Transitioning from Foster Care to Emerging Adulthood: Experiences and Perceptions of Support, Health and Wellbeing Among Transgender and Nonbinary Youth of Color

Background and Purpose: Former foster youth are often uniquely disenfranchised, as many suffer from a lack of support (e.g., financial, informational, emotional) resulting from their involvement in foster care. Although all youth who exit foster care as adults may have difficulty accessing the support they need to become healthy-functioning adults, these issues may be exacerbated for transgender/nonbinary (T/NB) youth of color who often face added challenges associated with their race/ethnicity and gender minority statuses. This is of significant concern as having access to supportive resources is critical for achieving healthy development and functioning in young adulthood. Despite these risks, research focused on this multiply marginalized population is extremely limited. To begin to address this gap, this study explored the supportive relationships and health and wellbeing experiences of a small cohort of T/NB young adults of color at 12-24 months post exit from foster care.

Methods: Participants in this qualitative multiple case study were recruited statewide from transitional living programs in a Midwestern state. Data was gathered through in-depth, face-to-face interviews, event history calendars (EHCs), observations, and a series of regularly scheduled phone interviews from 5 T/NB young adults, aged 19-21, that had recently exited the foster care system. Participants were asked questions related to their experiences with physical/mental health, educational attainment, substance use, identity development, housing and employment, criminal justice involvement, formal and informal relationships, and access to supportive resources and services. Data was analyzed using a combination of qualitative structural and thematic narrative analysis and within-case and cross-case data analysis methods.

Results: T/NB former foster youth of color experienced a variety of challenges related to their race/ethnicity and gender minority statuses when trying to access important resources/services such as housing, education and employment opportunities, and physical and mental health care. Youth also reported problems with handling threats to their safety and wellbeing, navigating the identity development process, and managing social isolation and relationships with friends, family, social workers and other service providers. This evidence suggests that the supports and services T/NB former foster youth receive may be inadequate and/or inappropriate for addressing their distinct health and wellbeing needs.

Conclusions and Implications Results generate novel insights about the unique experiences and perspectives of T/NB individuals of color after exiting foster care system as young adults and offers critical information for understanding and contextualizing how gender identity/expression, race/ethnicity may play out during this critical transition period. Findings provide educators, policymakers, and other service providers with the information they need to develop strategies that better support T/NB youth of color, increase the quality of care and services they receive, and ultimately, improve their health and wellbeing outcomes. Results also offer knowledge from which to develop further hypotheses and explore other important issues and challenges faced by T/NB foster youth of color involved in social service systems. Recommendations for improving child welfare policy and practice are provided.