementation of extended foster care may help shape the views of clients regarding accepting and using this type of support. As policy changes due to extended care begin to take root in U.S. states, this change should theoretically shift the dynamic of self-reliance at 18 to the possibility of a more interdependent stance. With the spotlight on California’s implementation of extended foster care, is important that policymakers do not lose sight of youth’s use of supports in locations such as New York, which has a longer history of extended foster care. Further cross-site comparison may help illuminate lessons for implementation of extended care in other states.