Cities Support Transitions for Older Foster Youth
by Andrew Moore
 Cities such as Philadelphia; Corpus Christi, Texas; and New York are leading local efforts to ensure smooth, effective transitions for young people “aging out” of county and state foster care systems. These cities are supporting the transitions of foster youth toward independent adulthood through “one-stop” access to services and supports.
Nationwide, approximately 20,000 young people who have entered the foster care system due to abuse and neglect reach the age of legal emancipation each year. At 18 years old, many of these young people become fully responsible for their housing, food, clothing, transportation, employment, education and social life. Among former foster youth, the challenge of dealing with the complexities of adult life without family support results in high rates of unemployment, dependence on welfare, homelessness, and crime and victimization for this population.
Cities and their partners in public and nonprofit, youth-serving agencies are increasingly embracing the use of one-stop centers to provide supports and services for transitioning foster youth. At these centers, young people at or approaching the age of adulthood gain access to mentoring, supports for finishing high school and enrolling in college, and connections to jobs and services.
Piloted in a few locations through investments by the Department of Labor and Casey Family Programs, an operating foundation focused on foster youth (see www.casey.org/OurWork/Transition), one-stop centers are spreading as research and statistics demonstrate their value In best-case scenarios, a one-stop center becomes a “home away from home” for young people getting ready to leave foster care and in their first years of independence.
Philadelphia’s Achieving Independence Center
As a case in point, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter recently shared the dais with Brandon Bruce and Margarita Davis-Boyer, two transitioning foster youth who are members of the city’s Achieving Independence Center (AIC), at the March grand re-opening of the center, which is conveniently located at a new downtown location near bus and subway lines.
Throughout its five years of operation, rather than becoming “clients” or “customers,” each young person who signs up for any kind of service at the AIC becomes a “member” for life. Building upon support received through the AIC, Bruce completed college and will soon complete law school at Villanova University. Davis-Boyer has also completed college, worked at the AIC and recently received a Master of Social Work degree from Temple University.
“Brandon and Margarita are two of many examples of what can happen when we stay focused and committed,” noted Mayor Nutter. “The Achieving Independence Center is a testament to the fact that we care, and that our obligations extend beyond the legal age [of foster care].”
Arthur Evans, acting commissioner charged with bringing better management controls to Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services, noted that 57 percent of youth entering care in the city are 12 years of age or older. These youth are less likely than younger children to return to their families or find stable family placements. As one measure of how AIC helps, 100 percent of last year’s group of eligible members graduated from high school, and 50 percent went on to college. Visit www.aiphilly.org/ to learn more about AIC.
Expanding the One-Stop Center Model
With AIC as a key model for the 2,500 youth in transition in Philadelphia, the Department of Labor has provided seed support for the development of one-stop centers in several other large cities — New York, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and Detroit. New York’s Passport To Success center is co-located with The Door, a major facility for homeless youth. By arrangement with the New York City Administration for Children’s Services, Passport to Success provides a comprehensive range of health, employment, counseling and other services for transitioning foster youth.
In Texas, Corpus Christi is among the cities that have put a one-stop center and foster youth programs in place, often for a much smaller pool of youth. For the 150 young people of transition age in Corpus Christi and surrounding counties, Foster Youth Life Investment Partners (FYLIP) has taken the lead, with the City of Corpus Christi Housing Authority as a key partner. The FYLIP collaborative opened a one-stop center last November to provide emergency resources and basic services such as housing assistance, educational guidance, employment help, counseling and self-awareness classes. Visit http://fylip.org to learn more about FYLIP.
Resources for Cities
Recently, the California Cities Counties Schools (CCS) Partnership released a Transitioning Foster Youth Guide highlighting five areas of critical need for transitioning foster youth, and featuring examples of city and county collaborative leadership to meet those needs.
With support from the Walter S. Johnson Foundation, together with the CCS Partnership, NLC’s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF Institute) has also identified promising city practices to support foster youth transitions. Based upon this fact-finding, the YEF Institute is now able to serve as a resource for cities nationwide on developing collaborative approaches to support youth in transition.
Details: To learn more about city strategies for supporting foster youth transitions, visit www.nlc.org/iyef to download a March audioconference transcript on this topic, or contact Andrew Moore at (215) 848-6910 or moore@nlc.org. The CCS Partnership offers resources at www.ccspartnership.org/T_transitioningFosterY.cfm.
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