Expert's Perspectives of Health Needs Among Emancipating Foster Youth

Background and Purpose:

According to an Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) report of 2022, there are over 391,000 minors in foster care in the United States. As adolescents age out of foster care, they face many difficulties transitioning to independent adult living. Outcomes (education, employment, income, substance use, mental health challenges, etc.) of minors who grew up in foster care are bleak compared to their peers from the general population. The health of youth in foster care is particularly problematic. Despite these well-documented outcomes, research is lacking on Transition to Adult Living (TAL) programs' influence on young adult outcomes. This study serves to learn from representatives working within a Transition to Adult Living Program in order to determine the strengths and needs of foster youth, particularly as it relates to managing their own health needs once they leave the system.

Methods:

Representatives from a TAL program were contacted by email and asked to participate in this study. Those who agreed met with the research team for an interview, signed a consent form, completed a short survey, and then participated in a semi-structured interview. A total of 9 representatives were interviewed. Transcription, codebook creation, and thematic analysis was conducted by two graduate research assistants under the direction of the study’s PIs.

Results:

The themes that emerged from the interviews included foster youth engagement, TAL milestones, government money, and staff workload (among others). The most commonly occurring themes focused on client engagement and programmatic milestones. Statements about engagements included, “they like the fun stuff,” and, “if money is not going to motivate them then I don’t know what really will.” Statements regarding milestones included, “it definitely changes based on what the kids need or want.” Other comments centered around funding, including, “there’s issues when there’s things that the kids need that I can’t get approved for funding,” “we probably need a few more staff in some key spots - I definitely could use another person,” and “we don’t do a good job at helping youth understand Medicaid and what it takes to maintain it.”

Conclusion and Implications:

Based on the themes and statements from the interviews, this program seems to be effective in tailoring the TAL content and activities to the youth’s desire and needs, but may need to work to continue to increase engagement among the youth. TAL employees seem to need more specialized training, which may in turn allow them to have more autonomy within their role as they will know more about what they can and cannot do, including when and how they are able to spend government money. If workers are more informed on their potential within their role, this may encourage more innovation and creativity to engage foster youth, which may, in turn, help employees feel more fulfilled and alleviate feelings of burnout.