Transitional Youth Services: Practice Implications from a Systematic Review
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Transitional Youth Services: Practice Implications from a Systematic Review Toni Naccarato Æ Emily DeLorenzo
Published online: 12 June 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2008
Abstract Independent living programs have emerged as the primary intervention to address the needs of foster youth transitioning out of care. Prior reviews of independent living programs have focused on implications for research and policy, but not on direct practice. In order to create effective independent living programs, direct service workers must be provided with concrete practice guidelines for providing effective independent living services. This article summarizes 19 studies on independent living and provides evidence-based implications for each in an effort to begin to fill the gap between research, policy and practice. Keywords Independent living services Life skills Older foster youth Transitional living Aging out of foster care
Every year an estimated 20,000 adolescents ‘‘age out’’ of the foster care system and find themselves on their own (Courtney and Piliavin 1998; Courtney et al. 2001; Courtney et al. 2004; Westat 1991). In 2005, according to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis Reporting System (AFCARS), there were 24,407 adolescents who ‘‘aged out’’ of the foster care system into independent living (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2006). These foster youth often lack support from family and social service systems and may often experience a more difficult transition to independent living than non-foster youth (Courtney et al. 2004; Hardin 1988). The federally funded Independent Living Program (ILP) was enacted through the Consolidated Omnibus Budget and Reconciliation Act and Title IV–E Social Security Act of 1985 to assist foster youth in the United States to make the transition from foster care to independent living. In order to increase ILP financial T. Naccarato (&) E. DeLorenzo University at Albany School of Social Welfare, 205 Richardson Hall, 135 Western Avenue, Albany, NY 12203, USA e-mail: [email protected]
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entitlements and housing resources, while decreasing the age of eligibility to 14 years, and expanding Medicaid eligibility for foster youth, a subsequent Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 was passed (Children’s Defense Fund 1999). ILP was designed to enable foster youth to transition to adulthood and focuses on life skills needed for basic living. Despite the array of policy tools to promote transitional support to foster youth, little is known about the effectiveness of ILP (Montgomery et al. 2006). This article summarizes the results of ILP studies to date for the purposes of better informing direct service delivery. Prior reviews of ILP have focused on implications for research (Montgomery et al. 2006) and policy (Collins 2001) but have not primarily addressed practice implications. Children in out-of-home care cannot rely on their families so they must depend on child welfare agencies to provide opportunities for them to a
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