The Equitable Standards for Transitions to Adulthood for Youth in Care: A Canadian First Voice Advocate Led Initiative

Many youth in the Canadian child protection system abruptly lose support from the State when they reach the age of majority, regardless of their readiness or their emotional and financial needs. This is due to provincial/territorial legislation across the country that mandates child welfare agencies to release youth from their care at the age of majority. This pattern of service removal leads to traumatic transitions and negative outcomes for youth exiting care, including a heightened risk for homelessness, unemployment, poverty, and poor mental health. COVID-19 and the socio-economic upheaval associated with the pandemic exacerbated the already precarious situation of young people in and from care.

Drawing upon past reports as well as the expertise of youth with lived experience from across the country, the Equitable Standards for Transitions to Adulthood for Youth in Care report was released in October 2021. These standards are outlined across eight transition to adulthood pillars to support more equitable transitions for youth in care across the country. They also encourage systems to reframe their policies, approaches and interventions to truly become youth-centered (rather than systems-centered) by meeting young people where they are at and being adaptable to their ongoing needs and life circumstances. The overarching goal of the Equitable Standards is to ensure that youth in care are afforded the same standard of support and opportunities for success as they transition to adulthood as their peers who are not in the child protection system, while also recognizing the inherent traumatic impact of child removals and separation from families of origin. The Equitable Standards aim to ensure that every youth in care receives equitable level of supports and services no matter where they live in Canada. However, these standards are not currently bound by a national legislative framework nor jurisdictional law. In this sense, they are voluntary standards that Federal, Provincial and Territorial governments are asked to adhere to and child protection agencies to pro-actively implement.

The Equitable Standards for Transitions to Adulthood for Youth in Care Evaluation Model, released in fall 2022, provides the evaluation criteria by which key stakeholders can assess their current fidelity to the Equitable Standards, and determine a concrete action plan for filling in gaps in supports and services to youth in care as they transition to adulthood. Thirteen key stakeholders from across the country, including child protection Ministries, have committed to piloting the Evaluation Model in 2023-24.

In this Workshop, the audience will learn about the mobilization of the National Council of Youth in Care Advocates, the eight Transition to Adulthood Pillars, associated Equitable Standards and key supports, and how they can be implemented at the practice and policy levels via the Equitable Standards Evaluation Model. An interactive Q&A period with the audience is also included. While the Equitable Standards have been developed in a Canadian context, the framework can be used as a promising/best practice example to inspire discussions about meaningful systemic change for youth aging out of care in other countries.